Master of Arts in Public Spheres + Sound (MAPS+S)

MAPS+S, Master of Arts in Public Spheres + Sound, is geared to artists who wish to explore the relationship between art, sound and environmental, political, cultural, and media-related dimensions of the public sphere. The multi-sited two-year program is part of the HES-SO University of Applied Arts and Sciences.

As part of EDHEA, the Valais School of Arts, MAPS+S is located in the town of Sierre / Valais. Surrounded by an alpine landscape, the valley is also witness to (post-)industrial development and has become an international laboratory for studying the effects of climate change. Situated at the crossroads between several language borders, Sierre is well connected to various regions of Switzerland as well as to Italy and France and thus offers access to a broad view on cultural practices. From here we operate, providing the basic infrastructure and spanning a network with national and international institutions as well as independent art spaces or initiatives with which MAPS+S has built a sustainable network.

Collaboration with residency programs such as Ferme Asile (Sion), Volumes Art Book Fair, Biennale Son (Valais) and La Becque (La Tour-de-Peilz) enables a fluid transition between the program and subsequent artistic careers. The sustainability of the program also relies on the regular contributions of guests such as Noor Abuarafeh, Dominique Koch, Marina Rosenfeld and Nicole L’Huillier, as well as alumni, whom MAPS+S supports as artists, cultural agents, and co-researchers. MAPS+S students have contributed to many exhibitions, including the Venice Biennale and the Berlin Biennale, as well as independent projects, artist initiatives, and the founding of publishing houses.

MAPS+S foregrounds traveling and displacing as part of its experimental, sound-based approach to artistic research and is composed of eight stations per year, each consisting of 7-10 days, in which the student’s work becomes a starting point for continuous reflections and artistic exchange. These fluid node points with their various forms of (un-)learning include research activities, seminars and workshops, screenings, performances, exhibition making, collective and face-to-face discussions. Stations conceived by visiting lecturers, students and tutors foster highly concentrated and convivial moments during which the participants interrogate the public spheres. They intervene artistically and with the means of sound by investigating environmentally and socially engaged art practices, considering writing and publishing as an artistic practice, and adopting alternative approaches to pedagogy. Since sound and listening practices are a key focus at EDHEA (which also offers a Bachelor program in fine Arts specialized in sound) the MAPS+S students can also exchange with the respective Bachelor teachers and benefit from the specific high-quality infrastructure.

In between the stations, the artists continue their research individually or within self-organized study groups, a process that is supported by tutors. Due to the program’s plurinational context, collective exchange usually takes place in English. However, navigating in between linguistic spaces has become a common practice.

Current research questions investigated by the faculty include art and labour, politics of attention, environmental crises, speculative narratives, transformation through repetition, critical site specificities as well as feminist, post and decolonial art histories.

Admission is competitive. Qualifications required: arts or applied arts school diploma, university degree in a related field or equivalent training or experience.

EDHEA
EDHEA—The Valais School of Art also offers a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts, a Bachelor’s degree in Sound Arts, vocational training in graphic design, and a foundation course in Art & Design. Part of the school, the IRAV (Institut de recherche en Arts Visuels) provides a space for idea-sharing and transdisciplinary creations. The Institute’s activities are closely aligned with the teaching program, its topics, and the methodologies designed for the Fine Arts Bachelor’s degree program and the Master of Arts in Public Spheres + Sound. IRAV fosters research and innovation in the visual arts, contributing to the academic and professional development of students and researchers.