30th Anniversary: Seminar, Reading Hannah Arendt: On Art – its political importance for judging  between right and wrong

Due to the high interest in this seminar, we have decided to take pre-registrations. Register by sending an e-mail to khm [at] khm [dot] lu [dot] se (khm[at]khm[dot]lu[dot]se)
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Reading Hannah Arendt: On Art – its political importance for judging  between right and wrong

Hannah Arendt is primarily a political thinker, but her view of the role of art in human society is astonishing and radical. In short, it is that art trains us to go beyond ourselves, to learn selflessly and together with others, to see with the eyes of the other. She quotes Immanuel Kant in saying that humans and art are the only phenomena in the world that have no purpose, that is, that cannot be used. Since the start in 1995 our students have taken on theoretical texts by Hannah Arendt, Walter Benjamin, and many others through close readings.

Since Malmö Art Academys founding in 1995, it has challenged traditional teaching methods by placing the studio and the open work process at the centre, characterised by feminist pedagogy and student self-determination through close reading. The teaching method, in which students read complex texts in groups with their peers and professors, has had a significant pedagogical effect, creating a direct connection between theory and practice within the group. Having a theoretical foundation as an artist is extremely important for artistic practice, as context, discourse, and practice are intertwined in the creative process. Hannah Arendt's thinking is highly relevant today and has great significance for how we understand the world.

The seminar is lead by Gertrud Sandqvist, Professor of Art Theory and the History of Ideas, and is part of celebrating Malmö Art Academy 30 years. Artist and professor Petra Bauer and artist and professor Maj Hasager will both do presentations as a part of the seminar.

We thank Annika & Gabriel Urwitz' Foundation for supporting the seminars, and Pia Ståhl Foundation for supporting our Hannah Arendt publication that will be available later this year.

Photo: Fred Stein Archive/Getty Images