ArtCamp connects, educates and entertains

The three weeks in July, when the ArtCamp international summer school of art is held at the Sutnar Faculty, always pass very quickly. This year's 17th edition was no exception, so let us look back at 42 week-long courses that brought nearly five hundred participants to the art faculty.

This year's course offer was the largest and most varied yet. The new ArtCamp courses included sculptural portrait modelling, intaglio printing, sculpting, working with sound, designing computer games, exploring virtual reality and a special technique of printing photographs - cyanotype. Advanced participants had the opportunity to attend a jewellery design masterclass with Kristýna Španihelová and a digital photography masterclass with Libuše Jarcovjáková. A unique course focused on traditional Japanese techniques, specifically working with natural pigments in painting and dyeing fabrics, was brought by Shizu Ara from the partner Joshibi University in Tokyo. ArtCamp also welcomed a Polish graphic designer Ryszard Kajzer, who led a course on poster design, and a Belgian artist Bart Van Dijck, whose art therapy course was a truly transformative experience for the participants. The list of visiting artists goes on - Czech artist Libuše Vendlová taught drawing, musician Matuš Hejl led a course on sound design, and professional storyboarder Miroslav Moc came to teach the storyboarding course for the second time.

Of course, there were also the very popular courses of figure drawing, illustration, graphic design, ceramic design, painting, comics, architecture, fashion design, bookbinding and many others, which are already an essential part of the summer school and the preparation of future art students for talent exams.

At ArtCamp, old techniques meet modern ones and participants of different age groups, experiences and nationalities come together. It is not just a summer school, it is a festival for hundreds of people who share the interest in art. Whether art is their hobby, a way into their own inner self or a dream future profession, whether the courses serve them to actively relax, to push the boundaries of their own possibilities and talents or as an opportunity to learn new techniques and expand their horizons within their professional or artistic focus, ArtCamp is the right choice.

The busy accompanying programme is a nice bonus, which gives the opportunity to spend time together outside the classroom and invites the general public to experience the atmosphere of the summer school. Openings and guided tours of exhibitions, documentary film screenings, guided walks around the architectural attractions of Pilsen, visits to the unique Loos interiors and ArtCamp Talks were the highlights of the OFF programme this year, along with the Friday presentations of the results of the week´s work in the courses.

ArtCamp 2023 may be gone, but we will continue to revisit it in our social media posts (@artcamp.pilsen), where you can already see photos that show the atmosphere of the summer courses.

ArtCamp 2023 was held with the support of the City of Pilsen.