PostcARTs from Salzburg

A project developed in the seminar ‚Speaking and Writing about Art in English’

Speaking and Writing about Art in English, a course offered as part of the study focus Cultural Production and Arts Management at the University of Salzburg in cooperation with the Mozarteum University, guides students towards a practical application of English. How do we talk and write about art? What specific vocabulary is called for, what styles and types of speaking and writing are necessary when speaking and writing about art, marketing artists and managing culture? In order to answer these questions, the course includes a review of grammar, an introduction to editing and style guides, practice speaking in groups and in front of an audience, as well as workshops with guest lecturers and artists. At the same time, the main focus is the students’ collaboration on a project.
Students decide on a project and then figure out how they want to realize this project. Along the way, they have to navigate the process of group collaboration, identify and implement the different stages of production, and deal with any obstacles: and all of this in English. What students take away from the course is the experience of carrying out a project in an artistic and cultural context using English as the project language, with guidance throughout.
The seminar has been offered since 2014. Projects have included such diverse endeavours as collaboratively creating CVs and texts for artists, hosting a panel discussion, publishing a book with transcripts of Skype interviews with artists from around the world and launching a postcard series promoting the Salzburg art and culture scene, which will be discussed in depth here. Although each project is different, they are all intended to foster the same skills: speaking and writing about art in English.

Kulturlandkarte Salzburg

Carina Samitz, Manuela Seethaler, Katharina Steinhauser, Julija Krištof ( 2017): PostcARTs from Salzburg. A project developed in the seminar ‚Speaking and Writing about Art in English’. In: p/art/icipate – Kultur aktiv gestalten # 08 , https://www.p-art-icipate.net/postcarts-from-salzburg/