Call for applications: Master of Arts in Public Spheres (MAPS) (édhéa)

The MAPS – Master of Arts in Public Spheres Master is a two-year research-based study program in the visual arts. The program addresses artists and cultural producers who wish to question their practice in relation to a pluri-disciplinary approach to the public sphere.

The MAPS works as a practical and theoretical platform for considering the public sphere in terms of critical space, public engagement, research scenarios, contemporary landscapes. It combines a focus on the students’ artistic practice with an active involvement in individual, collective and institutional research projects. Oriented to a project-based educational practis, the MAPS invites students to join field trips and participate in interventions in the public sphere. Weekly seminars contextualise the students’ research and share reflections on critical ecologies, media spheres, text-based practices, curatorial practices, art labour, dialectics between centres and peripheries.

Study environment
The édhéa - Valais School of Art is situated in Southern Switzerland. The school offers a Bachelor in Fine Arts and a Master of Arts in Public Spheres. With a strong tradition in practice-based research, the édhéa proposes a transdisciplinary and experimental approach to art that opens many doors beyond those of an artist’s studio. The focus on sound art, performance, environmental art, socially-engaged and community practices, prepares for a variety of professions in the fields of visual culture.

The striking Valais alpine situation provides a unique studying environment that is an ideal site for focused, in-depth studies and at the same time connected to the country’s major urban centres.

A networking school
The MAPS—Arts in Public Spheres is part of the Master of Arts HES-SO in Fine Arts, a program that has been designed around three sites: the édhéa—Valais School of Art in Sierre, the HEAD in Geneva and the ECAL in Rennens. The MAPS is part of the Swiss Master in Fine Arts Platform, a national collaborative programme involving all the Swiss art schools. The édhéa school culture favours an international working group, that is constantly fed by collaborations with international art schools, institutions and collectives. An active network of international alumni constantly feeds in the ongoing research of the school.

Studying at MAPS
The MAPS—Arts in Public Spheres program offers 120 ECTS credits and grants the degree of Masters of Arts Hes-so in Fine Arts. It is a two-year course with weekly classes. The MAPS faculty comes from a multidisciplinary and international background.

The structure of the program combines seminars and workshops led by the faculty and guest artists, theoreticians and curators. Regular visits to exhibitions and events of interest in Switzerland and abroad are also part of the course. Students thus devote 60–70% of their formation time to their own work and are supervised by two tutors of their choice.  Individual studio spaces and collective technical workshops support artistic production. The final stage of the program is focused on the Masters Thesis and Exhibition.

Current Faculty: Benoît Antille, Barnaby Drabble, Petra Köhle, Robert Ireland, Jérôme Leuba, Eric Maeder, Federica Martini, Anne-Julie Raccoursier, Aurélie Strumans.

Guests 2018–19: Madeleine Amsler, Mabe Bethonico, Eduardo Cruces, Kadiatou Diallo, Christophe Fellay, Samia Henni, Anke Hoffmann, Behrouz Kamran, Lucie Kolb, Paul Goodwin, Uriel Orlow, Zen Marie, Patricia Smith, RELAX (Marie-Antoinette Chiarenza, Daniel Hauser).

Application and requirements
Required qualification: Bachelor’s diploma in visual arts and/or equivalent training and experience.
Languages: French and English
Study fees: 1000 CHF per year plus material costs (700 CHF)

Admission conditions, precise dates, registration forms, study plans and timetables can be consulted and downloaded on the édhéa website.