Artistic Praxis and the Neoliberalization of the Educational Space

Referring to the work of Richard Sennett, this article puts forth the proposition that art production is possible only when there is a correct relation between theory and artistic practice. An effective artistic praxis can only be realized by incorporating theory in artistic practices. Based on empirical research, the author elaborates on the biotope, which is the necessary precondition for a sustainable development of art. This biotope consists of domestic, communal, market, and civil domains. Within these domains, theory and artistic practice interact in different ways. In order to ensure the development of an artistic praxis, art education needs to maintain this biotope. The author demonstrates that policy decisions in the Netherlands following the Bologna Process regarding education do not make the task of higher education of arts any easier. Increased scale, increased bureaucracy, and neoliberalization of educational space threaten to counteract the integration of theory and practice and thus to undermine the artistic biotope of the artist.