BIP Study Week in Lisbon and Porto on the Future of Contemporary Art Institutions
BIP Study Week in Lisbon and Porto on the Future of Contemporary Art Institutions
BIP Study Week in Lisbon and Porto on the Future of Contemporary Art Institutions
The Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) study week of the Doctoral School of the Hungarian University of Fine Arts, titled Imagi(ni)ng the Future Shape of Contemporary Art Institutions, was successfully realized in Lisbon and Porto. On the Hungarian side, the program was organized by Associate Professors Szabolcs KissPál and Tünde Varga.
The BIP study week held from 19 to 23 October 2026, was organized by Luísa Santos, Ana Fabíola Maurício, and Pedro Miguel Alves from the Faculty of Human Sciences and the School of Arts at Universidade Católica Portuguesa (Lisboa and Porto). Five universities participated in the programme: the Doctoral School of Visual Arts at the "George Enescu" National University of the Arts (Iași, Romania), Technological University Dublin (Dublin, Ireland), HDK-Valand – Academy of Art and Design at the University of Gothenburg (Gothenburg, Sweden), and the Hungarian University of Fine Arts (Budapest, Hungary).
The initiative created a high-intensity, in-person week, establishing a dynamic transnational space where doctoral students, early-stage researchers, and cultural practitioners actively engaged with critical issues surrounding contemporary art institutions.
The core of this research week was a creative process driven by an intensive exchange of knowledge among doctoral students and researchers. Building on their prior online sessions, the week in Lisboa and Porto provided an inspiring environment for participants to explore divergent ways of organizing cultural institutions and to generate powerful, critical narratives around the agency of diverse actors within institutional frameworks.
During the week, participants attended lectures by Luísa Santos, Mick Wilson, and Pedro Alves, and took part in a workshop led by Kathrin Böhm. They also joined a roundtable discussion in Porto focusing on the urgent issues facing contemporary art institutions. Furthermore, the group visited various institutions in both Lisbon and Porto (such as Hangar, Rádio/Galeria Antecamera, Museu do Chiado, and Batalha Centro de Cinema) to study real-world case studies in organizational imaginaries, change processes, and audience development within public-facing arts organizations.
The participating faculty members for this intensive week included: Mick Wilson (HDK-Valand – Academy of Art and Design, University of Gothenburg, Sweden), Noel Fitzpatrick (Technological University Dublin, Ireland), Cătălin Gheorghe ("George Enescu" National University of the Arts, Iași, Romania), as well as Dr. Szabolcs KissPál and Dr. Tünde Varga from the Hungarian University of Fine Arts.
Participants from the MKE (Hungarian University of Fine Arts) Doctoral School:
Havas Bálint
Hajdú Levente
Marosfalvi Marcell
Jovana Mijanović
Varga Ádám
