The close interlocking of theory and practice as well as old and new media processes characterises the practical teaching at the Institute. Historical and contemporary developments in art are addressed with the aim of creating an awareness of the problems of artistic and media positions in art and visual culture.

The experience gained through practical work should help students to gain knowledge when observing, analysing and interpreting visual phenomena.
On the one hand, techniques and design principles can be familiarised with and tested, and artistic-media processes can be individually explored and experimentally researched. On the other hand, practical experiences are to be brought back into theoretical contexts, categorised and reflected upon.

The interconnectedness between art and media on the one hand and between theory and practice on the other is supplemented and supported within teaching by regular interdisciplinary co-operations (e.g. with the subjects of Music and German Studies), by diverse references within the subject practice (e.g. cross-over of old and new media), by intermedia interweaving and interpenetration, as well as by open, process-oriented forms of work within projects and cross-module exercises.

Specialised didactic considerations often complement the knowledge gained in practice and relate to school and extracurricular fields of activity. In addition, exhibitions of student work in regional and national contexts are a regular and essential part of the programme.