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From traditional art disciplines to experimental techniques, this year’s ArtCamp at the Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art offers more than forty courses. Alongside established courses such as figure drawing, illustration, painting, and bookbinding, participants can also explore working with sound or augmented reality. Some courses are being introduced for the first time.

“New additions include videomapping, creative writing, designing a board game, or working on an author´s photobook,” said Lenka Kodýtková, the summer school´s Executive Director. New courses also include experimental animation, visual communication with a focus on branding, and environmental design, which introduces participants to the basic principles of architectural design with an emphasis on sustainability and ecological responsibility.

Registrations are open until the end of May, and participants can choose up to three one-week courses. However, more than half of the courses are already fully booked. Places are still available, for example, in the visual communication course, where participants will explore the relationship between graphic design, branding, and activism. They can also apply for the new media course, where they will capture their perception of the world shaped by instability and shifting perspectives. A course focused on mixed-media techniques will show them that anyone can be an artist and that any place can become a studio. A full overview of available courses open to international participants can be found on the summer school’s registration website.

High interest in the summer school is nothing unusual. According to director Lenka Kodýtková, some participants return repeatedly: “It is encouraging to see familiar names from previous years among the applicants. Parents sign up with their children, as do siblings and groups of friends. It is their time to spend together. We see ArtCamp not only as an educational event, but also as a space for meeting and sharing. This is supported not only by the open environment of our faculty, but also by the accompanying programme, much of which is accessible to the public.”

This year’s anniversary edition will also look back at the summer school's history through an exhibition on the riverfront in Pilsen, while the Incubator Gallery will present invited artists. The programme will also include informal ArtCamp Talks with various artists, guided studio tours with information for prospective students of the Sutnar Faculty, and Friday presentations of the participants’ work created during the week, held directly in the faculty building.

For twenty years, ArtCamp has been an integral part of summer at the Sutnar Faculty. The City of Pilsen also provides financial support for the event. The summer courses are suitable for anyone looking for an inspiring space for their ideas, wanting to try something new, or aiming to improve their skills in a specific artistic technique. They also offer opportunities to learn from international artists, gain new perspectives, and discover unexpected ways of thinking.

“The Czech education system, in terms of internationalisation, is something of a museum piece. ArtCamp is one of the tools our faculty uses to compensate for this limitation partially. The benefits of international experience are clear: expanding creative potential, broadening mental horizons, and reflecting on one’s own limitations. Sharing high aesthetic and ethical values with the wider public is, in my view, our responsibility,” explained the Dean of the faculty, Vojtěch Aubrecht. This year, artists from countries including Japan, Germany, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, and Slovakia will take part. Further details are available on the ArtCamp website.