For its twentieth anniversary, the HMKV will focus on its sustained commitment to artistic training and education–an important aspect of its history–by launching a new format. The first Autocenter Summer Academy (ACSA) at HMKV is organised in close collaboration with the Berlin-based project space Autocenter, which has been successfully hosting summer academies in its venue since 2009.

The two-week program consists of courses, workshops and lectures by internationally renowned artists, art critics and curators from all fields of contemporary art (photography, drawing, painting, media, post internet art, electronic music, art criticism, curating)—involving 50 participants from 18 countries.

Internationally renowned artists/curators include: Heidi Specker (professor of photography at the HGB, Leipzig), DIS (curators of the 9th Berlin Biennale, New York), Tobias Zielony (participant of the German Pavillon, Venice Biennial 2015 as well as Emscherkunst 2016), Brendan Howell (artist and reluctant engineer, Berlin) and Thibaut de Ruyter (architect, curator and art critic, Berlin).

Lectures and workshops are led by Armen Avanessian (philosopher, Berlin), Dan Perjovschi (artist, Sibiu), Suzanne Treister (artist, London), Kolja Reichert (editor for art in the culture section of FAZ, Frankfurt am Main), Mischa Kuball (artist, Kunsthochschule für Medien, Cologne), Markus Ambach (artist & curator, Düsseldorf), Simon Denny, Timur Si-Qin and others, as well as excursions to the Ruhr area.

Outcomes of the artists' research and development will feature in a public exhibition following the residency.