Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien

Art School Alliance International Exchange Program

The international exchange program ASA enables international art students to live and study in Vienna for one semester rent-free and without tuition fees within the framework of scholarships.

Objectives

On the initiative of the Academy of Fine Arts and the Alfred Toepfer Foundation F.V.S., the international exchange program Art School Alliance was launched in 2010 with the aim of intensifying networking and exchange with renowned art schools worldwide. The Academy of Fine Arts has been an important member of the network since 2015 and maintains a strategic partnership with the following ASA- partners: - Hamburg: University of Fine Arts - Hangzhou: China Academy of Art - Jerusalem: Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design - London: Goldsmiths, University of London, Department of Art - New York: Purchase College, School of Art+Design - Paris: École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts

Background

The Art School Alliance (ASA) exchange program enables up to 8 international art students per year to live and study in Vienna for one semester rent-free and tuition-free within the framework of scholarships. In return, an equal number of students from the Academy go to the foreign partner universities each year for one semester without having to pay tuition fees there, often having previously sponsored the exchange students during their stay in Vienna.

(Implemented) Activities

The study achievements are certified and mutually recognized by the participating institutions. In addition, the combination of working and living, of local and international art students is intended to promote an intensive exchange of experiences and ideas. The networking of the ASA students is even more intensive through the Art Residency than during a conventional semester abroad. For example, the international art students who spend a semester at the HFBK Hamburg as part of the Art School Alliance invite their local students to an exhibition at the end of their stay, where they present their artistic positions. Other projects also develop from the strategic partnerships, such as the Blended Intensive Program in an exhibition format at the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna in collaboration with the Hamburg University of Fine Arts. Quality assurance takes place at many points in the Academy's international agendas. The Erasmus program has its own mechanisms for the exchange of individuals for learning and teaching purposes, which are set out in the Erasmus Charter. These regulations and the monitoring for them are implemented by the Academy for the ASA program in the same way. In addition, the International Exchange Mobility Coordinators review the academic progress and artistic quality of all applications and potential participants in international exchange programs. They are an important advisory body for the International Office and, together with the chairs of the curriculum committees, set standards of quality assurance for international mobility.

Results

Intensive cooperation between strategic partners worldwide who have similar objectives is encouraged. Synergies resulting from targeted student exchanges are exploited in interdepartmental cooperation.

Lessons learned

Further development of the program, with the goal of facilitating funded faculty mobilities for non-European partnerships, is essential and will be pursued.

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