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Pina Bausch Guest Professorship

The 2022|23 winter semester saw the Folkwang University of the Arts establish a new Pina
Bausch Professorship – named after world-famous Folkwang alumna Pina Bausch and run in
co-operation with the Pina Bausch Foundation

The Pina Bausch Professorship provides an opportunity for internationally acclaimed artists from all disciplines to spend a year at the Folkwang University of the Arts as a guest professor, collaborating with the students to develop new work methods and applying mindsets and research approaches that transcend all boundaries.

26. January 2024
Laurie Anderson by Stephanie Diani

Internationally acclaimed artist Laurie Anderson no longer taking up the Pina Bausch Professorship on 1 April as planned

Internationally acclaimed artist Laurie Anderson had been appointed the second Pina Bausch Professor by the Folkwang University of the Arts in early January 2024 – an appointment made based on her exceptional prominence on the arts scene and her ground-breaking work in visual arts, theatre, experimental music and technology. It has now become apparent that, in 2021, Laurie Anderson publicly supported the Palestinian artists’ ‘Letter Against Apartheid’ appeal, which, among other things, takes up calls for boycotts by the anti-Israel BDS movement. The university engaged in talks with Laurie Anderson and the Pina Bausch Foundation to discuss the extent to which Anderson would be able to carry out her planned artistic project at the Folkwang University of the Arts and ensure uninterrupted, focused work at this time.
 

In light of the now public question regarding her political stance, Laurie Anderson has decided to withdraw from the professorship:

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11. January 2024

Second Pina Bausch Professor appointed at the Folkwang University of the Arts

2024 interdisciplinary guest professorship to be held by internationally
acclaimed artist Laurie Anderson

The 2022/23 winter semester saw the Folkwang University of the Arts establish a new Pina
Bausch Professorship – named after world-famous Folkwang alumna Pina Bausch and run in
co-operation with the Pina Bausch Foundation. After its rousing inauguration with Marina
Abramović, the next holder of this unique guest professorship has been confirmed as Laurie
Anderson. During the 2024 summer semester, the internationally acclaimed writer, director,
composer, visual artist, musician and singer will be working with selected Folkwang students
from all artistic disciplines, with a final public presentation planned for July 2024.

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The idea for the Pina Bausch Professorship was born of a decades-long connection and artistic co-operation between the Tanztheater Wuppertal, the Pina Bausch Foundation, the Folkwang University of the Arts and the future Pina Bausch Centre, which is currently in the process of being set up. The professorship’s interdisciplinary approach is reflected by the tradition and philosophy of the Folkwang University of the Arts, as well as the name of Pina Bausch, who played a key role in permanently shaping 20th-century dance and theatre culture and which continues to influence the arts, not least through its focus on the body, to this day. But the Pina Bausch Professorship is not about examining her work or who she was as a person; it instead allows artists from all disciplines to freely choose their own topics and tasks.

The Pina Bausch Professorship is made possible by the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.