BERN.- The Sommerakademie im Zentrum Paul Klee is an annual international platform for contemporary art that focuses on exploring current thinking about art. Using professional training, promotion, sponsorship and mediation, the Sommerakademie aims to promote both artistic productivity and reflection on art among artists, and at the same time allows the public to be part of this process. Every year in August, the Sommerakademie invites emerging artists and curators to Berne to work with well-known figures from the international art scene, in a ten day seminar focused around a specific topic. The activities of the Sommerakademie im Zentrum Paul Klee are an integral part of the basic general concept of the Zentrum Paul Klee. The Sommerakademie im Zentrum Paul Klee represents the Cantonal Bank of Berne’s BEKB | BCBE (Berner Kantonalbank AG) commitment to training.

During this year’s Sommerakademie, twelve Fellows will explore the field of art education, together with the renowned Swiss Artist and Guest Curator Pipilotti Rist and collaborative Guest Curator Franziska Dürr. The circle of art production will be traced through curation, art education, observation, understanding, oral and visual feedback, and back to production. Art affects the viewer and vice versa. This interaction is visible. The curators, artists, art educators and the audience are involved in this process. The orbits of art and art viewing are being made visible; the artists look for feedback and incorporate the results in their own work. This in turn enables new forms of participation. The workshops 12 meet 12 will give groups of twelve participants from both art related and non-art related backgrounds the chance to see the Fellows’ contributions and give feedback.

This year’s excursion will take the Fellows to the Berner Oberland. The programme includes brunch on the Niesen, a boat trip on Lake Thun and visits to the Thun Panorama and the art museum Thun.

The Sommerakademie 2011 will be curated by Pipilotti Rist, together with collaborative guest curator, Franziska Dürr.

The Sommerakademie places great emphasis on its links with the local community. In addition to its partnership with the Zentrum Paul Klee, the Sommerakademie will also be cooperating with the Stadtgalerie PROGR Bern.

The workshops will take place at the Zentrum Paul Klee and the Children’s museum Creaviva. This year’s programme will feature a series of public events in addition to the artists’ workshops. The opening and closing events and the artists’ presentations will take place in the Zentrum Paul Klee.

Special Event: Video Night, August 24, 2011
The Video Night offers the opportunity to gain an insight into the video work of the Fellows who are participating in the Sommerakademie 2011. The programme shows versatility that merits discovery. We will present ten works by seven Fellows, who reflect the diversity in their cultures within their work and take up a wide range of visual, social and political issues.