School of Listening: (Im)possible Conversations

Inspired by the School of Seeing founded by Oskar Kokoschka in 1953, the School of Listening is a program developed especially for the Salzburg International Summer Academy of Fine Arts that focuses on listening differently. It probes listening’s capacity to embody conflictuality, amplify silenced narratives, seep through borders, and challenge simplistic perspectives on identity. Harnessing the human voice and sounds in media including performance art, music, radio, and film, it invites audiences to speak together, listen, participate, refuse, collaborate, or co- resist.

Under the title School of Listening: (Im)possible Conversations, several artists participating in the Summer Academy will present a selection from their creations at the Museum der Moderne Salzburg in interaction with works from the Generali Foundation Collection – permanent loan to the Museum der Moderne Salzburg.

The works and live events staged by the artists examine conflicts in relationships that defy simple understandings of identity and border controls. The conversations in the exhibition stretch the boundaries of body and voice, turning listening into a somatic experience. With this form of listening, they resonate the complexity of antagonistic dialogues and fragile collaborations, ones in which language can serve both as a weapon and as a means to overcome borders through empathetic recognition.

With works by Ofri Cnaani, Thalia Hoffman, Stav Marin, Samira Saraya, Neta Weiner, and Manar Zuabi as well as works from the Generali Foundation Collection – permanent loan to the Museum der Moderne Salzburg by Joan Jonas and Peter Tscherkassky

A collaboration between the Museum der Moderne Salzburg and the Salzburg International Summer Academy of Fine Arts