The Bauhaus and Beyond: New Geographies of Cultural Exchange and Artistic Practices

2019 marks the centenary of the Bauhaus, one of the major art and design schools in Europe in the 20th century; and in preparation of the event, Nottingham Contemporary in collaboration with international partners curates an ambitious exhibition and thought-provoking public events revisiting the school legacy. Focusing on the international dissemination and reception of the Bauhaus, a touring exhibition develops in five chapters that extend from Bauhaus education to its diverse histories beyond Europe. Nottingham Contemporary will host this project in Winter 2019, and research and other activities undertaken for this PhD will contribute to Nottingham Contemporary’s chapter of this project. The successful applicant will work with the Nottingham Contemporary curator team to devise and deliver a public programme of events (such as talks, seminars, conferences, and performances) and to contribute to the design of the exhibition.

This practice-based PhD will extend across several disciplinary fields, including visual cultures, cultural studies, post-colonial studies and ‘the curatorial’ to critically investigate and propose new readings around, through and beyond the Bauhaus school. Applicants are invited to consider how the Bauhaus’ entanglements with knowledge production, cultural exchange, and artistic practices across the world can be re-situated in the contexts of colonial and postcolonial networks of influence, as well as in relation to other contemporary geopolitical forces and movements. By critically contextualising the Bauhaus within a broader programme of modernity, this project will allow art-historical hierarchies to be challenged, especially those relating to the centres and margins of artistic and cultural production.

The successful applicant will work with supervisors to determine the final shape and scope of the core research to be undertaken for this project. However, we welcome applications that consider one or more of the following themes:

● Bauhaus geographies beyond Europe

● Global networks of art practices and knowledge production in the 20th and 21st centuries

● Bauhaus’s engagement with colonial and postcolonial geopolitics

● ‘The Curatorial’ as an investigative and critical practice.

This fully-funded PhD is a collaboration between NTU’s Schools of Art & Design and Arts & Humanities, led by Cuneyt Cakirlar; and Nottingham Contemporary’s Public Programmes and Research Department, led by Carolina Rito. The successful applicant will join vibrant research communities in the Schools of Art & Design and Arts & Humanities at NTU. Staff and postgraduate researchers work collaboratively with many regional, national, and international partners, resulting in a thriving research culture which provides outstanding collaborative opportunities and offers excellent opportunities for participating in a wide range of cultural and creative activities. Nottingham Contemporary opened in 2009 and is an international arts centre which hosts several internationally-significant exhibitions each year. Its artistic, learning, and public programmes allow diverse audiences to engage with ideas and practices relating to contemporary art and culture. Nottingham Contemporary is one of the founding partners of the Midlands3Cities Doctoral Training Partnership.