Call for applications 2023: PhD in Practice program at Academy of Fine Arts Vienna

The program is coordinated by Renate Lorenz (Professor for Art and Research) and Anette Baldauf (Professor for Methodology and Epistemology). The invited lecturers and guests include Saidiya Hartman, Okwui Okpokwasili, Tina Campt, Eve Tuck, Otobong Nkanga, Fred Moten, Stefano Harney, Sharon Hayes, Nikita Dhawan, and Kapwani Kiwanga.

Program

The PhD in Practice program is founded on the concept of arts-based research in relation to critical epistemologies established in the context of feminist, queer, postcolonial, ecological, postmarxist, and other political and emancipatory projects. Inspired by historical fights, the program views arts-based research as a forum for resolving social, political, cultural, and economic differences. It refers to a history of arts study that has been established in collaboration with a variety of diverse sectors, including academia, activism, high art, and pop and subculture. Thus, it prioritizes cultural/artistic creations concerned with a criticism of injustice, social hierarchies, and exclusions, as well as the formation of heterotopic perspectives and activist interventions.

The curriculum is intended to last four years. During this time, participants will work with an academic and artistic team of co-participants and teachers to develop their projects artistically, conceptually, and analytically. Participants plan, organize, document, and carry out independent and/or collaborative arts-based research in a PhD supervision setting focused on transdisciplinary and international interchange.

Course work is planned around so-called focus weeks, which occur once a month during the academic year (October to January, March to June). During these weeks, participants and the PhD in Practice staff get together for seminars, lectures, excursions, and other research and study activities. Participants are expected to participate actively in the program’s development, including the creation and organization of workshops, guest lectures, exhibitions, and so on.

Available positions
Three PhD positions are available with a 75 percent employment contract with a duration of four years (payment according to B1, Section 49 Abs. 3KV, currently 2,458 EUR/month before tax, incl. health benefits). These positions require residency in Vienna and participation in further research, teaching and administration in the realm of the PhD-in-Practice program.

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Additionally, two PhD positions are available without funding (student-only, low residency scheme, does not require moving to Vienna).

Entry requirements
A degree (Magister, MA or Diplom) from a recognized university/academy, and submission of the required application material. Applicants with an ongoing artistic career are encouraged to apply.

Application
The application is online only. Please submit all material in English! Applications must be uploaded within the call dates. Application period: February 1–28 2023.

The application must contain:
–the completed web application form
–a curriculum vitae (including a list of exhibitions the applicant has contributed to and of publications or other artistic and scholarly work that has been published; pdf)
–a project proposal (ten pages max; one and a half line spacing; pdf)
–an abstract of the project proposal (one page max, one and a halfline spacing; pdf)
–a digital portfolio (a single pdf document, less than five MB)
–a scan of the certificate(s) proving that you received a degree (Magister, MA or Diplom) from a recognized/accredited university/academy
–Diploma Supplement (if available) and Transcripts (mandatory) of highest academic degree completed (including length of program and credits/ECTS)

The online application form will be available from February 1–28, 2023 here.

Admission process
The admission jury will review all applications and choose those applicants to be invited for an interview. In mid-May 2023 the jury will conduct interviews with the selected applicants. Results will be made public shortly after.