Studio vvv (visual, verbal, public)

 

“All that you touch

You Change.

All that you Change

Changes you.

The only lasting truth

is Change.

Learning

is Change.”

^{*Octavia E. Butler. 1993.
Parable of the Sower. New York: Open Road Media}

 

INTRO

Studio vvv (Visual-Verbal-Public) was founded in 2018 by artist and educator Martin Piaček and graphic designer and artist Dávid Koronczi at the Intermedia Department of the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava. A new member of  the team on the position of project coordinator is a young artist Petra Nela Pučeková.

Studio vvv creates an inclusive and stimulating environment where art is understood as language, commentary, and an effort to contribute to individual and communal world formation. We perceive art as an indispensable part of the world, expanding our experiences and understanding, enriching our senses and language. We continuously remind ourselves of its aesthetic captivating power, the potential for radical enchantment, and its formal distinctiveness from other humanities and creative practices. The word "public" in the studio's name indicates an orientation towards practices that entail solidarity with various actors—human, non-human, organic, inorganic — as well as visions of better-organized futures.

 

vvv IN PRACTICE

The studio has an average of 15 students each semester, who meet regularly twice a week. The focus lies on well-planned individual and collective consultations of artistic projects. We also place great emphasis on theoretical lectures and workshops with invited guests.

Each semester, the studio selects and adopts a theme, mainly as a commitment to shaping lecture and workshop programs for students, as well as a reference point for consultations. This theme serves as discourse enrichment and a reflection on urgencies of contemporary art. The studio theme does not obligatorily influence the individual projects of the students; they choose their personal themes independently, based on their interests and urgencies.

At least once a semester, the Studio vvv strives to facilitate expert excursions to formative cultural institutions. We believe in the importance of connecting different individuals and platforms for future independent/collective practice.

The end of the semester is dedicated to finalizing individual projects and preparing a collective exhibition within the studio's premises or outside the academic environment. These intense and demanding experiences are essential for developing decision-making, planning, argumentation, and collaboration skills.

Semester project assessments occur through pedagogical proposals and collective feedback. After the presentation of verbal "grading," each student has the opportunity to propose their own evaluation, which is considered when assigning grades. Collective reactions and feedback on the semester's progress are also crucial, focusing on contextualized verbal evaluation with subsequent self-reflection.

 

 

vvv EXCURSIONS

During its existence, Studio vvv has organized several domestic and international excursions and outings:

• Sound-performative workshop – Schaubmarov Mill, 2018
• Workshop at Ostrava University and a performative evening – Plato, Ostrava, 2019
• Woodworking workshop and public space realization during the Field of Sparks Festival – Ipolytarnóc, Hungary, 2021
• Guided tour of a sugar refinery in Sládkovičovo with Ilona Németh and Ferenc Gróf, 2021
• Excursion and performative reading at Kunsthalle Bega, Timișoara, Romania, 2021
• Workshop "How can the critique of the museum have consequences in the museum? Institutions for a different future" by invitation of Maria Hlavajová – Angewandte Kunst, Vienna, 2022
• Excursion to the Venice Biennale – Venice, 2022
• Intensive symposium at Banska Stanica – Banska Stiavnica, 2022

 

 

vvv PRODUCTION

In recent years, Studio vvv has also focused on producing exhibitions and projects for the general public. The theme of these projects has revolved around the discourse on possibilities and the current form of higher education in the arts.

Exhibition: "Because Learning Is What Fundamental!", Galerie Dukla, Ostrava, 2022

Exhibition: "There Is No End to What the Living World Will Demand from You", Kunsthalle, Bratislava, 2022;

Accompanying publication with the same title

Publication release and launch of "When You Find It, We'll Let You Know" with public program (performances, lectures, musical program), tranzit.sk, 2023

The publication is available in print at the Studio vvv or online.

 

 

vvv GUESTS

Part of tstudio program includes semester-long guest appearances, during which an expert from the arts and related fields leads the studio.

Artist, curator, and educator Katarína Hládeková accepted the invitation to be a pilot guest instructor, leading her program "Vinyasa class" during the winter semester of 2020. Hládeková's program focused on collectively shared essential texts and principles found in the world of contemporary art.

Another guest instructor was internationally established theoretician, curator, and founding director of bak.basis voor actuele kunst in Utrecht, Maria Hlavajova. In three intensive weekly blocks, she led the program "The World in Relation," focused on politically engaged art, during the summer semester of 2022. This program was also open to the public.

We thank the following artists, authors, theorists, and thinkers for their shorter guest appearances and lectures:

Václav Janoščík, Martina Smutná, Lenka Kukurová, Rado Ištok, Zuzana Jakalová, Tea Zachová, Kris Országh, Bruno Jakubec, Michal Poljak, Tereza Vandrovcová, Allan Siegel, Anetta Mona Chisa, Lukáš Likavčan, Ema Hesterová, Jozef Pilát, Imrich Veber, Dor Guez, Jonatán Pastirčák, Šimon Ondruš, Petra Nela Pučeková, Samuel Hošek, Michal Machciník, Jerzy Jerzyna, Marta Zgierska