Exchange courses in Visual Arts Bachelor
SPRING 2027
A programme of one semester for international exchange students who have obtained at least 120 ECTS in visual arts: graphic design, fine arts and object and jewellery on bachelor level.
Individual coaching in English.
Please note that being nominated by your home university unfortunately does not automatically lead to a guaranteed place at PXL-MAD. The approval of the application is based on:
- A motivation letter
- An extended electronic artistic and personal portfolio that shows your experience in the studio you have chosen. The portfolio should be presenting a minimum of 20 arts works.
* This course is obligatory for all students.
For official course catalogue information check the course catalogue: Course Catalogue 2026-2027 (available from june 2026).
A joint Erasmus group exhibition at the end of the semester challenges the students to explore, in one or more individual projects and a group work, the opportunity of being an exchange student confronted with different cultural experiences. The challenges -and thus learning opportunities- are substantial, as they have to collaborate in a multicultural Erasmus students group in a completely new cultural environment without the support of their familiar relational network.
Pieter Vermeulen functions as art director (curator) to whom the students have to sell their ideas for the exhibition.
Drawing technique gives immediate access to the world of imagination because in drawing the material world virtually disappears. In this course the student chooses between:
- Model drawing or sketching, as a self-critical continuation of model drawing.
- An experimental approach to drawing in which drawing as a hybrid (cross-disciplinary) visual language is investigated
The student is guided for a semester in the independent development in drawing and in the representation of his artistic actions (with regard to their personal research process). The first two lessons are orientative and consist of focused lectures and other presentations on autonomous and communal work processes in art.
The student is expected to master a personal approach, with which he engages artistically in the class of his choice. It is further expected that the student gradually realizes their own research process with new images and that they can reflect on this. The final assessment is based on form and content and the concrete elaboration of the chosen process. Class is given by Peter Hulsmans, Ellen Vrijsen and Boaz Kaizman.
The aim is not to turn visual artists into sociologists, but to give them a better understanding of the ‘art world’ (a network of relationships between actors and institutions that are important to ‘art’) and the lively relationship between visual art and the contemporary society in which they live and work.
You will be introduced to concepts in the sociology of art, which you will then be able to apply in your critical thinking about the world of art and design and the different positions that actors within it assume. Students will conduct their own interviews in which they can apply these concepts and subsequently reflect on them critically.
As a student, you will learn to understand the ‘art world’, i.e. the relationship between visual arts and contemporary society, in which they live and work, on the basis of cultural and art sociological theories (including Cultural Studies and Critical Theory). You will be introduced to the principles of the various approaches in art and cultural sociology and learn to understand the differences with regard to the study of the ‘art world’. After studying important (art) sociological authors (such as Bourdieu, Laermans, and Gielen), students will be able to place these (and other) diverse opinions within these sociological movements and use them to substantiate their own opinions.
The course consists of an anthology of artists' writings from the modern and contemporary art world.
Each text is read by the students in advance and discussed with the lecturer during the class.
This has two objectives:
- to approach the artist as a writer on modern art and culture;
- to analyze the artistic creative process from an experimental approach to writing.
Build strong visual identities and bring brand stories to life on different platforms. Strengthen your skills in letter design, typography, and strategic design. Learn how to turn concepts into powerful campaigns. Combine classic graphic principles with modern techniques and discover how to tailor designs to different media and target groups. Experiment with interactive and dynamic visual elements and build a versatile portfolio.
You will work with professional design software such as Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, and After Effects to create both static and moving designs. This will help you develop the technical and creative skills you need to make an impact as a visual designer.
Bring visual stories to life that touch and connect people. The focus is on developing your own visual language. You will learn to design compelling narratives with illustration, animation, and multimedia. Work on storyboards, kinetic typography, and motion graphics. Create emotional and powerful visuals with manual and digital techniques.
You will work with digital illustration software, animation tools, and 3D design software such as Procreate, Toon Boom Harmony, and Blender to shape your stories down to the smallest details.
Digital Experience Design & Immersive Media
Step into the future of interactive design and create digital experiences that blur the line between reality and virtuality. Learn to devise concepts for innovative user experiences. Create interactive installations, augmented and virtual reality experiences. Combine creativity, intuitive flows, and technology to enrich everyday life.
You will have access to advanced tools such as Unity, Unreal Engine for AR/VR projects, Blender, Cinema 4D, and TouchDesigner to realize your ideas. With these tools, you will create groundbreaking designs that are fit for a digital future.
