In a world increasingly shaped by rapid global change, new ideas and creative thinking are the key resources for the future. The targeted promotion of creative potential in Bavaria lays the foundation for strong economic and social innovation.

The position paper from the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts describes the transfer activities, academic programs, teaching and continuing education, international competition, research, digitalization and AI, as well as gender equality, equal opportunity, inclusion, and sustainability at the six art academies.

Best-practice examples from these seven areas reflect the diversity of Bavaria’s art academies. For example, the AdBK Nuremberg excels in the area of knowledge transfer through the Akademie Galerie am Hauptmarkt. Online courses offered through the Virtual University of Bavaria (vhb) cover topics such as best practices, individual perspectives, and future planning for creative professionals. The AdBK Nuremberg is a partner in the “Critical Faculties. BiPoC+ FLINTA*” project at art academies. 
Equally noteworthy is the energy-efficient renovation of the AdBK Nuremberg’s historic, listed building, which is being carried out in several phases and in close collaboration with the Erlangen-Nuremberg State Building Authority to minimize disruption to teaching operations.
 

Since 2018, startup support in the arts has been provided by LEONARDO – Center for Creativity and Innovation, a collaboration among Nuremberg’s three universities — AdBK, HfM, and Georg Simon Ohm University of Applied Sciences—as well as Wavelab, based at HMTM Munich, and, since 2024, the Venture Team Kultur at AdBK Nuremberg. In addition, the AdBK Nuremberg has been collaborating with Hüttinger Interactive Exhibitions on the Artist-in-Factory program since 2018. Under the motto “How Light Creates the Future,” the results are currently on display at the Deutsches Museum Nuremberg—the Museum of the Future.

“Kunsthochschule Bayern” is the university consortium of the six Bavarian art colleges, founded on January 30, 2023. Its goal is to publicly represent the interests of professional art education in Bavaria with a strong, unified voice. Its tasks include, for example, cooperation on inter-institutional projects, the development of joint positions on inter-institutional issues and cultural policy matters, as well as collaboration with the Free State of Bavaria. Thus, “Kunsthochschule Bayern” functions alongside “Universität Bayern e.V.” and “Hochschule Bayern e.V.” as one of three strong alliances representing the interests of the arts and academia.
“Kunsthochschule Bayern” is currently chaired by Prof. Rainer Kotzian, President of the Nuremberg University of Music. The Vice Chair is Prof. Karen Pontoppidan, President of the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich.

Click here for the position paper.