Two decades of young art and design in Plzeň. Sutnarka celebrates 20 years of its existence

At the beginning was the bold vision of illustrator, graphic designer, and academic painter Josef Mištera, founder and emeritus dean. Part of the celebration is a social evening, an exhibition of the founder and emeritus dean Josef Mištera, and a new design of the facade of the faculty building.

Fragments of colored stripes on a white background now adorn the facade of the Ladislav Sutnara Faculty of Design and Art. For its twentieth anniversary on its creative journey, the faculty gifted itself a new visual identity designed by Czech graphic designer, educator, and head of the Department of Graphic Design and Illustration at Sutnarka, Kristina Fišerová. The colorful motif replaced the original red, black, and white areas forming the Sutnarka inscription, originally created by Czech typographer and graphic designer Rostislav Vaněk.

It was the bold vision of illustrator, graphic designer, and academic painter Josef Mištera that led to the establishment of the Institute of Art and Design in 2004. In the following years, it dynamically developed, grew, and expanded its portfolio of taught disciplines at both the bachelor's and master's levels. "The long-awaited transformation of the Institute of Art and Design into a full-fledged faculty occurred on September 1, 2013. In March of the following year, the faculty adopted its unique name, the Ladislav Sutnara Faculty of Design and Art, as a tribute to the Czech-American designer and native of Plzeň," says the current dean of Sutnarka, Vojtěch Aubrecht.

The Ladislav Sutnara Gallery also presented an exhibition titled "Josef Mištera Still Going..." this April on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the faculty, focusing on the creative surge of the first dean in the context of the pandemic and the associated isolation. Josef Mištera addresses Czech history in his work, the general theatrum mundi with its human absurdities, trials, and hopes, but also offers a glimpse into his own mirror. The exhibition will be open until May 4, and visitors can also attend guided tours.

The celebrations of the round faculty anniversary will culminate in a Social Evening for current students, alumni, faculty, staff, and significant partners, which will take place on Tuesday, April 23, directly at Sutnarka. It will include a fashion show celebrating the 15th anniversary of the Fashion Design Studio, an original visual performance by the Graphic Design Studio, and a dance performance called Square3, focusing on dance at the edge of light and darkness.

But there are many more reasons to celebrate at Sutnarka. The ArtCamp summer art school, which annually offers more than 40 courses to the general public, will be held for the eighteenth time this year. "The course offerings change every year and are regularly supplemented with interesting novelties led by foreign instructors. This year, they will come from Japan, Belgium, and Israel, among other places," adds the dean. Art lovers can look forward to courses in video creation, virtual reality, furniture design, artificial intelligence, photography, typography, sculptural portrait modeling, screen printing, or design work. Applications can be submitted until May 31.