Art with an emphasis in visual culture

The final lunch talk of this year’s Summer Academy featured Monika Schwärzler, who teaches art at the Webster University Vienna campus.

Webster University is a private American institution, which has campuses all over the world, The courses are accredited in both the USA and Austria, but the Vienna campus is run very much as an American university, marking it as quite different from other colleges in Austria.

Schwärzler describes the courses offered, which include the flagship BA, Art with an emphasis in visual culture. The course operates under four main headings: art history; art management; art theory; and studio practice. There is an emphasis throughout encouraging students to focus on process, rather than being pushed towards a finished product. They aim the course at students who have a great passion for art, but may not have the skills or inclination to work as practicing artists. Their students go on to work in many different parts of the art world, including curating and art management, while several have gone on to study for Ph.D.s in related fields.