Avantgarde macht Schule

When one thinks of the avant-garde, it is first and foremost the artists behind this movement who immediately come to mind. These forward- and experimental thinkers were large-than-life figures who dared to tread their own path, generating a wealth of pioneering ideas and advances along the way. But when it comes to collaborating with an institution, their impact is not always conventionally positive: they can lend it the wow factor and break new ground, but they can be a highly disruptive influence, too. Is avant-garde compatible with a conservatorium? How did a guest performance manage to shape a longstanding institution?  Can provocation ever be productive? These are some of the questions that are explored in this exhibition commemorating the fascinating 150-year history of the Basel Academy of Music.