Academy of Contemporary Art and Creative Writing

• Bachelor in Comtemporary Art.
  The comtemporary art programme aims to educate artists on a high professional level and contribute new expertise in the field of contemporary art. The programme is designed to promote social engagement through self-development, and fundamental analytical and communication tools. Multifarious knowledge from both social and natural sciences is be integrated with the art-specific. Theory is intertwined with practice.
  The Academy have expressed interest and will to cooperate with the Faculty of Art and Design at the University of Lapland in establishing the Barents Region Art Education (BARE) - cfr. Email correspondence with Maria Huhmarniemi - dec. 2009.

• Master in Contemporary Art.

Application dealine, September 15th 2011, more information: www.kunstakademietitromso.no

•Subjects in Creative Writing - basic course 60 credits, extensive course 30 credits.

PROFILE

The Academy of Fine Art aims to educate artists on a high professional level and contribute new expertise in the field of contemporary art. Key values are artistic integrity and freedom.

The Academy is the world's northernmost art academy. The setting is Tromsø in North Norway, the Gateway to the Arctic. The city serves as a natural focal point in the circumpolar area.

The region possesses a great wealth of both natural and cultural resources. The landscape is spectacular and full of contrasts. It is sparsely settled, yet socially and culturally complex and characterized by environmental adaptation.

In this setting the Academy of Fine Art is to develop new forms of artistic practice. What is needed are adventurous and critical contemporary artists with sensitivity of context.

The Academy of Fine Art is to be an innovative center of contemporary art. The size and character of Tromsø make it an ideal setting for a committed and active presence. The academic and cultural establishments of the city form natural points of association.With local and regional conditions as a foundation, and in the understanding of the complexity of place, lies the potential for a global orientation. The Academy is to be a forum with students and staff working in, and gaining experience from, international contexts.

Through active participation and cooperation the Academy of Fine Art will form associations and networks. Insight into cultural, social and ethnic disparities increases the potential for a sustainable practice of art. The understanding of the connections between nature and culture - human ecology - is to be emphasised.

Studies at the Academy are to promote social engagement through self-development, and fundamental analytical and communication tools. Multifarious knowledge from both social and natural sciences will be integrated with the art-specific.  Theory is intertwined with practice.

The Academy of Fine Art will demand a considerable degree of independence as well as skills of orientation, articulation and project management. An organizational structure which is fundamentally extroverted, mobile and flexible will ensure student impact and opportunities for artistic development.

(Resolution by Tromsø University College Board October 19 2006)

Learning by Doing: Reflections on Setting Up a New Art Academy
(Article by Nicolas Siepen and Åsa Sonjasdotter)