Berlin Weissensee School of Art

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.

Because of its network of international partners and collaborators, the weißensee academy of art berlin can offer a multitude of opportunities for students to be mobile and participate in intercultural exchanges. The global approach is evident in the high number of international students on the campus.

Studying at the weißensee academy of art berlin offers a unique opportunity and ideal conditions for all those who believe that art and society are mutually dependent.

The weißensee academy of art berlin was founded in 1946, during a difficult and turbulent phase of Germany’s rebuilding, by artists with affiliations to the Bauhaus. Two of the first rectors were the Dutch designer and architect Mart Stam (1899–1986) and the ceramicist Jan Bontjes van Beek (1899–1962). The Academy, then known as the “Art School of the North” was provisionally housed in the former Trumpf chocolate factory. Professor Selman Selmanagic, the Bauhaus architect and director of the School’s architecture department, enlarged it in the 1950s, when it became the East Berlin Academy of Art. The entire architectural ensemble is now under landmark protection.

After German reunification, parts of the Campus were modernized and several new buildings were added. Two buildings for the departments of painting and sculpture opened their doors in 2011. The auditorium Selmanagic built in 1956 was restored thanks to funding from the Wüstenrot Foundation monuments program; it reopened in 2012. Currently 850 students benefit from the excellent educational facilities in Berlin Weissensee.