Master of Fine Arts

A call to study in our master programme. Our master’s programme proposes itself as an activation of the constitutive principles of kinship. We see these two years of studying as an opportunity to comprehend how nature and gender are transformative forces of artistic practice as a whole. To study also means to collectivize the questions that concern you, giving them a social and practical context. To study gives you a horizon full of possibilities: it is a time when we might gain an image and idea of the future role of art and artists as well as our chances inside a system in transformation. The permanent teachers, the very numerous guests, the very closely conceived mentoring of you and your practice, the exhibitions and projects inside and outside the Institute Art Gender Nature at the Basel Academy of Art and Design FHNW, the specially designed symposia… all are oriented toward a very personal and attentive exchange. The bonds made during this time are reinforced so as to support you for a long time, to give you a field of reference and to make you feel you can always return to them when you need advice. We are concerned with questions such as: Where and how does reciprocity take place? Why is this an essential trait of an art practice situated at the core of the social? How do our studies help us to collectively overcome anxiety? How is art a strength and a language that opens up many relevant realms in our understanding of life, life as science, life as the social, life as experience, life as labor, life as nature? How can art be the very fluid substance we need to propagate future identities? How can art make technology a better space, and a more diverse set of languages? —Chus Martínez, Head of the Institute Art Gender Nature, Basel Academy of Art and Design FHNW.

Community
One of the most significative traits of our programme is the nearness to our students. Access to collective and individual presentations of your work, conversation and dialogue about the aspects you are considering in your artistic practice as well as your references and ambitions are central to the programme. Phoenix Atala, Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, Onome Ekeh, Astrit Ismaili, Roman Kurzmeyer, Quinn Latimer, Chus Martínez, Filipa Ramos, Mathilde Rosier, and Yvonne Volkart form the lecturers’ community of our master’s programme. They, the technical experts and the flow of guests from different fields, are there to help you gain a comprehension of your work’s possibilities, but also of its social and political contexts.

Skills
The technical workshops available are an important asset of the study programme. From digital tools to wood, metal, and sculpture workshops, everything is offered so as to experiment and understand materials and their possibilities. Addressing our relationship with nature and our responsibility with the planet also implies understanding how art and artists might work in ways less damaging to life. Skills need to be understood as a form of relation with techniques, with technology, with matter, with space… The goal here is to modify our perception and realize our relation, making us more receptive to better material practices.

Two-year cycle
The difference between the two years of studies is that the first is a bit more full of course work, and the second more centered around the production of the project you will graduate with. Otherwise, the two groups are very close—and close as well with the bachelor students. The access to projects and opportunities to exhibit are open to all. The graduation exhibition is always curated in collaboration with international guest curators, and takes place at Kunsthaus Baselland, a renowned institution for contemporary art. This exhibition is prepared with great care and with several production and assessment meetings. It is always well attended by both local and international visitors, giving us all another chance to address what we did and the values that animate our making.

The application deadline is March 15, 2023, with the MA programme beginning in September 2023. Additional information and application here.

Visit the virtual campus of the Basel Academy of Art and Design FHNW.

Get to know all the master programmes of Basel Academy of Art and Design FHNW: Digital Communication Environments, Fine Arts, Masterstudio Experimental Design, Masterstudio Fashion Design, Masterstudio Industrial Design, Masterstudio Scenography, Arts and Design Education (Teaching Diploma for Secondary Schools).

About studying at Basel Academy of Art and Design FHNW
The Basel Academy of Art and Design is linked with other universities and academies, in Switzerland and abroad. Ties with renowned schools and universities in Europe, the United States, and Asia provide an opportunity to study your subject from a different viewpoint and against a new cultural background. At the same time, the Academy welcomes candidates from other Swiss universities and from abroad to study here in Basel. You will find more information here.