Art History at the University of Sydney explores the history of making, viewing and experiencing complex and compelling works of art and architecture. By developing historical knowledge and analytical skills, our students learn to examine art across time and space in historical and cultural contexts. They uncover the canonical forms of painting, sculpture and architecture, as well as a rich spectrum of media and contemporary art practice in galleries, museums, and other institutions across Sydney. But for many, the pinnacle of student life is the ‘Art and the City’ fieldwork unit which takes our students from the classroom to the most exhilarating cultural hubs of the world such as Paris or Berlin. In this immersive experience, our students engage with a city’s history of architecture and public space and its galleries, monuments, collections, and artworks – all while earning credit for their degree. 

From Marlene Dietrich, Stephen Spender, David Bowie, and Christopher Isherwood to Ian McEwan, Lady Gaga and Nick Cave, Berlin has captivated the imagination of writers, singers, and artists alike. Berlin’s art collections and exhibitions, from the ancients to the contemporary, speak to the complexity and power of art and architecture to transgress and offer transcendence. Bowie once labelled Berlin “the greatest cultural extravaganza that one could imagine.” His song Heroes, which he recorded when living in West Berlin in the heady 1970s, referenced lovers stranded on opposite sides of the Berlin Wall. Since the Wall’s collapse in 1989, the bustling German capital has embraced this duality with cultural institutions from East and West forming a cultural feast of galleries, museums, opera houses, theatres, groovy bars and restaurants.