The historical Bauhaus school in Dessau, Germany, may have functioned for six years, but its presence continues to be influential, as does that of the entire Bauhaus approach to design – through buildings, teachings, furniture, philosophies and art. The Festival School Fundamental, taking place 20-24 March in the Dessau Bauhaus Building, raises the question of what a Bauhaus school would look like in our modern age.

Over five days, participants – from design students and professors, to curators and the general public – will engage in the temporary school’s discussions, performances, presentations and workshops, in an environment where creative experimentation will be encouraged.

A workshop in spatiotemporal experiments in design education, as well as various historical-weaving workshops promise interactive teachings. “Liquid Walks: Inside the Learning Environment”, by Angelika Waniek and MSc Coop Design Research students, will be equally immersive as it activates the entire building with performances, guided tours and video screenings.

The Parliament of Schools will offer a platform of exchange between educational institutions from places as widespread as Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, Athens, Utrecht, Jakarta, Valparaiso and many more, as educational and design thought leaders present new, alternative pedagogy models.

In “Bauhaus Translated”, the festival symposium, the continued interpretation and adaptation of the Bauhaus school model around the world will be unpacked with international examples of art and design schools of the 20thcentury.

Keynotes to look forward to include Albena Yaneva’s “The Secret Life of Architecture Archives” and Tim Ingold’s “On Building a University for the Common Good”, while Sofia Olascoaga’s workshop, “An Institutionalised Imagination? The Inverse of School is Possible”, is set to provide topical food for thought.

Opening image: Oskar Schlemmer, Bauhaus theatre, 1927. Erich Consemüller. © Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau