Institute

History and profile

The IAE (Institute for Art Education) was formed as part of the Department of Cultural Analysis in the course of the founding of the Zurich University of the Arts. As head of the IAE since 1 April 2008, Professor Carmen Mörsch has had the lead in implementing a conceptual reorientation of the research institute and promoting its international networking activities.

Research developed at the IAE is conducted at the interface of current cultural theories, artistic processes and the theory and methodology of art education. The aim is to examine the relation of art and education, the relevance of artistic production as well as artistic practices, ways of thinking and methodology within the context of a knowledge society. The IAE conducts basic as well as applied research; its frame of reference is the working field of arts education within and outside of institutions.

    IAE within the ZHdK – at the intersection of art, education and arts pedagogy

    In cross-university and interdepartmental research concerns, the IAE serves as an interface of art, education and the teaching of art. Within the ZHdK the IAE is a methodology competence centre whose staff work interdepartmentally. IAE staff is working on the conceptual orientation of the ZHdK dossier ‘International affairs’ and contribute to research-based teaching in the Master Art Education (specialization: Curatorial Studies) Bachelor of Arts in Theatre (specialization: Theatre Education), as well as Master in Transdisciplinary Studies. In addition, the IAE contributes to the research-based foundation of the school-related master’s programmes, Master Music Pedagogy, specialization School Music and Master Art Education (specialization: Kunstpädagogik). This guarantees the recognition of the teaching diplomas by The Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education (EDK).

      Beyond the ZHdK – IAE in the field of practice and research

      Widely connected

      The institute aims to maintain and further develop its local, national and international network. Cooperations take place within the research community and also in the field of practice. The following projects serve as examples of well-established networks:

      • A research lab for the arts in schools (FLAKS)

        FLAKS is a platform for research in teaching methodology in the fields of art, music and theatre pedagogy in schools. The main objective of FLAKS is professional development and reflecting on the professional expertise of teachers in the fields of the visual arts and music as well as theatre pedagogy. The ‘contemporary’ in artistic practice/production, for FLAKS, should become a pivotal and cardinal point in schools to reflect on reality and to relate to the arts.
         

      • Scientific monitoring of the “Art and Audience” programme of Pro Helvetia

        The programme “Art and Audience” was a reaction by the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia to the growing cultural policy relevance of this field. Pro Helvetia commissioned the Institute for Art Education to provide the programme with scholarly expertise. The goal of this accompanying research was, among others, the development of a set of instruments for quality assurance and enhancement in cultural education, both for  promoters of culture as well as practitioners. As a critical authority, the IAE, together with the participants, considered the processes and results, placing these in the context of the current state of research and international practice.
         

        Online publication Time for Cultural Mediation

        Commissioned by Pro Helvetia, the IAE pubished Time for Cultural Mediation, an online publication. It is the result of the accompanying research of the Institute for the ‘Arts and Audience’ programme (2009–2012) by Pro Helvetia and is available in the languages German, French, Italian and English. Time for Cultural Mediation provides, in addition to introductory and extensive texts on nine core thematic fields of cultural education, a comprehensive glossary, examples from practice and the views of around forty actors from the Swiss cultural community.
         

        Art.School.Differences

        Within the framework of the research project Art.School.Differences, three Swiss Universities (Geneva University of Arts and Design (HEAD), The Geneva University of Music (HEM), Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK)) cooperate with the aim of studying the complex configurations of inequality, in- and exclusions in art schools in order to understand and change these. This includes looking at the transformation of the art school in the European university landscape and the effects of globalization and migration.

      • Another Roadmap for Arts Education

        The international network ‘Another Roadmap for Arts Education’ is an association of actors from museums, universities, schools, and from non-institutional cultural work who conduct, reflect and research arts education as a practice committed to social change. They come from practices that view learning with and through art as embedded in social and political relations – but also as a possibility to question and change these conditions. Since its founding, 22 teams on 4 continents have joined in an international exchange in the Another Roadmap School in order to reflect about cultural education practices, to develop these further and to study their political frameworks and local histories.
         

      Approaches

      IAE staff working in these fields ...

      … conduct research that is resolutely based on a critique of power relations

      … take into account postcoloniality and migration society in their research

      … work in research with artistic methods and a deconstructive understanding of education

      … conduct practice and team-based research

      The IAE is the contact point for expert support as well as for the evaluation of projects from a great variety of fields. In this function, the institute is entrusted with specific tasks by foundations, by public services institutions as well as cultural institutions and associations, and is approached by practitioners for collaborative partnerships.

      Project forms

        Aims

        Main objectives of the IAE are to establish, canonize and advance the historiography and critical research in the field of art education in the German speaking regions. This also includes the collaboration of practitioners in research. The IAE offers critical and constructive support for stakeholders in the area of culture and education policies and funding in the field of art education. In addition, the IAE aims to stimulate further development of practices based on hegemony critique in art education and to make available to the field of practice and other public entities the thereby generated experience and knowledge.

        Within the ZHdK the IAE contributes to quality-oriented teaching, to transmitting knowledge such as research competencies to teaching staff and students at the ZHdK, and also to a culture of vibrant and stimulating discussions and debates.

        More detailed information on the activities of the IAE can be found in the annual report (in German) to the executive board of the university.

        Latest annual report

        Archived annual reports

        2013

        2012