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Status Quo Art School. How do art academies change in the course of a world run by a liberal-minded creative industries? How should art schools respond to the financialisation of higher education? Can art schools maintain their autonomy as sites of independent teaching and learning? In the first of a series of pieces tackling the future of art education to be published on Spike Online in the coming months, Chloe Stead writes on the student activists of Free Cooper Union and on protest as a learning experience.
One month ago the French Minister of Culture dismissed Nicolas Bourriaud from his post as director of the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, in an astonishing decision that caused a storm in French - and international - media, replete with rumors of high-level intrigue and allegations of nepotism.
Now Bourriaud tells his version of events. What did the renowned curator and theorist's dismissal have to do with Ralph Lauren? How come the students couldn't work in their studios for six days beforehand? And what are his hopes for the future of the institution?
