The Master Work.Master is open to a wide range of artistic practices and media. Its essential nature is to support the emergence of original forms using processes in keeping with the issues of the contemporary world. Multidisciplinary approaches are encouraged, notably those related to social, economic and political contexts. This program offers a great deal of modularity, emphasizing experimentation in the studio, exchanges and collaborative formats through workshops and encounters with artists and professionals from the art world, as well as critical sessions and public presentations.

The Master Work.Master is organized around the following:

The development of an in-studio artistic practice

Accompanied by regular critical sessions and individual mentoring appointments with the teaching staff, lecturers and tutors of the program

“Lab.Zones” and “Think.Zones”

Instruction provided by artists and researchers that emphasizes the collective development of artistic, curatorial and editorial projects

Workshops, conferences and meetings

With artists, exhibition curators, critics, and professionals in the art world

A pedagogical program in common with the students of the Fine Arts Master’s programs in French-speaking Switzerland

Favoring exchanges and inter-program collaborations

• Developing a personal artistic voice through experimentation, research and studio work;
• Consolidating a critical process through peer exchanges, critical sessions and individual mentoring;
• Conceiving and leading artistic, curatorial and editorial projects within a context of research and collaboration;
• Exploring multidisciplinary approaches that take into account the social, political, economic, ecological and technological issues of the contemporary world;
• Situating one's practice within a professional network, developing encounters with artists, researchers and other actors in the art world;
• Developing a theoretical perspective on one's practice through a Master's thesis;
• Presenting and defending an artistic project within a professional context before an international jury; the project will also be featured in an exhibition of degree candidates.

Once they have earned their diploma, students go on to careers in contemporary art and cultural spheres as:

• Artists
• Researchers
• Cultural Mediators
• Directors
• Authors
• Director of Cultural Projects
• Artistic Directors
• Event Coordinator 
• Managers of art spaces

Le cursus se déploie sur deux années consécutives. La première année est consacrée à l’approfondissement de la pratique personnelle, aux méthodes de recherche et à l’exploration des différentes orientations Work.Master. La seconde année est dédiée au Master Thesis, articulant un travail écrit de diplôme et un projet artistique pratique.

Les étudiant·e·x·s peuvent suivre un workshop avec un autre master en design à la HEAD ou à l'ECAL et participer à la Semaine de tous les possibles, une semaine annuelle d'exploration interdisciplinaire. Des cours techniques optionnels sont également proposés pour expérimenter des compétences complémentaires au-delà des projets du cursus.

Admission to the Master Work.Master. Contemporary Artistic Practices requires:

• a university-level or UAS (HES) Bachelor's degree, or an equivalent foreign qualification
• a degree with a specialization in the relevant field, or one year of recent, documented professional experience in the field of study concerned
• English level B2

If you do not hold the required qualification, you may apply for admission under special conditions. The applicable terms are set out in the Admission Requirements section.