Internationally acclaimed performance artist Marina Abramović commences her work at the Folkwang University of the Arts

Press release, Folkwang Universität der Künste, 14.11.2022

The first Pina Bausch Visiting Professorship kicks off with the Free Interdisciplinary Performance Laboratory for 27 Folkwang students

The Free Interdisciplinary Performance Laboratory (FIPL) with prominent performance artist Marina Abramović kicked off today at the Essen-Werden campus of the Folkwang University of the Arts. Abramović gave a press conference outlining the workshop phases planned for the 2022/23 academic year. It was attended by the FIPL 27 participants – international students from all the Folkwang disciplines of music, theatre, dance, design and academic studies – as well as pioneers and sponsors of the new visiting professorship from the fields of politics and culture. Marina Abramović was joined on stage by the founder and chair of the Pina Bausch Foundation, Salomon Bausch, and Folkwang president, Prof. Andreas Jacob.

The Folkwang University of the Arts has established the new Pina Bausch Visiting Professorship – named after world-famous Folkwang alumna Pina Bausch and in co-operation with the Pina Bausch Foundation – for the 2022/23 winter semester with funding from the NRW state government.

The Pina Bausch Professorship provides an opportunity for internationally acclaimed artists from all disciplines to spend a year at the Folkwang University of the Arts as a visiting professor, collaborating with the students to develop new work methods and applying mindsets and research approaches that transcend all boundaries. To kick off the new professorship, the university has managed to secure internationally acclaimed performance artist Marina Abramović as its first visiting professor.

Four workshop phases at different locations will see Marina Abramović work with 27 selected Folkwang students, including singers, dancers, designers, photographers, actors, directors and composers. The class will generate ideas and create performances as individuals and as a collective. The third working phase will be “Cleaning the House”, a workshop developed by Abramović, in which the students will be led through a series of long durational exercises that improve individual focus, stamina and concentration. This type of preparation is described as a complete internal reset and supports their final creative project. A presentation of work will be presented to the public in July 2023.

The idea for the Pina Bausch Professorship was born of a decades-long connection and artistic co-operation between the Tanztheater Wuppertal, the Pina Bausch Foundation, the Folkwang University of the Arts and the future Pina Bausch Centre, which is currently in the process of being set up. The professorship’s interdisciplinary approach is reflected by the tradition and philosophy of the Folkwang University of the Arts, as well as the name of Pina Bausch, who played a key role in permanently shaping 20th-century dance and theatre culture and which continues to influence the arts, not least through its focus on the body, to this day. But the Pina Bausch Professorship is not about examining her work or who she was as a person; it instead allows artists from all disciplines to freely choose their own topics and tasks. Starting with Marina Abramović, the focus is on the transdisciplinarity, artistic boldness and social commitment of outstanding artists.

The Pina Bausch Professorship is made possible by the North Rhine-Westphalia State Ministry of Culture and Science. The first professorship receives an exceptional funding from the Kunststiftung NRW.

Folkwang Universität der Künste University Communications Unit Head / Press Officer Maiken-Ilke Groß