Organizer Information
This opportunity is organized by the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), one of Europe’s leading institutions for higher education in the arts, design, and media. The program is delivered through its Continuing Education division, which focuses on advanced professional training, interdisciplinary research, and practice-based learning for cultural practitioners.
ZHdK is internationally recognized for its strong emphasis on experimentation, transdisciplinary collaboration, and socially engaged artistic research. Its Continuing Education Centre develops specialized modules and summer schools that connect academic inquiry with contemporary artistic and curatorial practice. The institution regularly collaborates with practitioners across art, design, architecture, and cultural theory, positioning itself as a key European hub for critical cultural education.
Title & Description
Baustein 12 – Encounters with Taste: Arts, Food, Political Ecology Summer School Zurich 2026
“Encounters with Taste” is an advanced interdisciplinary Summer School and Research-based program exploring food and taste as aesthetic, social, and political fields within contemporary art and Curatorial practice.
The program investigates how culinary practices function as artistic strategies to address urgent global issues such as sustainability, ecological responsibility, care economies, and global political structures. It situates food not only as material or medium but as a relational system where power, knowledge, and cultural narratives intersect.
Participants will engage with historical and contemporary case studies that examine how artists and curators use food-related practices to critically intervene in systems of production and distribution, including global supply chains, extractivism, and postcolonial structures.
Through a combination of theoretical sessions, lectures, collaborative formats, and culinary experiences, the program provides participants with critical tools to understand food as a site of artistic, ecological, and political inquiry.
Categories
- Interdisciplinary Arts
- Curatorial
- Research
- Design
- Architecture
- Writing
- Performance
- Workshop
- Education
- Culture
- Environment
- Visual Arts
Eligibility
- Open to international participants
- Suitable for curators, artists, researchers, designers, architects, cultural producers, chefs, and mediators
- Transdisciplinary practitioners working at the intersection of art, ecology, and social practice
- No strict academic degree requirement specified
- Both emerging and professional practitioners are welcome
- Participants are encouraged to bring their own project or research idea
Program Benefits & Awards
- Participation in an intensive international Summer School
- Access to lectures, theory sessions, and curated case studies
- Engagement with leading researchers and guest lecturers
- Exposure to interdisciplinary methods linking art, ecology, and food systems
- Site visits to cultural institutions in Zurich
- Participation in collaborative and experiential culinary formats
- Professional development in Research-based and socially engaged artistic practice
Application Fee
- Standard fee: CHF 850 per module
- Discounted fee (Netzhdk members): CHF 800
- Early-bird fee (until June 5, 2026): CHF 800 (CHF 750 for members)
Application Requirements
- Online application form via ZHdK system (ONLA)
- Personal information and registration details
- Optional project description or idea submission is recommended
- ZHdK login or SWITCH edu-ID required for access
- Valid email address for confirmation and communication
How to Apply?
Online Application
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 7 August 2026
- Program Dates: 28–30 August 2026
- Early-Bird Deadline: 5 June 2026
- Notification Date: Not specified (rolling confirmation via system)
- Course Duration: 3 days
Location
Zurich, Switzerland
Additional Details
This Summer School combines theoretical inquiry with embodied and experiential learning formats. Participants will explore how food functions as a medium of artistic production and political expression.
Key program components include:
- Lectures and theory sessions on food systems and political ecology
- Case study analysis of artistic and curatorial food practices
- Collaborative workshops and group discussions
- Culinary experiences integrated into learning modules
- Visits to Zurich-based art and cultural institutions
The program is conducted in English. Participants are encouraged to bring an existing project or conceptual idea to develop throughout the course.
Administrative policies include standard cancellation rules, with partial or full fee obligations depending on the timing of withdrawal.