Experiential Design & Branding
Create compelling experiences that make a brand tangible. You'll do this with creative spatial design and compelling storytelling. Develop concepts, spatial visualizations, and experience-oriented design.
Combine physical and digital elements to bring brands to life. Design exhibitions, events, and brand activations that leave a lasting impression and connect people with the brand.
With tools such as Adobe After Effects, Figma, Resolume, and SketchUp/Rhino, you can integrate visual effects, digital prototypes, and 3D visualizations.
Ceramics has many forms of expression from pottery design to a free representation of figures and concepts. Ceramics are being included more and more in contemporary forms of design and in fine arts. In this course old and new techniques are used to rethink the position of ceramics within contemporary visual art. The combined approach -from matter, knowledge and tradition- is an enrichment of conceptual and spatial thinking. Also the exploration of different forms of expression in clay from sculptural ceramics, ceramic design, installations, performances to total concepts is revieved in this course. The student can develop and set up his own research under supervision. By making choices in the concept and the material, the student learns to further develop his own visual language. The emphasis is on individual development. A very personal approach is expected, both in terms of content and on the visual level, whereby communication is important.
The student participates in study trips, lectures and exhibition visits as part of the curriculum. Marieke Pauwels and Jeannine Vrins are the teachers for this studio.
In the Painting department, in a climate of collegial dialogue with the students, they strive to accomplish as broad of a reflection on the visual arts as possible. It is essential to be familiar with ideas about painting in the current times, to be conscious of contemporary international trends in an art-historical perspective. Students are expected to develop a method of working and to focus their research on a subject or theme of their choice. Context, content and workingmethod are discussed on a weekly basis with the studio teachers. It is required to have a research attitude, to visit exhibitions in order to review the work against the background of contemporary painting and art practice. The internationally renowned artists Koen Van den Broek, Stef Driessen and Patrick Vanden Eynde guarantee a high standard of internationally recognized artistic quality.
The program of the printmaking studio includes research, experimenting and dialogue. On this base it strives to combine the rich diversity of traditional forms of expression with the creativity and the inventiveness of contemporary art.
The student’s individual concept is used as a starting point. Choice of materials and techniques will be related to the proposed project and content. Questioning and tentative conclusions will be discussed by the student and the docent in individual and group meetings. The student, assisted by the docent, is expected to develop a method that answers both practical and content issues. The student takes part in study tours, lectures and exposition visits, which are part of the curriculum.
Feijen Mike and Kato Six, well-known graphic artists, excel in this medium.
Studio Sculpture and Installation 2
In the sculpture atelier the students study contemporary sculpture and gain insight into its historical evolution. Through dialogue they also keep up with what is happening in the broad spectrum of contemporary art. The main focus is to explore and develop your own personal artistic project. A certain degree of independent working is expected. You'll get technical as well conceptual advice. Upon request, assignments can be formulated. Stijn Wybouw and Caroline Coolen are young and enthusiastic artists, who already have an impressive list of awards, each have their own view on contemporary sculpture.
The atelier for Jewellery Design and Object trains students to be broad-minded, innovative and individualistic designers of ornaments and objects. A researching attitude is cultivated. The atelier rests on three pillars: materials and technique, function and portability, and finally concept and context. The interaction between these components is not hierarchical: each of the three can serve as a starting point to be linked to a design method. The design methods are spread across assignments and projects under the supervision of David Huycke, Pauwels Audi, Swillen Anneleen and Karen Wuytens.
In Open Lab new artistic possibilities, without a specific focus on one medium or discipline are explored. Students can work around performances, videos, concept thinking and also create art with smell, taste, touch and sound.
Open Lab offers the opportunity to develop oneself into a quirky, authentic and inquisitive artist. Respect for the specificity of the discipline is accompanied by theoretical deepening, attention to contemporary international tendencies, cross-disciplinary projects and individual interviews with both fellow students and teachers. This gives the opportunity to independently develop ones practice, determine ones own position and choose the right tools.
The main focus is to explore and develop your own personal artistic project.
Independent working is encouraged, nevertheless technical as well conceptual and contextual advice is provided. The student takes part in study tours, lectures and exposition visits, which are part of the curriculum.
The professors Carina Gosselé who masters video, installations and performance art together with the internationally well renowned artist Peter De Cupere, tutor and specialist in creating works of art with the sense of smell. Liesbet Hermans is the third professor of the department focussing on performance.