Michael Wimmer (cultural scientist)

Michael Wimmer (* 1950 in Vienna ) is an Austrian political and cultural scientist.

Life

Wimmer grew up as the son of the musician Joschy Wimmer and the secretary Herta Wimmer in Vienna. After graduating from the higher education and research institute for the chemical industry, he studied music education and concert organ at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna as well as mathematics and chemistry at the University of Vienna . 1972 - 1978 he was a teacher at the institute for economic women's professions in Wr. Neustadt as well as organist and choirmaster at the Herz-Jesu-Atonement Church in Vienna-Hernals. From 1978 he founded and directed the youth and communication center "commune" on behalf of the Socialist Youth; from 1981 he was head of several youth centers in the city of Vienna. From 1983 he studied political science with a focus on cultural policy at the University of Vienna. He graduated with a master's degree in 1987 and a doctorate in 1989. From 1987 he was head of the Austrian Culture Service (ÖKS), which, on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Education and the Arts, endeavored to promote cultural activities, especially meetings with artists at Austrian schools. With the termination of the ÖKS by the black and blue federal government, he founded Educult in 2003 - thinking and acting in culture and education, a cultural and educational policy research and advisory institution with a focus on art and culture mediation as well as cultural education.

In 2011 he completed his habilitation in cultural policy research at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, where he regularly gives courses on cultural and educational policy issues. He also taught at the Institute for Political Science and the Institute for Theater, Film and Media Studies as well as at the Institute for Cultural Management at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.

Wimmer worked for the Council of Europe as part of the “Evaluation of National Cultural Policies” program, for UNESCO on the subject of Arts Education (Arts Education World Conferences; Roadmap for Arts Education; Seoul Agenda) and for the European Commission (member of the European Expert Network on Culture (EECN)). For the Federal Ministry for Education, Art and Culture he was a member of the expert group for the introduction of the New Middle School (NMS).

activity

Michael Wimmer was the managing director of Educult, based in Vienna, up to and including 2017. In 2018 he became chairman of the board of the association. He lectures on cultural and educational issues and teaches at several universities. He published specialist texts and advises cultural institutions. He participates in the professional discourse with his blog “Wimmers Weekly”.

Publications

• Michael Wimmer: Culture and Democracy - A Systematic Presentation of Cultural Policy in Austria . Studien Verlag, Innsbruck / Vienna / Bozen 2011, ISBN 978-3-7065-5012-3 ( educult.at ).

Web links

• Michael Wimmer. michael-wimmer.at

Individual evidence

1. ^ Karl Ermert: Michael Wimmer . In: Culture for everyone or production of the “subtle differences”? Books on Demand, 2012, ISBN 978-3-929622-55-3 , pp. 165 ( books.google.de - short bio).