Course programme 2026

Common Ground
The Summer Academy sees itself as a place of Common Ground and togetherness—a counterpoint to the challenges in the world, formed through a consciously shared culture of discussion, artistic work and personal encounters. Every year, more than 300 students from 50 different countries come to Salzburg, centred on Hohensalzburg Fortress and the Untersberg Quarry. The strength and potential of the Summer Academy lies in the diversity of its participants. This diversity, also in terms of the age and education, leads to a unique exchange in which everyone wins. The conflicts in the world are not decreasing, but rather increasing, which makes it all the more important to consciously understand the Summer Academy as a place of Common Ground, to strengthen and to focus on it.

Invited lecturers are:
Mojé Assefjah (painting), Mirela Baciak / Denis Maksimov (lecture performance), Biennale Urbana (architecture / urbanism), Walter Bruno Brix (free sewing / stitching),  Rossen Daskalov (printmaking), Louisa Elderton (art critique / writing), Julie Hayward (sculpture / object / installation), Benjamin Hirte (sculpture), Thalia Hoffman / Manar Zuabi (food art / performance / mixed-media), Christian Macketanz (painting), Pablo Martínez-Zárate (film / video / sound / installation / interactive media), Christian Kosmas Mayer (sculpture / installation / mixed-media), Peter Miller (analogue film), Stephie Morawetz (art jewellery / performance), Taiwo Jacob Ojudun / Uche Emmanuel Enechukwu (performance / dance / theatre / mixed media), Elizabeth Pich (comic / drawing), Mafalda Rakoš (photography), Heinz Riegler (sound / installation / video / mixed media), Curtis Talwst Santiago (painting / sound), Christian Schwarzwald (drawing), Hannah Tilson / Otis Blease (silk-screen printing).

Further information on all instructors and courses can be found here.

Scholarships
Closing date for applications: April 7, 2026. The Summer Academy offers numerous scholarships, most of which cover the course fees, while a few include travel and accommodation costs. Scholarships are awarded by an independent jury of experts.

For further information and online scholarship application.

Regular application
Closing date: May 1, 2026. Application is open to all, since no qualifications are required. Each course instructor will decide, on the basis of work and documents submitted, on acceptance of applicants. All applications received by 1 May will be treated equally. Later applications will be accepted according to capacity, and processed in the order in which they are received.

Course fees
Two-week course: 670 Euro (reduced: 495 Euro) / Three-week course: 890 Euro (reduced: 635 Euro). Reduced fees apply to students, social welfare recipients and members of the Society of Friends of the Summer Academy. For further information and online application.

International Summer Academy of Fine Arts since 1953
The International Summer Academy of Fine Arts in Hohensalzburg Fortress, founded in 1953 by the famous Austrian artist Oskar Kokoschka (1886-1980) as a “School of Seeing”, is the oldest of its kind in Europe. Currently, the 21 courses are attended by some 300 participants from around 50 different countries, making the Academy an international place for the lively exchange of creative and artistic ideas.
The Academy offers:
–an open application procedure for anyone interested
–no qualifications required
–a unique opportunity to study with outstanding international artists, curators, collectives, art educators, researchers and writers
–an extensive scholarship programme
–room for students to devote themselves exclusively to the artistic process or the development of ideas, and at the same time to learn about and reflect on art and its discourses
–courses based on both personal support and group discussion
–a unique historical setting amid an Alpine landscape
–a wide-ranging programme of events with cultural partners in Salzburg
–access to art literature and journals

For further information, please contact office@summeracademy.at.