"'Academy' was an international series of exhibitions and projects that wished to prompt reflections on the potential of the academy within society. "Academy" consisted of a total of three exhibitions and projects, a lecture series, two symposiums, as well as a workshop and a conference to which over 70 artists, artists' groups, art theorists, and cultural producers had been invited.

"Beginning with the idea of the museum as a cumulative archive, the project "Academy. Learning from the Museum" at Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven aimed to develop new principles of teaching and learning. The work with the Museum's collection was viewed as a process in which experiences are materialized. Irit Rogoff and Florian Schneider had planned a conference concerned with the topics that had arisen from the so-called "non-aligned" initiatives in education, art and culture. The concept of "non-aligned" had been taken from the Movement of "Non-aligned Nations", whose alliances are aimed at developing outside of the customary classifications and attributions. The conference 'Academy Now'.... had set its sights on linking up the topics activism, participation and artistic practice, and demarcating education not only as a model, but also as a field for political participation and cultural creativity. The publication'"Academy' regards itself as its own independent contribution to the project. Alongside statements from the curators, the publication brings together a number of scientific and artistic essays that present the subject in all its complexity and illumines it from a variety of angles.

-From the Siemens Arts Program website