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The contrast of fragility and rawness, raising questions of guilt, punishment, and redemption, is the central motif of a drawing series by Vojtěch Šavel, a student at the Graphic Art studio of the Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen. Šavel draws on records from juvenile detention facilities, working with a combined technique of charcoal, pigments, and sand coatings. The material's coarseness becomes part of the image's meaning, evoking the environment of prison cells. His exhibition, titled Architecture of Punishment, is the first to be shown as part of a new project at Malá scéna, the studio stage of the Josef Kajetán Tyl Theatre in Pilsen. Exhibitions will rotate approximately four times a year and will be accessible before performances. But faculty and theatre have bigger plans — to forge a lasting connection between visual and performing arts, and to open students' work to the wider public. Sutnar Faculty Dean Vojtěch Aubrecht spoke about the collaboration and the vision he shares with Josef Kajetán Tyl Theatre Director Martin Otava in an interview for INFO.zcu.

What was the main impulse behind the collaboration with DJKT, and what do you expect from it?

I wouldn't want to take credit where it isn't due; this collaboration began long before I became dean. And it's entirely logical: alongside being the most significant institution in arts education, we are also among the most important mediators of culture to the public in the region. That the collaboration with Josef Kajetán Tyl Theatre keeps intensifying is certainly also thanks to warm personal relationships, a sense of social responsibility, and a genuinely deep mutual understanding of the artistic fields in which we operate. Just as Director Otava has a great passion for the visual arts, I love — and, dare I say, am very well versed in — the performing arts. This creates a unique space for sharing know-how and excellence, as well as for interdisciplinary collaboration.

How do you think this collaboration could shape how people in Pilsen view the Sutnar Faculty?

I still believe that one day, the people of Pilsen, led by their political representatives, will list Prazdroj, Škoda, Viktorka (Pilsen's professional football club) and the University of West Bohemia as symbols of their city, and in the same breath continue with Josef Kajetán Tyl Theatre, the Pilsen Philharmonic, the West Bohemian Gallery, and Sutnar Faculty. In reverse order, if you ask me! It's a question of emancipation; if we don't proudly identify with education, research, and culture, we will become just another anonymous town an hour's drive from Prague.

Why is it important to present student work outside the academic environment — here at Josef Kajetán Tyl Theatre, for instance?

Our faculty is markedly different from all the others at the University of West Bohemia. Our students don't come to the faculty to become something specific, like artists, because they already are. We don't teach them how to make art; we create the ideal conditions for developing their talent. Our faculty is at a level that allows it to be strictly selective and work only with the best in the field. That is why even the earliest outputs of our students are often fully realised works of art that deserve public attention. Since art is by its very nature a dialogue, a dialogue between the author and the audience, every worthy opportunity to confront a live public is welcome.

The collaboration with Josef Kajetán Tyl Theatre will extend to further projects. This semester, faculty students are working on the theme of HAVEL 26, reflecting on what would have been Václav Havel's 90th birthday. The Sutnar faculty, in collaboration with the theatre, is preparing exhibitions and a composed evening inspired by the legacy of the former president. Can you give us a sense of what visitors can look forward to?

In a period of political and social crisis, one that affects not only our country but the global community, it is the duty of institutions of our focus and significance to resist destructive pressures, to hold up a mirror, and to offer morally responsible and sustainable alternatives. Aligning ourselves with the legacy of Václav Havel is just one piece of the activities we are developing in this spirit. Havel is a symbol of the effort not to sink into lethargy, to resist the arrogance of power, and to lead by example in a society drunk on complacency. Our students have drawn inspiration from the many aspects of his work and life, and are creating a cycle that we will gradually present to the public. The composed evening will showcase not only a diverse range of outputs but also the strength of the bond between our institutions. Alongside thematic exhibitions, visitors can look forward to scholarly reflections on Havel's life, an unconventional staging of his dramatic works, and original musical performances. But this is not "just" a collaboration with Josef Kajetán Tyl Theatre; the project also involves Post Bellum, the Václav Havel Library, and others.