Over 400 participants of the ArtCamp summer school spent three weeks with art and design

ArtCamp Summer School is a regular and essential part of July at the Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art. This year's eighteenth edition offered forty week-long art courses and a rich accompanying programme.

In accordance with the motto #designyoursummer, participants could design their own programme according to their interests, focus and time availability, spend one to three inspiring weeks at the Sutnar Faculty and learn from Czech and international artists. This year, guest lecturers came from Japan, Belgium, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

For example, participants could spend a week discovering the secrets of calligraphy under the guidance of Japanese artist Mari Kučera. Another Japanese artist, Nagisa Yagi, came from the Joshibi University and introduced a new print art popular in Japan. For the second time, Belgian artist Bart Van Dijck invited his participants on a transformative journey, leading a course on art in connection with rituals. Israeli artist Avigail Reiner taught typography, focusing on the character sets of different nations and cultures, and showcased her work and the typographic work of Holon Institute of Technology students through an exhibition at the Incubator Gallery. Various artistic techniques used in sketching were tried out by participants of the course of Slovak artist Martin Schwarz. The painters in the course of landscape painting under the guidance of Zdeněk Daňek went to the near and distant surroundings of the faculty. And for the third time, storyboard artist Mirek Moc returned to ArtCamp to share his experience in creating storyboards.

In addition, jewellery designer Daniel Jirkovský and illustrator Marto Kelbl returned to their alma mater as lecturers, and their courses guided participants through the process of creating an original jewellery piece or an illustrated book.

Of course, there were also popular courses focused on figure drawing, comics, illustration, graphic design, puppet and hand-drawn animation, jewellery design, ceramic design, bookbinding, digital and analogue photography, and many others. The wide variety of courses attracted diverse groups of participants. The workshops were suitable for those seeking an opportunity to try something new and spend time actively creating, as well as for those who, through intensive weekly classes, pushed their talents and skills in preparation for studying art at university. Many of the courses also provided an opportunity for advanced participants to learn new techniques, work with interesting artists, and gain new experiences.

The summer school also offers an accompanying programme, part of which is open to the general public. This year, the public could experience ArtCamp through exhibition openings, lectures, guided tours of exhibitions and screenings of documentaries and student films. Every Friday, there was a final exhibition of the works created during the courses that week. In addition, participants could take tours of the unique interiors designed by Adolf Loos, join architectural walks through Pilsen, or enjoy free admission to the Pilsen Municipal Gallery and the Gallery of West Bohemia.

Overall, ArtCamp 2024 was a success. Many thanks to all the lecturers and participants for the great atmosphere and to the partners for their support.

ArtCamp 2024 was held with the financial support of the City of Pilsen. Thank you.

ArtCamp 2025 will take place on 7 - 25 July 2025.

photos: Polina Maliuk, Klára Dziadkiewiczová