Aktion W.

Society for Artistic Design Studies (GKG e.V.)
Conference and workshop program hosted by Prof. Heinrich Weid and Linda Nadji,
Department of Plastic Arts at the University of Wuppertal.
To the lecturers of the GKG e.V.

Two-day conference with workshops involving students from the University of Wuppertal.
Thursday, June 25 – June 26, 2026

Prof. Sybil Kohl, University of Stuttgart, President of GKG e.V.
Prof. Heike Kern, Technical University of Kaiserslautern
Prof. Andreas Kaiser, Mainz University of Applied Sciences
Artistic Assistant Pirmin Wollensack, University of Stuttgart,
Ph.D. candidate Christina Klug, RWTH Aachen
Prof. Jo Achermann, University of Technology and Applied Sciences Cottbus
Prof. Nora Fuchs, Faculty of Design, Dortmund

The conference was prompted by the announced closure of the Faculty of Architecture in Wuppertal, which has since been scaled back to a reduction in artistic instruction within the colleague’s department in the foundational training of architecture students. The importance of free creative teaching was examined from various perspectives. The conference program began with the practical application of various methods of perception as a central element of the artistic perspective and research. Each lecturer led a workshop focusing on a specific perspective on the question of artistic perception.

From the invitation text, authored by Heinrich Weid:

Conference Schedule:
The students work under the motto: “The Courage to Express Ourselves: We produce something that is not evaluated.”
What happens when technical aspects take center stage and “self-determining factors, such as artistic reflection on the times, the generation, society, and ecological challenges” recede into the background?
Agenda:
Relating art to the disciplines that are being phased out. This profession should be able to assess what beauty is in conjunction with construction and utility. This means that an artistic perspective should be developed to such an extent (in the sense of education) that it can conceive of things—even to the point of reversal, or particularly in terms of changing or adapting existing value systems. This makes an educational process—rather than a training process—indispensable. Reducing artistic curriculum content and discussion time by half and supplementing it with externally procured instruction diminishes central and decisive strengths. This strength must be drawn primarily from an artistic reflection and perspective. The necessary inquiry, questioning, and cooperation—especially with technical disciplines—is rooted in a fundamentally artistic nature and culture: namely, thinking about things in new and unexpected ways, and, when necessary, thinking freely and with a complete willingness to question.
Arguments for the Importance of Artistic Practice in Architectural Education
(from the students’ perspective) as part of the statement.
Location:
Along the suspension railway (this year’s semester theme)
Procedure:
In small groups, a GkG lecturer will assign a task, which the students will then work on for approximately one hour. Afterward, the small group will reflect on the task and draft a joint statement.
In the subsequent meeting of all groups at the School of Architecture, attended by all
facilitators and students, the various works—which illustrate the complexity of the different images and materials used—will be reviewed, and a statement will be presented on “the culture of perception & social inquiry and the artistic processes involved.”
End of quote, author Prof. Heinrich Weid.

Following the workshops, the lecturers discussed the workshop sessions they had led; this was followed by a tour of the department and the workshops, as well as a joint visit to the exhibition by Rebecca Horn and the Tony Cragg Park. Despite the 38-degree outdoor temperature, the conference and workshops were successful, fostering dialogue and yielding new perspectives and insights into the importance of artistic design within the context of architectural education.

https://www.kuenstlerischegestaltungslehren.de/