Specialisation
Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage
Contemporary art
The specialisation of Contemporary Art Conservation combines a wide range of workshops on various subjects: on ethics and conservation strategies, as well as on specific conservation techniques and artist materials, such as, for instance, paint systems, plastics, metals, electrocs, wood laminates and time-based media.
The curriculum is centred around artworks from museum collections, which are researched at the University's Contemporary Art Conservation studio. Here, students perform extensive research on the object in order to gain necessary knowledge of the material structure, history, context, concept and meaning of the artwork to allow careful decision-making on possible conservation treatment options. Scientific research, dialogues with the various stakeholders, decision-making as well as the actual conservation treatment itself are all carried out by the students themselves under the guidance of professional conservators.
Furthermore, contact with the artist may be crucial for the conservation of contemporaray art, which is why interview training, oral history methods and participatory research methods are included in the program. Different conservation strategies are explored for varying problems, including issues on re-installing contemporary artworks that may include ephemeral materials, immaterial characterstics and performative aspects.
The training programme runs parallel with classes of the other conservation specialties creating a multi-disciplinary environment in which specialties often collaborate. Specific subjects linked to larger research projects will be incorporated into the program when possible, so that the students can take part in the international network for the conservation of conteporary art, formalised as INCCA. Likewise, student participation in conferences and working groups on specific topics in contemporary art conservation is highly encouraged.