What is an art school? It’s a simple, possibly naive question that given the constantly shifting terrain of art may be impossible to solve. Daniel Atkinson chats with Sam Thorne—who has interviewed art school creators across the globe—to hear how artists, curators, and educators have answered it.
Little-known today, educator Nikolay Ladovsky was a key figure in redesigning teaching. Using scientific-like instruments, his studio was a laboratory for architectural instruction, helping students make risk-taking, internationally-recognized designs meant to push the Soviet Union into the future.
Often referred to as the Bauhaus of the Soviet Union, Vkhutemas gathered together most of the Russian avant-garde for a whirlwind few years of experimentation and educational exploration. Scholar Anna Bokov examines this ambitious, constantly shifting, and ultimately derailed school.
At the beginning of the Soviet Revolution the entire world was being reimagined. At its heart was a new reality being built by artists and educators—one that would set the country in motion through land, sea, and air.
In fall 2020, the Walker Art Center and Art Resources Transfer (A.R.T.) co-presented a residency with artist collective Studio K.O.S. Through workshops and a public event, the project foregrounded the group’s decades-long practice of collaborative pedagogy and its transformative social impact.
