Friends in the Festung

On Monday evening the Society of Friends of the Summer Academy toured the courses being held in the Festung Hohensalzburg. Members of the Society, which supports the Summer Academy through membership and events, took a keen interest in the work being undertaken by the students. The courses of Leya Mira Brander (Between etching and sculpture), Hanspeter Hofmann (How to paint), Matts Leiderstam (Self-portrait), Katrin Plavcak (Stealing from the best. Painting as inspiration), and Martin Schmidl (The practice of drawing), generously opened their doors to explain what they have been doing, and gave us the chance to see the startling variety of the work in progress.

Highlights included watching a student on Leya Mira Brander’s course print his very first etching, and a remarkable video self portrait by EJ, one of Matts Leiderstam’s students. The opportunity to see the process of the students’ work as they prepare for Friday’s open day allowed a fascinating insight into the Summer Academy as a whole. The tour ended with a glass of wine, over which students discussed what they have gained and learnt on the courses so far.