Questions concerning transfer and translation arise from the shifts in meanings in a world characterized by the accelerated circulation of signs and cultural differences. Projects in this area explore the routes and detours of transfer and translation between artistic genres, texts and images, languages, media, and cultures. Communication streams are shaped by different translation speeds, forms of conscious and unconscious citation, cross-fading and forgetting. The institute encourages discussions of the circulation and production of signs in different contexts of institutional memory, as well as the visual, linguistic, media, and cultural skills needed for twenty-first century art and design. The cultural context in Switzerland is an ideal point of departure for investigating the «multingualism» of today’s world.