Bio
Serge von Arx, (Architect and Professor of Scenography), is the artistic director of the scenography department of the Norwegian Theatre Academy (at Østfold University College), since 2007, and external professor at the Danish National School of Performing Arts since 2021.
In 1997, von Arx completed his degree in architecture at the ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology). In 1998, he began his long-term collaboration with Robert Wilson on over 50 stage, exhibition and design projects all over the world, among others, at venues like the Berliner Ensemble, the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the Teatro Real in Madrid, Shanghai Art Museum and the Guggenheim Museum New York. He is a regular mentor and architectural consultant at “The Watermill Center” on Long Island, New York. In 2001, he opened his design studio in Berlin and since 2006 he is a resident in Oslo. Serge von Arx publishes, lectures, runs workshops and works internationally as a scenographer, designer and architect, focusing on „performative architecture”, the meeting and subsequent amalgamation of theatre and architecture. Von Arx hereby engages scenography as an art field only existing as agency in dialogue with others, mainly taking shape as spatial potentialities. He substantiates this approach in practice, teaching and research with works in theatre, exhibition and the public space.
His publications encompass a wide range of peer-reviewed essays, monographs, anthologies and newspaper articles. In 2016, he developed an international symposium and a series of workshops with the title “Sensory Hacking” on art and strategy relating to the future of higher art education at the Zurich University of the Arts, where in 2019 he was enrolled as a guest lecturer at the Master Program for Curatorial Studies. Serge von Arx curated the architecture section for the Prague Quadrennial 2015, focusing on “Ephemeral Architecture” and the theatricality of the urban space, and he was part of the curatorial board for the Prague Quadrennial 2019, where he, together with choreographer Chase Angier, curated the experimental section “Formations”, focusing on random interferences of international artist and architect works in the public space. The inquiries into activating social structures include international workshops on urban identity within the public space at the Teatro della Pergola in Florence, the Teatre Lliure in Barcelona. He was in charge of “re-Site”, a series of performances by PhD fellows from the Norwegian Artistic Research Program within the Discursive Program at the Research Pavilion 2017 in Venice. His long-term research project “Our Gruesome Cultural Heritage” (2015 to 2021) critically explored national mythologies in the Oslofjord, on Cyprus and in Riga and actuated memorials in an expanded field.
Serge von Arx’ practice equally expands from theatre, to exhibition scenography, and into architecture. He created stage-designs for many major European state theatres and exhibitions most notably in relation to natural sciences, as for example the commissioned design for the entire exhibition area of the Asian Culture Center in Gwangju, South Korea, the exhibition “sex us” by the University of Oslo in the Natural History Museum Oslo on Darwin’s theories and most recently an exhibition about da Vinci’s library in the National library Berlin for the Max Planck Institute for the History Science.
He is an active member of various boards, notably for the Norwegian Artistic Research Program, the Scandinavian Artistic Research Journal VIS and the Committee of the European Forum for Advanced Practices.
Academic interests
Scenography, as the meeting and amalgamation of architecture and theatre, and all its spatial activation in different forms of public space; theatres, museums, galleries, open public space, etc.
Courses taught
- BA and MFA in Scenography at NTA, as well as PhD supervision, since 2007
- MFA, specialization scenography, external professor, The Danish National School of Performing Arts, 2021-22
- MA Curatorial Studies, guest lecturer, Zurich University of the Arts, 2018-19
Education
- Architect from Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH), dipl.Arch.ETH, 1997
Practice
Work as architect, scenographer, designer for theatre, opera, exhibitions, museums, public space. Curator, a.a. architecture section of Prague Quadrennial. Architectural critic, a.a. for Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Activity in various artistic research related committees and boards. Peer-Reviewer, a.a. for Taylor & Francis.
Appointments
- 2023 Member of the international jury to the Prague Quadrennial 2023
- 2021-2024 External member of the artistic research PhD program council at
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) - Since 2021 Ambassador to UNITA - United Talents for a Prosperous Future which is a program of the platform “Scenography Today”
- Since 2019 Member Management Committee of European Forum for Advanced Practices / COST Action18136 representing Norway
- 2019 Advisory committee (Comitè de Programació) to Teatro Lliure, Barcelona, education section appointed by head of theatre Juan Carlos Martel Bayod
- Since 2017 Member of the editorial board for Artistic Research Journal “VIS”, by NARP and Stockholm University of the Arts https://www.en.visjournal.nu/ (peer-reviewed online journal published on Research Catalogue, first issue launched in April 2018)
- 2015-2018 Board member of the Program for kunstnerisk utviklingsarbeid (Norwegian Artistic Research Programme (NARP))
- 2010-2014 Deputy board member of the Program for kunstnerisk utviklingsarbeid (Norwegian Artistic Research Programme (NARP))
- 2012-2018 Representing member of the Norwegian Nasjonalt Råd for kunstnerisk utviklingsarbeid (National Norwegian Council for Artistic Research)
Positions held
- Artistic Director Scenography, NTA, since 2007
- Head of MFA Scenography Specialization, The Danish National School of Performing Arts, 2021-22
- Guest lecturer at Zurich University of the Arts, MA Program Curatorial Studies, 2018-19