Rite of Passage, The Graduation, The Crowning or The be_coming

Rites of Passage was developed at the Universität der Künste Berlin to conclude leo’s studies. The project employs ethnographic analysis to examine art education and the ritualistic dimensions of secular ceremonies, questioning the assumed separation between magical thinking and contemporary society. It positions the graduation ceremony as a performative and symbolic site, where social, pedagogical, and aesthetic structures intersect.

The research focuses on the UdK graduation process as a case study for rites of passage in contemporary art education. Over a minimum of five years, novices develop material and immaterial projects, culminating in a public exhibition during the Rundgang (The Day of the Open Doors). This event functions both as an evaluation by committees, gallerists, and curators, and as a threshold of artisthood, where the student’s transformation into an artist is socially recognized.

By analyzing the ceremonial and performative aspects of the graduation, the project foregrounds how institutions shape social and professional acceptance. It examines how ritual mediates transition, recognition, and the production of collective meaning, highlighting the interplay between individual practice, community validation, and institutional authority.

The project contextualizes contemporary art education within broader societal and cultural frameworks. By comparing the graduation ceremony to other forms of ritualized transition—such as Quinceañeras, Debutante Balls, and events of royal duty acceptance—it demonstrates the persistence of ritualized structures in modern Western European society, showing how they continue to inform notions of status, belonging, and cultural value.