Barbara Putz-Plecko
Contextual, transdisciplinary and transcultural artistic practices and artistic strategies in communities and systems; Arts Education science
Contextual, transdisciplinary and transcultural artistic practices and artistic strategies in communities and systems; Arts Education science
Barbara Putz-Plecko, an artist and professor at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, has been Vice Rector for Research, chairwoman at the Institut für Kunstwissenschaft, Kunstpädagogik und Kunstvermittlung (Institute for Arts Science, Arts Education and Arts Mediation) since 2007, and is head of the Kunst und kommunikative Praxis (Arts and Communicative Practice) and Textil (Textile) departments (the artistic education of students qualifying for teaching arts at schools).
She focuses on contextual, transdisciplinary and transcultural artistic practices and the potential of artistic strategies in communities and systems. In the context of various international projects she has been cooperating with different academic and non-academic institutions as well as NGOs – as an initiator, a project partner, and as a supervisor. With regards to content, her projects highlight the differentiated work on concepts and artistic forms of practice within collaborations and participation, with empowerment strategies and potentials of transformation relating to concrete contexts. These cooperations involve partnerships both in Europe, Africa, South America, Asia, and the US.
Barbara Putz-Plecko is also very committed to contemporary arts education science which knows its potentials and how to bring them into society, as well as advocating for school development and a new learning culture.
She was a member of the expert commission of the bm:ukk (Federal Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture) 2007/2008 and wrote the background report on cultural education for the Council of Europe, Strasbourg/Paris 2008/2009.
Her publications in the last decade mostly discuss education discourse, the future of schools and universities and arts education as a critical practice.