University of the Arts London (UAL) presents OurHaus: 100 years of the Bauhaus
In true Bauhaus style, University of the Arts London (UAL) invites the public to join us in a series of lively debates, hands-on workshops, parties, exhibitions, screenings and talks by internationally renowned voices and emerging practitioners as it celebrates the centenary of the pioneering art and design school, The Bauhaus.
The OurHaus festival is the culmination of a year-long investigation by UAL staff and students from Camberwell College of Arts and Central Saint Martins into the theories and methods of the Bauhaus, widely regarded as the one of the most influential experiments in art, architecture and design.
The Bauhaus movement was a short-lived rebellious and aspirational movement that in many ways laid the foundations for our modern era, elevating the role of design practise to a way of thinking. Through a series of carefully curated events, visitors to the festival will discover how design thinking can address the fundamental needs of society and the critical issues of our time.
OurHaus will reimagine the Bauhaus’s legacy and explore its meaning for contemporary artists, educators and students. The festival will not historicise or take a backward look at the Bauhaus legacy but instead take its cue from the original Bauhaus community and facilitate an investigation of the future, powered by experimentation. We are not just looking back 100 years, but learning from the productions, methodologies, pedagogy and ideas of the time to make new work that is relevant to our times.
Professor Jeremy Till, Head of Central Saint Martins and Pro Vice-Chancellor of University of the Arts London:
“Given that some of the founding tenets of the Bauhaus arose out of Lethaby’s Central School, it is apposite that UAL revisits the practices and ethos of the Bauhaus. OurHaus gives us all the opportunity to review what from the original might still be relevant and what needs to be realigned to engage with our changed and changing times.”
Susan Orr, Professor of Creative Pedagogy:
“One hundred years on from the Bauhaus, the art school studio, whether virtual or physical, is still at the centre of creative education and there’s been much debate about what elements of the pedagogy are relevant today. That debate is certain to continue but I am sure that visitors to OurHaus will leave convinced that the creative, educative and emancipatory potential of the 21st century art school is as exciting and as full of promise as it was in the Bauhaus. Everything changes, nothing changes.”
Dr Daniel Sturgis, Professor in Research, Camberwell College of Arts, UAL
“The opportunity to re-think aspects of the Bauhaus’s pedagogy – and how they can be adapted, questioned or interpreted now – is proving hugely exciting for students and staff at the college. We are interested in thinking about how the art school relates to its social and political context and how visual literacy is learnt and developed, both ideas which were central to the Bauhaus and its trans-national legacies. Both strands of our enquiry have led us to form new partnerships with different museums, foundations and galleries.”
Highlights:
Monday, 21 October 2019 (Central Saint Martins, UAL)
Screening of the new BBC documentary Bauhaus Rules with Vic Reeves, filmed at Central Saint Martins with participation from six graduates, followed by a panel discussion with the protagonists of the programme.
Tuesday, 22 October 2019 (Camberwell College of Arts, UAL)
Keynote lecture: Queer Bauhaus by Dr Elizabeth Otto. This will be followed by a performance by Alexis Teplin.
Wednesday, 23 October 2019 (Camberwell College of Arts, UAL)
OurHaus: Art, Design and Performance Educators’ Symposium, organised in collaboration with UAL’s Outreach Programme
Thursday, 24 October 2019 (Camberwell College of Arts, UAL)
Bauhaus: Utopia in Crisis Symposium and related exhibition convened by UAL Professor Daniel Sturgis featuring speakers Judith Raum, Sadie Murdoch, Grant Watson, Sebastian Helm and many others.
Friday, 25 October 2019 (Central Saint Martins)
UnserHaus by Tim Meara and Lucy Alexander, a 1:1 frame built based on the Prellerhaus, where students and tutors lived and worked together while at the Bauhaus, will house a workshop programme for student throughout the week and public on Friday.
Rethinking the Total Work of Art, a performance in the Platform Theatre by Klara Kofen, James Oldham and students of Central Saint Martins will present a new ‘Gesamptkunstwerk’ for our times through critical engagement with Bauhaus theory and performance – the result of a four-day collaborative devising session.
Festival passes for all paid events between 21-25 October are £25 /£20 (concessions).
Tickets to Individual events are £10 each.
A full programme of FREE events is available.
OurHaus locations:
Camberwell College of Arts, 45-65 Peckham Road, London SE5 8UF
Central Saint Martins, 1 Granary Square, King’s Cross, London, N1C 4AA
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