At the end of August 2025, I visited Columbia along with mdw faculty Johannes Kretz for ten days. First, we taught in Medellín at the private Universidad EAFIT and then in Bogotá at the public Conservatorio de Música – Universidad Nacional de Colombia, also providing insights into artistic research at the mdw.

At both universities, I gave a masterclass for piano and a lecture on my artistic research project “Trans-bodied Knowledge” with the TU Wien and my artistic doctoral research project “En_acting sounds<< notating affordances” at the mdw’s Artistic Research Center.

It was my first time visiting South America. We flew from Vienna via Frankfurt to Bogotá, arriving after about fifteen hours.

After spending the night in Bogotá, we had an approximately thirty-minute flight to Medellín, which has a tropical climate. The private Universidad EAFIT has a large campus with lovely buildings. When we were there, the students were busy organising a market. The International Office organised a tour for us and told us about the structure of the university.

EAFIT began as a business school, and for the past twenty-five years, it has also had a music department with two professors. The playing standard of the students was good, and a number of them were present for the entire duration of the lessons. I would like to thank Professor Andres Gomez, who organised everything well.

In the city, which is quite green, there is a very interesting museum of modern art. If one has sufficient time, it is worth taking a day trip to the dammed lake in the town of Guatapé and visit the 250-metre-high monolith nearby.

Bogotá’s Universidad Nacional de Colombia is Colombia’s largest university with a historic campus that is often the site of protests for justice and human rights.

On this vibrant campus, with its posters and graffiti, my piano masterclass was attended by a number of students from the conservatory, who participated with great interest either actively or passively. Miyer Goenaga, professor of piano, organized everything very well, for which I thank him. The playing level of the students was quite high and the prepared works very ambitious. It was a wonderful atmosphere, and I am very appreciative to be part of this exchange.

Bogotá, the capital city, is extremely interesting—particularly the historic centre with its small, colourful houses, the Teatro Colón, the Museo Botero, and the Museo del Oro (“gold museum”). It is important to be careful about what areas one ventures into, but the taxi drivers provide good information, so there is less danger. It is also pleasant to ride the cable car to the top of Mount Monserrate, over 3,000 metres high, and enjoy the tremendous views across the whole city.

I will remember Columbia as a beautiful country with very warm-hearted, cheery, and above all hard-working people. In am very thankful that I was able to have this experience and hope that I can meet my colleagues from there again.