W&K-Forum

Places of exchange for research, cultural policy and artistic practice

What happens at the interface between science and art? What different perspectives do scientists and artists take on one and the same topic? Where do the theses of the often seemingly opposing poles support each other, where do they refute each other?
Salzburg can look back on a long and successful cultural and scientific tradition. The inter-university organization Science and Arts, a cooperation between the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg and the Mozarteum University, takes up this tradition, uses it as a source of inspiration and takes a look into the future: in the three focus areas “Figurations of Transition”, “(Inter)Mediation. Music – Mediation – Context” and “Contemporary Arts and Cultural Production”, the two worlds are presented, interwoven, confronted and scrutinised on the basis of current issues. The wide range of courses in science and art is complemented by numerous symposia, conferences and workshops. Under the direction of Thomas Ballhausen, W&K invites students to think outside the box: a rejection of departmentalised thinking and research.

With the W&K Forum series of events, the Inter-University Centre for Science and Art also welcomes the art-loving Salzburg public several times a year. The forum offers a platform for controversial discourse on cultural and socio-political issues at changing venues with various co-operation partners. Outstanding personalities from various disciplines are invited – recognised experts and charismatic mediators of artistic practice and theory-oriented science, who present and discuss the respective topic in a broad social context.