The HISK, Higher Institure for Fine Arts
HISK - Higher Institute for Fine Arts Flanders - Ghent
Advanced Studies & Practice-based Research in Visual Arts
The HISK offers a postgraduate course in visual and audiovisual art. The institute provides 24 young artists from Belgium and abroad with a studio of their own for two years. The emphasis at the institute lies on individual practice. The programme aims to achieve a practical balance between study in the studio, discussions with visiting lecturers, workshops, reading groups, field trips and public presentations. The international and culturally diverse composition of the candidate laureate group makes for cross-pollination and dialogue. The diversity of the international visiting lecturers (artists, curators, critics, theoreticians...), provides a framework within which the candidate laureates learn to view their own work with a critical eye. The unique HISK concept allows participants every opportunity to invest in critical research for their work within a broader artistic, cultural and societal context.
At the end of the two-year working period, the participant receives a certificate of ‘Laureate of the HISK’. The HISK is officially recognized as Higher Institute and is financed by the Flemish Community - Ministry of Education and supported by the City of Ghent.
Since 1997, 172 laureates have graduated from the HISK. The largest part of them are currently building up a successful professional career in the international art world.