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The Parallel School of Art
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'Parallel School of Art in Berlin, July 2010 (book binding workshop)'
The Parallel School of Art engages in collaborative workshops and projects that explore and redefine models of learning.
The Parallel School of Art was initially a name to legitimate an action - a way of "broadening our education from the schools we were studying in". It's the idea of having people in different places, working and thinking in parallel on the same activity and coming together for shared moments on a blog or in person. Evolving from a self-initiated workshop exchange between graphic design students from ENSAD, Paris and the RCA, London, it now includes artists and theorists from several countries.
The most recent week-long workshop was organised in Berlin by a student from UDK. The structure for the week was purposefully light: no curriculum was set in advance and participants were invited to bring with them ideas for events. Each morning, during round-table discussions, common interests were discerned and collaborative groups formed to develop new works that afternoon. During such events there are no students or teachers but a constant flow of speaking and listening, giving and receiving. Through engaging in this parallel model of self-education, it has been possible to develop perspectives beyond the methodologies of each student's own university.
The Parallel School also includes recent graduates meaning that the institutional connection is of secondary importance. Samuel Bonnet, who also works as a lecturer, states that "even now when I organise events in Paris, I invite my students too. I prefer to stay a student and work with them as equals."
From an interview with Samuel Bonnet, Mafalda Dâmaso and Mael Fournier-Comte.
Pippa Koszerek
Pippa Koszerek is an artist and curator based in London. She co-founded the Independent Art School (www.independent-art-school.org.uk) in 1999 as a student protest.
First published: Research papers March 2011
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