Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna has over the past two decades focused on critical positions in the arts, especially regarding the articulation of / advocacy for minoritarian social groups, including issues of migration. This focus is emphasized not only in the production of its artistic departments, but both on a reflective level in the programmatic dedication of the Institute for Art Theory and Cultural Studies, as well as in hands-on engagement in practical situations like the refugee wave of summer 2015, or participative activism like the refugee protest camp Votivpark in 2012, a scholarship for students from non-Western countries, participation in the project MORE - Flüchtlingsinitiative der Universitäten to provide free access to lectures for refugees, and the initiative for Magdas Hotel (in cooperation with Caritas a.o.).
The Fashion and Style Department in particular offers numerous courses that deal with the conditions of textile production, implying an occupation with postcolonial theories as well as participatory projects with related social groups, mostly with migratory backgrounds. The results of this work have been publications (e.g. Aesthetic Politics in Fashion by Elke Gaugele, 2015; Vienna Zocalo - Critical Crafting as a (post)colonial Strategy, 2012 and Fashion Revolution Wien, 2016), public events such as presentations, exhibitions or symposia, and mediation programs in schools.