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Students are sitting at the Martin Schmeisser Square in the summer © Roland Baege​/​TU Dortmund
Urban Cultural Education

BDA Honors Prof. Barbara Welzel as an Extraordinary Member

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Portrait von Prof. Barbara Welzel. Sie hat kurze graue Haare und eine Brille. © Roland Baege
Prof. Barbara Welzel has been a professor of Art History and Cultural Education in Dortmund since 2001.
Der Bund Deutscher Architektinnen und Architekten BDA (Association of German Architects) has appointed art historian Prof. Barbara Welzel from the Department of Art and Material Culture at TU Dortmund University as an extraordinary member. The association of freelance architects and urban planners thus recognize her special commitment to urban cultural education in the public sphere as well as her research and teaching on architectural culture.

Founded already in 1903, the prestigious association not only advocates for quality standards and the professional interests of it’s over 5,000 members but also promotes public discourse on architectural culture. As extraordinary members, individuals from other professional fields can be appointed whose outstanding achievements have significantly contributed to these goals. Nationwide, the BDA currently counts around 300 extraordinary members, about 40 of whom are in North Rhine-Westphalia. On the proposal of the state association, Prof. Barbara Welzel was included in this distinguished group.

Prof. Barbara Welzel looks forward to collaborating with the BDA on public discourse about architectural culture: “As an extraordinary member, I want to contribute to a deeper exchange about the mediation of architectural and urban cultural education.” The professor of Art History and Cultural Education is already committed to these concerns as a member of the “Mediation of Historical Monuments” working group of the German National Committee for Monument Protection. Furthermore, architectural heritage and regional urban culture are recurring themes in her art-historical research, which she connects with public exhibitions and events in schools or the KinderUni (Children’s University) to raise awareness of architectural culture. For example, a few years ago, together with Prof. Wolfgang Sonne, TU Dortmund University Professor of Architectural History and Scientific Director of the Baukunstarchiv NRW, as well as the Museum Folkwang, she researched modern urban buildings in the Ruhr area and their role in urban identities. The “StadtBautenRuhr” project resulted in a digital exhibition on distinctive buildings and their construction history, which has been accessible online since 2022. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) funded the interdisciplinary research and mediation project with around 880,000 euros.

Commitment to Participation in Architectural Culture

In teacher training, Prof. Barbara Welzel also addresses this topic with students in practical projects. For instance, teaching students of art and special education developed concepts together in the inclusion project “Cultural Participation and Heterogeneity” on how architectural culture can be communicated inclusively. “The focus was on the UN Human Right to Cultural Participation, including cultural heritage and architectural culture,” explains Prof. Barbara Welzel. To enable sighted, blind, and visually impaired individuals to explore the architecture of Dortmund’s St. Reinoldi City Church together, the project participants exhibited tactile models for visitors to investigate the building. The Stifterverband supported the project in 2014 with a Fellowship for Innovations in University Teaching.

The art historian is also a co-initiator of the “Church Manifesto” and is committed to the research and mediation of church buildings as cultural heritage, as well as their preservation. As part of the “Culture in Rural Areas” funding line from the Federal Commissioner for Culture and Media, she served as a scientific advisor for the “Church Tower Thinking” program, which promoted projects for rural churches and monasteries as places of (intercultural) encounter.

Personal Data

Prof. Barbara Welzel was appointed to the Professorship for Art History and Cultural Education in Dortmund in 2001. Her research focuses include German and Dutch art of the 15th to 17th centuries, art and cultural transfer in the Hanseatic region, as well as urban culture and (architectural)-cultural heritage from an intercultural perspective. From 2011 to 2020, Prof. Barbara Welzel served as Vice President Diversity Management in the Rectorate and from 2013 to 2020 as a member of the Research Council of the University Alliance Ruhr. She is co-spokesperson for the “Science City and Cultural Metropolis” working field in the Master Plan Science of the City of Dortmund. Since 2019, Prof. Barbara Welzel has also been the scientific director of Campus City at the Dortmunder U, where TU Dortmund University regularly offers insights into research and teaching through various exhibitions and event formats.

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