topic

Extending Intersections

Special program to foster interdisciplinary work at the University of Applied Arts Vienna

Please note: This program is mostly dedicated to members of the university, specific events will be open tot the public and indicated as such

TOPIC CONTENT:

Interdisciplinary work has the ability to require and foster sustainable, wide-ranging skills, offering the opportunity to engage with complex subject areas and multifaceted problems, to find new solutions and individual approaches. In doing so, established disciplines can be strengthened and their potential can become even more visible.

As part of the University of Applied Arts Vienna’s strategies to enhance and enable interdisciplinary work and projects on a deeper level, the AIL is developing new initiatives for inter-, trans- and cross-disciplinary and collaborative practices.

Building on the existing structures of interdisciplinary work, the ‘Extending Intersections’ program aims to promote collaboration, interfaces and cross-disciplinary thinking and working in a sustainable way.

The program builds on a cross-departmental process and interviews that brought together perspectives from teaching, research, administration and students. Interdisciplinary work involves a variety of individual approaches, needs and methods, and an universally applicable model has proven elusive. Nevertheless, certain thematic areas and fields have repeatedly emerged in the research, which will be addressed in the round of pilot initiatives.

With the winter semester 2026/27, the AIL will introduce discoursive, experimental and educational formats focusing on exchange, visibility and practice. Start of this program is Sprechstunde [consultation hour] (for members of the university only), followed by the first talk of the series How to collide? On the frictions, encounters and possibilites for interdisciplinary collaboration (public event).

First overview of the program:

starting October 2026:

— Workshop on interdisciplinary skill sharing, implemented in university course, developed in cooperation with Alexandra Fruhstorfer

starting November 2026:

— Capsule, series of artistic interventions at the cashier hall, mediation of interdisciplinary projects and artistic research

starting December 2026:

— Sprechstunde (1:1 Consulting Sessions)

— How to Collide? Discussion rounds on the frictions, encounters and possibilites for interdisciplinary collaboration

starting January 2027:

— What's Cooking? internal exchange rounds and casual breakfast meetings

starting March 2027:

— extension of the AIL Residency Program, focus on collective work practices and knowledge production

Starting summer 2027:

— Field Notes, online journal for interdisciplinary discourse, exchange and communication

Find firtst details below. More info to come.

news

Sprechstunde

For members of the University of Applied Arts Vienna

Are you interested in working across, between, or beyond disciplines with other departments, universities, or external collaborators?

Book your slot for a one-on-one session here

Under the title ‘Extending Intersections’ AIL is starting a special program with the aim to support colleagues and students of the University of Applied Arts Vienna with their interdisciplinary work, projects and endeavours.

Starting point is a series of open consultation hours (Sprechstunde):

‘Sprechstunde’ is an open consultation space for artistic researchers and students at the University of Applied Arts Vienna.

AIL is launching a series of consultation meetings where the the AIL team and other experts offer one-on-one meetings (45 minutes) for discussion, guidance, and networking. The focus is on questions and opportunities relating to inter-, trans-, and crossdisciplinary collaboration, as well as bringing together different perspectives, practices, and forms of knowledge.

Do you have an idea for an interdisciplinary project, are you looking for new perspectives, or would you like to exchange ideas explore potential forms of collaboration? Are you still looking for the right contacts, a first feedback to your project or a common starting point?

Perhaps you would like to brainstorm potential collaborators, exchange ideas about different ways of working, connect ideas and interests, or explore how interdisciplinary collaboration can emerge and take shape. We aim to provide a point of contact where you can draw on our expertise and network.

These consultations are an open service dedicated to interdisciplinary exchange and networking. For the development of specific research projects or advice on funding opportunities, we also work closely with the department Support Kunst und Forschung.

First round of slots is out now:

14 Dec 2026, 15:00

13 Jan 2027, 14:00

18 Feb 2027, 11:00

4 Mar 2027, 11:00 Guests: Helga Aichmaier and Alexander Damianisch (Support Kunst und Forschung)

Book your slot via this link

In the “Comments” field, please indicate your affiliation with the University of Applied Arts Vienna and the respective institute or department.

Disclaimer: As an open service, we do not provide financial support or guarantee funding or admission to the AIL program. This is an offer for members of the University of Applied Arst Vienna only. Sprechstunde can be held in English or German.

As part of the University of Applied Arts Vienna's strategies to enhance interdisciplinary work and projects within its structure, the AIL is developing new initiatives to support inter-, trans- and cross-disciplinary and collaborative practices. This work builds on a cross-departmental process and interviews that brought together perspectives from teaching, research, administration and students.

With the winter semester 2026/27, the AIL will introduce initial formats focusing on exchange, visibility and practice. These will address key needs identified through the AIL’s research while fostering long-term structures and diverse forms of collaboration. Sprechstunde is part of this program.

discussion

07 Dec 2026, 18:00

How to Collide?

On the Frictions, Encounters and Possibilities for Interdisciplinary Collaboration

with Jonas Staal and Radha D’Souza

Jonas Staal and Radha D’Souza are reflecting on their collaborative project Court for Intergenerational Climate Crimes (CICC), exploring the intersections of art, activism, law, and political organisation. Conceived as an alternative tribunal, the project addresses the historical and ongoing responsibilities of states and corporations for colonial exploitation and ecological destruction. By challenging established notions of justice, accountability, and political representation, the CICC proposes alternative forms of justice that address climate crimes and their intergenerational consequences.

Drawing on their collaboration, Staal and D’Souza will also discuss broader questions of interdisciplinarity: How do artistic, legal, and activist practices intersect, and what forms of knowledge emerge through these encounters? How can different methodologies, languages, and epistemologies become productive forces for critical inquiry and collective knowledge production? The conversation will consider the possibilities and challenges of working across disciplinary boundaries, and how such collaborations can open up alternative ways of thinking, organising, and acting together.

This talk is part of the exhibition ‘Future on Trial. Between Unruly Evidence and Unfinished Climate Justice’. The discussed project resonates with the exhibition’s themes of climate justice and alternative forms of political organisation, demonstrating how artistic practice can move beyond representation to create spaces for collective action and the imagination and enactment of more just futures.

The event is also part of AIL’s special program 'Extending Intersections’ which follows the the aim to support colleagues and students of the University of Applied Arts Vienna with their interdisciplinary work, projects and endeavours.

About the series ‘How to Collide’:

In this discursive series, the Angewandte Interdisciplinary Lab (AIL) and departments of the University of Applied Arts Vienna bring together (international) artists, researchers, and scholars to explore the dynamics of interdisciplinary collaboration. Moving between artistic practice, research, and theory, the conversations examine the encounters, frictions, and unexpected connections that emerge when different disciplines, methods, and forms of knowledge meet.