Lenka Štěpánková

Lenka Štěpánková 

1990

Current residence - Vienna

Since 2021 Ph.D. student (second year) at the Department of Fine Arts under the supervision of Michal Pěchouček, head of the studio of Fine Arts III. Graduate of the Master's degree at the Academy of Arts, Architecture, and Design in Prague in the Studio of Intermedia Confrontation, where I received my pedagogical qualification in 2019. I completed my bachelor's degree in 2017 at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Brno in the Studio of Painting 1.

I am currently on a research internship in Vienna at the Academy of Fine Arts with my supervisor Elke Krasny. I received a scholarship with the program "Aktion" Austria-Czech Republic. Architect and art theorist Elke Krasny's research and curatorial practice focuses on issues of care, social and ecological justice and emancipatory practices in art and architecture. An active collaboration with the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna allows me to continue my individual research projects in a collective environment with a strongly transdisciplinary and international artistic research focus.

Personal website

https://vimeo.com/lenkastepan

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/lenka.stepankova.186/

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/lenka_stepan/

Other

https://online.umprum.cz/kdyz-maluji-portret-svet-venku-prestane-existovat/

Portrait - contemporary portrait of the female artist in the medium of documentary video

What does the contemporary portrait of the female artist look like and what are the contexts and problematic issues that influence the current form of representation of female artists in the Czech Republic?

I choose the portraited women artists based on their specific experiences with art practice and their ways of dealing with the profession of being an artist in the contemporary Czech art scene. In doing so, I point to approaches that reveal a different narrative of the art profession than the traditional myth of the lonesome artistic genius. This also relates specifically to where and how women artists create and what supports and opportunities they have to continue their artistic practice. Therefore, I also touch on the question of who does and does not receive attention and visibility in the contemporary art world. I treat the medium of documentary video not only as a traditional documentary portrait, but in many ways the women artists participants are my active collaborators and their workplaces become activated environments for the creation of artworks. For this reason, I draw on the principles of feminist-led research, which is self-reflexive, collaborative and process-oriented.