Weissensee Kunsthochschule Berlin

Mission Statement

The foundation for its combination of theory and practice in the curriculum was laid more than 50 years ago and is just as relevant today. Students will eventually decide on a specialization, but all of them will start with a one-year interdisciplinary program covering the basic principles of art and design. To engage with themes and develop ideas, students are offered a broad range of courses in theory as well as opportunities to do practical as well as project-oriented work. This unparalleled interdisciplinary approach is supported by the academy's thirteen workshops and studios.

The exchange of ideas between the different disciplines is encouraged and supported all the way to the point when students finish their degrees. It enables them to develop the ability to think across boundaries, to take responsibility for contemporary problems, and to cooperate with a diversity of social groups. These overarching goals and the exposure to working with concrete problems provide students with unique challenges and promote imagination, creativity, and social responsibility.

International Role

The Weißensee Academy of Art Berlin, embedded in a regional and international network of cooperative ventures and partnerships, promotes collaboration among institutions. On the one side this should jointly develop issues and projects, on the other side it should enable students to participate in diverse activities and supports their endeavors. The cooperation with art academies in the whole world concerns aspects of mobility during the study as well as aspects of activities concerning different cultures. Not at least it promotes the cultural exchange at the academy itself because more than 30 per cent of the students are international. 

National Role

Weißensee Kunsthochschule Berlin contributes its expertise in the development of innovative concepts that combine design, technology, material and application. Its expertise ranges from materials research with a focus on textiles and sustainability to design development, prototyping and design-in-tech start-up support. The research area DXM – Design and Experimental Materials Research focuses on the topics of society & environment, health, acoustics, smart materials, adaptive and active façade systems and design thinking, among others. As an EXIST Gründerhochschule, the university contributes to the competitiveness of the creative and start-up metropolis Berlin. It is also a research partner in the Cluster of Excellence 'Matters of Activity. Image Space Material.' cluster of excellence at Humboldt University Berlin, where it pursues the interdisciplinary transfer of knowledge on a sustained basis.

As consortium leader of the BMBF-funded project 'Textile Prototyping Lab', since 2017 the university has been working with renowned research institutes (Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration, Sächsisches Textilforschungsinstitut, Textile Research Institute Thuringia-Vogtland) and the Prototypes Collective (formerly Fab Lab Berlin) and is testing new forms of cooperation in the context of textile development projects under the open innovation approach in cooperation with stakeholders from research, industry and the textile sector, with the aim of conducting interdisciplinary research into innovative textile solutions.

Main Focus

The main focus in this context, is innovation – and transdiscpline, real world relevant research and innovation collaborations.