Drifting through Cityscapes Drifting through Cityscapes MTL final copy | Page 8

MAPPING THE LOCAL
T
he Mapping the Local (MTL) course in the Hun-
garian University of Fine Arts was founded in 2011
and primarily dedicated to Erasmus as well as lo-
cal students. The course initial aim was to present an
overview of the major phenomena, trends and issues
of contemporary art based on various subjects
during each semester – in the form of presentations
held by invited lecturers, field trips to museums, cul-
tural institutions and artist studios. MTL themes focus
on cities as cultural, social and economic entities
and the manner in which, globally, cities have been
transformed during the period from the middle of the
20th century to the present. The international dimen-
sions of the course focus on regional, as well as glob-
al, cultural events and changes that had a profound
influence on cultural and artistic practices.While of-
fering an insight into the contemporary art scene,
one of the course's main objectives is to develop
personal contacts and cultural interactions between
local and visiting students fostering an emerging in-
tercultural dialogue. Mapping the Local uses walking
as a research process and means of exploration; it
develops methodologies where cities provide a
framework for various critical art practices. Beyond
that the MLT methodology is characterised by inten-
sive group-work in order to realise a collaborative
project followed by a public presentation, an exhibi-
tion or a publication. With walking as the research
process, each MTL semester developed its own spe-
cific theme. The course was initiated by the Interme-
dia and Art Theory & Curatorial Studies Departments
where collaborative practices as a working method
has a highly emphasised educational function. This is
achieved by facilitating group work between stu-
dents from different countries and practical/theoret-
ical backgrounds. The necessary research needed
for the elaboration of various artistic concepts is be-
ing done collectively by the groups ensuring thus a
multi perspective approach and a theoretical argu-
mentation based on dialogue and ongoing discus-
sions. The process resulting in collective art projects is
characterised by a double fold dynamic: the liberat-
ing experience of shared responsibility on the one
hand, and the limiting power of the group decision
making over the individual positions – on the other. In
this way the process challenges the calculated out-
come, but leaves space for the interpersonal con-
ceptual negotiations among the group members.
Since 2011, as a result of their concentrated time-
frame and varieties of information management,
MTL methodologies has been reviewed and adapt-
ed in the framework of the Erasmus Intensive Pro-
grammes (IPs) that took place in London (2011),
Stuttgart (2012) and Krakow (2014). These intensive
courses, as well as each semester’s practical experi-
ences, offer the most optimal balance within the
above mentioned dynamics. The daily encounters
with new information, from both the lectures offered
by IPs and the new concepts resulting from the stu-
dent’s group research, creates a highly motivating
intellectual and artistic environment which often
leads to outstanding high quality undertakings, but
occasionally failures within the group work as well.
These latter occur as a result of clashes of the individ-
ual perspectives, ambitions and working methods,
but, importantly, they can also lead to new alliances
of restructured smaller groups, contributing thus to
the articulation of the students artistic identity. In
2017 we reconsidered the format of MTL based on
the history of the Erasmus intensive programme
courses ; we were motivated to transform the previ-
ous existing partnerships (Erasmus, CEEPUS) into a sus-
tainable vivid network (ADRIART.CE). The time-frame
for this renewal exchange was a one week block
seminar implemented into the academic curricula
of each participating university. The block seminar
aims at specific academic objectives and results
(publications, media, exhibitions) that have been