The First Open Day

Friday witnessed the first Open Day of the Summer Academy, and with it the culmination of the first set of courses. In the evening in Hallein a reception celebrated the work of the first three weeks, but this day was first and foremost about the students. In both Hallein and in the castle in Salzburg, each course presented the samples of the work produced. The variety of artistic productions was astounding, as even within courses students experimented with the boundaries of their chosen media.

The artists who ran the courses tried to summarise the experience. Olav Westphalen, who ran the course “Jokes and their relation to conceptual art” in Salzburg, admitted that the three weeks had been exhausting: “I’m so tired”, he quipped, as I asked for a witticism to express the course. He remarked that the course had been a balancing act, negotiating the interests of teacher and student alike. It was a learning experience for both. In his teaching in art schools, the students tended to possess similar levels of knowledge and technical background. However here the diversity of students required a quite different approach, which forced him to reformulate elements of his method.

Lin Cheung, who ran the “Social life of jewellery” course in Hallein, agreed that it was both a taxing and rewarding experience. The relatively small class size led to a much more intense and intimate atmosphere than in an art school. She admits that she always learns from students, especially on how to deal with difference. Like Olav, she found the variety of students hard to manage at first, but soon developed ways to draw positives from their different ideas and levels of knowledge and expertise.

This weekend sees many leave Salzburg after a rewarding, if tiring three weeks. On Monday, the new courses begin as we enter the second stage. There is much more to come.