Sommerakademie Paul Klee

is a programme hosted by the Bern Academy of the Arts HKB.

A decade ago, the Sommerakademie im Zentrum Paul Klee introduced a landmark educational template that was reinvented by the reestablished Sommerakademie Paul Klee (SPK), beginning in August 2017.

The new Sommerakademie Paul Klee is a fully funded programme offering artists a departure from business as usual, without becoming an exhausting interruption in its own right. It caters to practitioners working at a postgraduate level, whether or not they have an official certificate saying so. Professional experience and intellectual appetite are the main requirements.

From 2017–2024, eight residents were granted access to the university’s outstanding infrastructure and technical support over two summer session. Although based on the idea of an academy, the aim was to transcend the blueprint of seminars and tutorials, and to focus on group research and cross-professional coalition building. Back in the 2000s, there were few examples of summer retreats as proposed by the Zentrum Paul Klee. Our new programme built on this pioneering idea, while proposing a more complex blend of theory and practice, discourse and production. With its atypical timeline and exceptional infrastructure, the SPK combined collective inquiry with the perks of production-oriented residencies. The SPK is a fully funded programme, covering room, travel and visa expenses. This in close partnership with international art institutions.

Both in terms of a concrete curatorial theme and a fundamental working premise, the SPK seeks to account for the consequences of Contemporary Art. It traces the impact artists effectively have on the world around them, and works towards possibilities of reclaiming and steering that leverage. As such, it asks how the traction of Contemporary Art, as is, can be used to maximum effect, here and now.

In 2025, the last cycle of the Sommerakademie Paul Klee will take place in Bern, during three separate sessions over the course of one year (see time line below). Since 2017, Bern Academy of the Arts HKB has been the association's institutional partner and has provided substantial support. While the residents of the Sommerakademie were able to benefit from the HKB facilities, the content developed during the summer sessions was passed on to HKB students in the form of workshops. Due to cantonal cost reduction measures, this collaboration between the Sommerakademie association and HKB will unfortunately no longer be possible from 2026. The association and the HKB very much regret this. The Association Sommerakademie Paul Klee will be dissolved at the end of 2025.

We would like to thank our supporters, followers and friends for the support and trust placed in our association. We would also like to thank all the former residents, fellows, curators, and speakers that participated and contributed to the Sommerakademie.

We are looking forward to a great last year with Pauline Hatzigeorgiou’s programme!