The so-called “ethnographic turn” describes a trend that has been taking place since the 1990s in which artists use ethnographic methods such as field research. In the course of the “writing culture” debate, ethnographers were inspired by artistic practices such as visual research. The seminar dealt with precisely these interactions between ethnography and art. As a currently intensified critical discourse shows, the often interdisciplinary artistic projects involve a series of questions that can be described with catchwords such as self-reflexivity, authorship, representation, alterity, etc.

In addition to introducing ethnographic research and presenting different artistic positions, the seminar was a platform for reflecting on the complex methodological and theoretical challenges of the “ethnographic turn. ” The basis for discussions provided key texts that were mandatory for an intensive discussion of the topic.