HEAD – Genève, Geneva School of Art and Design, and the Istituto Svizzero di Roma are proud to announce their second Summer Academy, to be held at Villa Maraini, Rome, from 10 to 15 July 2017. The first session, titled Constellations, originated in the relationships in between art and astronomy. This new program also lies in between art and science, but turns inwards, in order to explore another unknown, partly unmapped universe, which is in the meantime the object of scientific investigations as well as contemporary artistic experimentations: our brain.

Organized in collaboration with EPFL ArtLab, this week of interdisciplinary work relies on a series of recent artistic experiences which take the nervous system as a site. It also sheds light on the interconnections in between history of sciences, arts and technologies, lines that meet at cross points where the conceptual mind/machine couple forms itself. Then, HEAD x ISR Summer Academy II is also the occasion to echo the importance of the development, in Western Switzerland, of major researches on the human brain, incarnated by the famous Blue Brain and Human Brain Projects. 

The HEAD x ISR Summer Academy is open to MA Fine Arts students from all art schools in Switzerland, in particular HES-SO, who are currently studying or who graduated less than two years ago. Twelve students will be selected upon presentation of a draft project relating to the theme of the 2017 Summer Academy, a resume and a portfolio of practical and/or theoretical work (in French and English). All contributors and participants will receive room and board onsite at the Istituto Svizzero di Roma. The aim for all participants will be to outline a research draft and project plan that is at the crossroads of arts and sciences, in association with the guest faculty. 

This pilot Summer Academy will take the form of a variable geometry temporary studio, linking together different timescales, team configurations. It gives each day a different invidual the leadership on the organization of the activities, and continuously varies the forms of transmission. Morning sessions will focus on collective work, afternoon sessions on one-on-one meetings and individual work, while evenings will be dedicated to discussions, screenings, unplanned activities that might occur during the week, initiated by the participants themselves: the programme is also meant to be an area of cooperation and experimentation. 

This year, the programme has been elaborated by Yann Chateigné, art historian and curator, Dean of the Visual Arts Department at HEAD – Genève.

Guests 
Sean Hill, co-director of the Blue Brain Project, Campus Biotech, Geneva
Joachim Koester, artist (Copenhagen, New York)
Pia Lindman, artist, researcher, professor (Aalto University, Helsiniki)
Jelena Martinovic, historian of sciences (UNIL-CHUV, Lausanne, Harvard University, Boston)
Gianni Gastaldi, Postdoctoral researcher. ETH Zurich, Chair of History and Philosophy of Mathematical Sciences (D-GESS), Professor of Philosophy, Aesthetics and History of Ideas ; Head of the Research Department. Fine Art School of Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole (Esbama).
Raimundas Malasauskas, curator (Bruxelles)
David Zerbib, philosopher, professor (HEAD – Genève)

Specifications 
Deadline for the submission of applications: June 25th 2017 
Conditions for participation: students currently enrolled or having graduated less than two years ago from all art schools in Switzerland may apply. 
Portfolio: portfolio in PDF (maximum size: 10Mo), resume, draft project (length: 2 pages maximum), copy of student card or diploma. 
Languages: French / English 
Contribution towards travel and living costs: CHF 150

Applications should be sent to :
HEAD – Genève, Haute école d'art et de design
Yann Chateigné, Head of Fine Arts Department 
Boulevard Helvétique 9
1205 Genève