HSE Art and Design School to Launch New Master’s Track in Sound Art & Sound Studies
The HSE Art and Design School is opening a new master’s track in Sound Art & Sound Studies as part of its Master’s programme ‘Practice of Contemporary Art’. Classes will begin in Fall 2020. The language of instruction is Russian.
The new track will be curated by Stas Sharifullin, a musician, artist, candidate of philological sciences, and laureate of the Sergey Kurekhin Prize. Professor Sharifullin has presented his work at institutions and venues around the world, including the Centre Pompidou, the main headquarters of the Hermitage (Manifesta), and Berlin’s cult club, Berghain.
Among the world-renowned industry professionals joining the programme faculty are Moscow interdisciplinary artist Dmitry Morozov and American algorithmic musician and live encoder Renick Bell.
Programme Features
‘Working with sound and music in art opens up and endless range of possibilities for professionals,’ says Stas Sharifullin. ‘Our graduates will receive an artistic “skeleton key”, so to speak — a universal set of skills and knowledge that are in demand in various fields. This should be taken literally, because their projects—sound sculptures, spatial installations, experimental plays—will look (or rather, ‘sound’) equally appealing both to museums of modern art and Mutabor-style rave events.
‘This is the first master's programme in Russia with a wholly interdisciplinary approach, an organic alloy of theory and practice. In studios and laboratories, students will create their own projects, while mastering all the necessary software and hardware tools and even working with neural networks. The theoretical classes will be devoted to the key disciplines of the natural sciences (physics of sound, neuropsychology, and acoustics), as well as a step-by-step analysis of key concepts from philosophy, sociology, and, of course, the humanities—all of which make up the basis of sound studies, a new and dynamic field of study.
‘Our profile may interest people from a variety of fields—from musicians and artists who feel limited by specific scenes and genres, to those who never have worked professionally with sound and music before but are interested in embarking upon a new creative field. And today it really may become its own professional field, considering the ever-growing number of exhibitions, biennials, festivals, and cultural initiatives that are in one way or another connected with sound practices. It is believed that this is a new global trend. For example, at the last two Venice Biennales, the Grand Prix was awarded to projects in which music and sound were key components.
‘In this sense, we plan to become a full-fledged gateway to the industry. You cannot say that the conditions for artists in Russia are ideal, but we nevertheless believe it is very important that our students not simply master a set of skills while remaining in a vacuum, but fully realize their potential. We will equip our students to work in Russia’s premier platforms and help them develop the necessary professional network.’
The HSE Art and Design School is constantly widening its spectrum of academic opportunities, offering new and popular tracks. In 2019, the School launched 5 new bachelor’s and 8 new master’s tracks.
The addition of sound studies to the range of Master’s tracks offered by the School’s programme, ‘Practices of Contemporary Art’, represents a natural development in the academic policy of the university and the trajectory initiated by the opening of the bachelor’s track ‘Sound Art and Sound Design’.
The HSE Art and Design School now offers courses related to sound design for students of all ages and levels of experience: from HSE Art and Design Kids and continuing education programmes to Master’s degree programmes.
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