ART 277 Writing About Arts and Culture Humanities & Social Sciences Program Spring 2024 Semester CEA CAPA & AAU - Prague

This course is an introduction to arts writing, art reviews/criticism and more general cultural journalism while taking advantage of the rich cultural life of Prague. Though there will be a focus on the Prague contemporary art scene, music journalism will be explored, and students will also be able to discover the literary and experimental theatre scene, as well as take advantage of the countless festivals in the city, particularly for contemporary art or feature and documentary films. An understanding and appreciation of the role of cultural organizations and institutions will be emphasized, and so students will have the opportunity to meet with representatives of cultural organizations, as well as artists, musicians, directors, writers and publishers. Field trips to galleries, museum exhibits and other cultural events in Prague will be an integral component of the course. This activity will be combined with discussions of writings by critics and reviewers, curatorial texts and artists themselves.

Overall, one purpose of this class is to provide students with a wide range of opportunities to write on art exhibits, cultural events or cultural activities in contemporary Prague. Instead of writing for short deadlines for journalistic sites, students will have time to reflect on and develop more expansive essays, reviews, critical texts on the subjects presented throughout the semester. In the best scenario, students will publish (post) their work on selected websites dedicated to contemporary art or the AAU student magazine The Lennon Wall; thus, students will have the opportunity to publish. However, this course is also open to students who simply want to learn about and develop skills for future arts and cultural writing projects and/or develop creative non-fiction pieces within the context of the course. Students will also be introduced to seminal critics and writings by artists not only for the contemporary scene but, depending on the subject, throughout the 20th and 19th centuries.