The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna has been a leading European training centre for artists for more than 300 years. More than 1,400 students and a teaching staff of about 450 make the Academy one of Europe’s largest universities. Today, we offer a variety of courses which range from painting and sculpture to photography and video, performance and conceptual art, and also includes architecture, scenography and restoration. Closely linked to this is the training of art teachers, which we regard as an essential contribution to the communication of art. As a university, the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna attaches great importance to a research-driven teaching programme. The research activity of the art academy aims at redefining artistic production processes in a changed, globalised society. Its research findings are integrated into the teaching activities in various ways and are also communicated to a wider public through exhibitions, symposia, lectures and a publication series. The formulation of a complex understanding of art for our knowledge-based society is something we regard as an essential task of the Academy, alongside the training of our students.