Engaging Angewandte Perspectives of Professional Practice: Summer School 2026
Organized by the Department Support Art and Research and Alumni Association ARTist
What does
it mean to be engaged? How do we shape the instruments through which we shape reality? How do we recognise and develop our
own potential? What are the perspectives of artists, researchers, designers, and creatives today? How can you actively engage
with your artistic and professional future?
Join us for a three-day summer
school bringing together artists, researchers, designers, and creatives from across disciplines. Through workshops, discussions,
and collaborative exchange, we will explore the many perspectives that unfold throughout a creative career - from artistic
empowerment, professional practice, research, and project development to project realisation. The programme is complemented
by expert sessions on self-employment, social insurance, taxation, and other practical aspects of professional life.
The summer school connects promise with engagement, ideas with opportunities, and individual development with societal impact.
It offers a space to reflect on your own practice, expand your network, and develop new perspectives for your future life
and work.
Registration
until August 16
FOCUS SESSIONS
Focus Session 1:
Funding Options for Creatives
Vienna Business Agency
Provides an overview of what creatives need
to know about taxes, social insurance, and navigating the legal frameworks of freelance or self-employed work in Austria.
This session aims to clarify key obligations and empower you to manage your professional responsibilities with confidence.
Focus Session 2: Self Employment and Entrepreneurship
Kreativwirtschaft Austria - WKO
Introduces key concepts, basic skills, and first steps in starting a creative business or freelance practice. Join us for
‘Self Employment and Entrepreneurship’—a foundational session on how to start and sustain your creative practice as a business.
Focus Session 3: Taxes and Social Insurance
Clemens Malainer
The Austrian social
security and tax system can sometimes be overwhelming due to complex regulations. This session provides an overview of what
creatives need to know about taxes, social insurance, and navigating the legal frameworks of employment, freelance or self-employed
work in Austria. This session aims to clarify key obligations and empower you to manage your professional responsibilities
with more confidence.
WORKSHOPS
Perspective I: Perspectives of Professional
Practice
Alexandra Graupner and Angelika Zelisko
Gain insights into self-determined and competent
professional practices. This session offers tools, reflections and guidance on project management, communication strategies,
and navigating the institutional landscape, plus tips on financing, self-employment, and getting started with confidence.
Perspective II: Realizing Art Projects as Professional Practice
Karl Salzmann
Learn
how to turn artistic ideas into tangible projects by exploring the intersection of artistic vision and professional practice.
This session focuses on project planning, funding strategies, and implementation approaches—bridging creative work with practical
frameworks.
Perspective III: Valuing Ideas / Scientific and Artistic Research
Alexander
Damianisch
Explore how to shape and communicate your ideas as the starting point for future research. In this session,
we’ll focus on artistic research as a distinct and powerful approach within academia. You’ll gain insights into the Austrian
research landscape, including funding opportunities like the PEEK programme, and learn how to frame your ideas in ways that
resonate with evaluators and collaborators alike.
Perspective IV: Artistic Empowerment / Creative Confidence
Wolfgang Fiel
Discover how to navigate new contexts and empower yourself as an artist. This session explores
ways to shape your professional future beyond the traditional art market, focusing on self-determined paths that resist economic
exploitation and support sustainable artistic practice.
WHY JOIN?
This summer school is more than a course—it’s a space to reflect, connect, go beyond and grow. Through workshops,
inputs, discussions, and shared experiences, we’ll explore the potential of ideas, self-empowerment, critical thinking, creative
action, cooperation and networking. Together, we’ll address the question: What opportunities for professional practice will
be provided and available in the future? Whether you’re seeking orientation, inspiration, or a deeper understanding of your
strengths, this program offers a supportive environment to develop ideas and envision your next steps.
PRACTICAL
INFORMATION
Who Can Join: Artists, designers, and creatives from all disciplines
Cost:
The summer school is free of charge.
Attendance: We kindly request continuous attendance throughout
the programme if possible. Let us know, if you can only join the programme partially. A certificate of participation will
be provided if you attended at least 3 workshops and 2 Focus Sessions.
Contact: Department Support Art
and Research, perspectives@uni-ak.ac.at
Note: confirmation of registration is expected until August 20. If there are more registrations than seats, we will make
a selection based on your answers in the registration form. 
