Libraries are not passive, value-neutral places where knowledge is collected and made accessible, but active places where discourses are negotiated, contested, and confirmed. Starting from questions about the current role of photography in art and society, FIELD SCHOOL: GRAZ engages with the library’sepistemological processes and knowledge, together with invited artists, curators, and experts. Taken up here, through workshops, lectures, and one’s ownresearch - based artistic experiments, is Andrew Dewdney’s demand to forget photography as a strategy for reflecting on new approaches to organizing knowledge about the visual in the context of culture: How do processes of selection, evaluation, and ordering, as well as search and research, take shape? What (and whose) history of photography is being told? How can gaps be made visible? How does the library become a place of intervention and radical storytelling? With contributions by Reinhard Braun, Christine Frisinghelli, Dejan Markovic, Margit Neuhold, Barbara Petritsch, Nicole Six/Paul Petritsch, Anna Voswinckel, and WERKER Collective.

Faculty: Prof. Karina Nimmerfall, University of Cologne, Faculty of Human Sciences, Department Art andMusic; Leon Filter, University of Cologne; Faculty of Human Sciences, Department Art and Music; Ass. Prof. Rose - Anne Gush, IZK - Institute for Contemporary Art, TU Graz

Local Partner: Camera Austria, Laboratory for Photography and Theory

The Field School, hosted by Camera Austria in its library space, started its intensive program on Monday morning with a Welcome for all participating students and a guided tour through the exhibition Exposure by curator Anna Voswinkel. This was followed by a lecture by Christine Frisinghelli, co-founder of Camera Austria, on the history as well as the theoretical and practical groundworks of the institution. In the afternoon Margit Neuhold, editor at Camera Austria and Barbara Petritsch, librarian at the Wien Museum, conducted an introductory workshop on the structure of the library as well as the potentials and politics of its maintenance. Tuesday started with an outing at the IZK’s library space for a close reading of excerpts of Andrew Dewdney’s text Forget Photography. The afternoon continued withan interactive workshop by artist Nicole Six and curator Reinhard Braun on the politics, history of and artistic perspectives on Camera Austria’s archive, an artistic intervention placed in its library. On Wednesday a visit of several exhibitions at the Grazer Kunstverein and the Halle für Kunst, which each were guided by the curators, was followed by a workshop by the Amsterdam based WERKER Collective dealing with artistic methodologies of queering the library and archive. The full day concluded with a public lecture by WERKER’s on their most recent archival work. Thursday continued with a workshop by artist Dejan Markovic, based on his work Rebellious Books, that engaged with professionals from the art field in the form of interviews conducted by the students as well as interventions into the library. The workshop was followed by individual project work of the students, as well as a group discussion. The last day was used to continue the individual project work as well as brief presentations of first drafts for works developed by the students.

"I took part in this year's Field School, which took place in Graz in cooperation with Camera Austria. I really enjoyed the associated workshops, such as the workshop by and with the Werker Kollektiv, Dejan Markovic or Reinhard Braun and Nicole Six/Paul Petritsch, as well as the visits to the Museum für Gegenwartskunst and the Grazer Kunstverein, and I was able to combine them very well with the content of my previous studies. The collaboration with the students at the Institute of Contemporary Art Graz was extremely interesting and relevant for further research on my areas of specialization/interest. The content of the Field School and the knowledge I gained continue to inspire me - also thanks to the format of the one - week intensive collaboration - even beyond the week spent together. I will now incorporate elements of the work shop into an artistic project, which I will present in an exam." (Mareen N. Mueller, University of Cologne)

"The Field School "Forget Photography" offered us students the opportunity of intensively working on the idea of the library and to try them out in practice. The format was characterized by the fact that we exchanged the university space for the exhibition space of Camera Austria in Graz and were thus challenged to engage with the aforementioned contexts. We made small practical interventions in the instituti on's own library and by sketching and developing further projects of our own, the Field School continues to have an impact beyond the week. The Field School offered the opportunity to negotiate a productive working mode together and to actively contribute to tackling the challenges that arose over the course of the week. In various discussion rounds and experimental methods, we were able to work together with the lecturers and artists at eye level and critically address the topics of the week. The program was enriched by visits and discussions at relevant art institutions in Graz, so that we also had the opportunity to get to know the city and the local art scene." (Elias Müller, University of Cologne)

The project Cologne Summer Schools is situated at Division International Affairs of the University of Cologne and coordinates Winter, Spring and Summer Schools taking place at the Unviersity of Cologne and abroad. Additionally, we organize one annual project on a relevant topic approached interdisciplinarily and invite international students from all over the world to Cologne to study and research together.

Cologne Winter, Sping and Summer Schools combine academic program and cultural activities in a balanced way. Usually during the day you will have lectures, workshops or group work and in the evenings and on the weekend there will be cultural events such as city tours, museum visits, field trips and anything else that your creative organizers had thought of.

It depends on the school you would like to apply for. If the project is a collaboration between the UoC and another partner university, you should be a student either of the UoC or of this respective university. However, there are projects that are open to a broader number of universities. Take a closer look at the project description to make sure whether you are eligible. Furthermore, an above average university performance and a very good command of English (or German depending on the program) are required. 

Definitely not. The projects are open for students of the University of Cologne as well and are a great oppotunity to create new international contacts and practice your English skills. In fact, it is sometimes possible to receive course credits for your participation. Please inform yourself on the project's page or ask the organizational team.

Since Winter, Spring and Summer Schools are organized by the different faculties and institutes of the University of Cologne, there is a wide variety of topics and research areas in which you can gain summer school experience. We offer a versatile program every program which means that the offered Winter, Spring or Summer School might not repeat. Here you can take a look at projects taking place in Cologne and abroad.

The requirements such as study major, language certificates, resume, cover letter etc. are listed on the respective page of the project organizers. Please consider potential differences in the organizational procedures for different projects.  

We do our best to provide you with highest quality of teaching and cultural experiences without tuition fees and in the best case scenario, without you having to cover your transportation fees. Be aware of projects' specifics and inform yourself on the respective pages about what costs are covered by Cologne Summer Schools and what you should cover yourself.