Exhibitions are often analysed through artworks, curatorial concepts, or institutional narratives, while the audience remains largely invisible. This Winter School course shifts the focus from what an exhibition presents to the relationships it creates between artworks, institutions, places, and different publics. We will explore how exhibitions address, guide, inform, involve, or exclude their audiences. What roles are offered to visitors – as viewers, users, participants, collaborators, or co-producers? How do spatial arrangements, institutional structures, mediation formats, and artistic and curatorial practices shape these possibilities?
Visits to selected institutions in Zurich will demonstrate different approaches to engaging with and shaping audiences in practice.