Bauhaus: To turn away from normality

This paper revisits the history and legacy of the Bauhaus from the vantage point of contemporary art education. It explains how the design school was never a unified project, but rather a collection of disparate voices and opinions, and shows how ideas of community and subjectivity were at its centre. The author asks if these ideas, born out of early 19th century educational reform, and pressurised by the political turbulence of 1920s and 30s Germany may be the most useful influences for the Bauhaus impacting on Art and Design education today.

The paper was prepared for the opening of the conference Bauhaus Utopia in Crisis, 24th October 2019, University of the Arts London, Camberwell College of Arts. The conference was part of the week-long OurHaus festival at the University that ran between 21-25th October 2019. The festival included the exhibition Utopia in Crisis, curated by Daniel Sturgis at Camberwell Space Gallery (16 September – 9 November 2019) touring to Bauhaus-Universität Weimar (2020).