ARTSEMESTR Summer 2024

ARTSEMESTR, a school-wide exhibition of projects from the UMPRUM summer semester, has been held in its familiar form since 2004. The historic building of the Academy of Arts, Architecture, and Design in Prague on Jana Palacha Square will once again be transformed into one large gallery, literally from the basement to the attic. This year's edition is special. UMPRUM is going to undergo a planned reconstruction and many of the studios will be moved next semester.

The students of UMPRUM react to the events around them with their projects, ask themselves social questions, formulate and materialize visions into concrete forms. The Studio of Film and Animation is reacting to the move of its home base, after more than 70 years, the Studio will by moving to new modern premises in the Technology Centre of UMPRUM Mikulandská. Their exhibition and the theme of their final project therefore focus on saying goodbye to the original studio space. Thanks to this, usually inaccessible places will be opened to the public.

The genetic code of the Academy of Arts, Architecture, and Design in Prague is reflected in collaboration with companies and institutions, supported by the creative laboratory UMlab. This semester, the Studio of Graphic Design and New Media focused on a dialogue about the form of the graphic visual of 3D printer manufacturer Prusa Research, the Studio of Furniture and Interior Design sought the use of waste material of the furniture company TON, and the Studio of Glass finalized a collaboration with the Klimchi glass factory.

UMPRUM is primarily a guide for its students and besides the studio teaching in five departments, gaining practice with the tertiary sphere, the school emphasizes interdisciplinary cooperation. The Studio of Concept – Object – Meaning (K.O.V.) has joined forces and know-how with the Studio of Textile Design in order to find a common application for the Czech shear wool, which is looking for its current place in the textile industry.

The atmosphere of this year's Artsemester, including the opening, will be in the spirit of "Keep it Cool", with a sense of perspective, humour and environmental subtext. The graphics and the accompanying programme are inspired by the summer atmosphere, the temperatures are rising and it is starting to get hot. The visuals were prepared by Filip Sajler, Hana Kubrichtová, Anna Vašičková, David Stejskal. In the "hot" visual you will find the personal touch of students, teachers and staff of the school.

Artsemestr summer will once again bring a variety of works from the fields of design, graphics, architecture, applied and free art. From June 6 to 11, visitors can look forward to solo and team works of diverse scales and themes.

Studios and topics

Studio of Architecture I /Jan Šépka, as. Miloslava Gulbisová: Multikino Petřiny - exploring a specific typology, examining in which direction this type of entertainment should go and how it should manifest itself in the formation of independent architectural objects.
Studio of Architecture II/ A2 Future Architectures Platform / Eva Franch i Gilabert, as. Alžběta P. Brůhová, Kateřina Vídenová: What If Culture: Museum As A Laboratory Of Society - The Next Generation Museum - analysis of different cultural epochs through museum typology.  Formulating the concept of mission, vision and institutional form of the next generation museum, taking into account these findings, collections, all the way to architecture.
Studio of Architecture III / Imrich Vaško, as. Shota Tsikoliya: Learning from Metabolism – Inspired by Japanese utopian architecture of the 1960s, there is a need to understand metabolism as change, not growth. // Final project: Metabolic Hut - a basic living space that simultaneously reflects the need for constant transformation.
Studio of Architecture IV / Roman Brychta, as. Markéta Mráčková, Barbora Šimonová: After Transgas – a proposal for revitalizing the space of the former Transgas with multifunctional urban development. The buildings should exhibit high-quality architectural expression and interact with passersby. This is a team collaboration across different academic years. // Final project: models of proposed multifunctional buildings on the former Transgas site; 3rd year - a booth for the Bologna Children's Book Fair, to be implemented for the 2025/26 fair.
Studio of Industrial Design / Ivan Dlabač, as. Vlastimil Bartas: 1st year - clay sculptures expressing two opposing emotions, 2nd year - mechanism - forward motion of a toy car, 3rd year - product budgeting, 5th year - aesthetic medicine; cooperation with ČEZ on the project Design Vision of Electromobility in Public Space // Final project: pedal boat for Prague.
Studio of Furniture and Interior Design / Roman Vrtiška, Vladimír Žák, as. Petr Hák: cooperation with ČEZ on the project Design Vision of Electromobility in Public Space //  Final project: Transformation of waste material from Ton's production into a new product.
Studio of Product Design / Michal Froněk, Jan Němeček, as. Michal Malášek: cooperation with ČEZ on the project Design Vision of Electromobility in Public Space // Final project: Personalized mask with a touch of Japanese culture.
Studio of Fine Arts I / Amálie Bulandrová, Tereza Jindrová, Dominik Lang: The issue of the senses - a critical look at the standards and norms that define mainstream perceptions of what is "normal" and what is "different," considering the diversity of perception and the perspectives of various groups // Final project: free assignment.
Studio of Fine Arts II / Lenka Vítková, as. Denisa Bytelová: free assignment, autofiction, self-portrait
Studio of Fine Arts III / Michal Pěchouček, Dominik Gajarský: "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" Neil Armstrong – Scenario for a happening in which other students can participate, documentation of the process or the result // final project: Rave until the grave, Sad clowns - Free interpretation of one of the themes
Studio of Fine Arts IV / Martin Kohout, as. Marie Tučková: klauzura: Free assignment inspired by the semester's theme of performance
The Visiting Artist Studio / Sláva Sobotovičová, Setareh Shahbazi (guest artist): Strategy for exchanging experiences, sharing interests and skills with a focus on physically manifested experiences // final project: free assignment
Studio of Glass / Klára Horáčková, Ján Gajdušek, David Černý: Point of View – searching for an individual creative path, striving for a comprehensive way of thinking about creation and the author's persona; realization of winning designs for the Klimchi brand
Studio of Ceramics and Porcelain / Milan Pekař, as. Tereza Sluková: Final project: Happiness - a reflection on how an artistic/craftwork becomes a tool for sharing joy. Presentation of various approaches to sharing happiness.
Studio of Concept – Object – Meaning (K.O.V.) / Tadeáš Podracký, as. Romana Drdová: RINGS /5 rings in sizes 2 cm, 8 cm, 20 cm, 50 cm, 100 cm - developing creative skills and discovering various principles of constructing an object that differs in scale, not in typology. // Project: WOOL – a joint project with the Studio of Textile – using Czech woolen fleece, applying wool in the fields of design and art.
Studio of Fashion Design / Miroslav Sabo, as. Monika Krobová: Clothing Reflection of Inner Resistance - a clothing collection encompassing themes, feelings, and images; essentially, what deeply irritates the authors or what they profoundly dislike and have never developed a connection to.
Studio of Fashion and Footwear Design / Simona Rybáková, as. Vojtěch Novotný: Everyday's Red Carpet - a metaphor for perceiving every ordinary day as a special, exceptional day. Continuation of the Winter Semester 23/24 Red Carpet project.
Studio of Textile Design / Linda Kaplanová, as. Martin Pondělíček: WOOL – exploring the use of Czech woolen fabric // final project: WOOL – a collaborative project with the Studio of Concept – Object – Meaning (K.O.V.)
Studio of Illustration and Graphics / Juraj Horváth, as. Michaela Kukovičová: Workshop of Japanese Woodcut with Master Jun Shirazu, Chap Activity book for children, Go Outside and Seek the Unseen, Coffee, Books, Caricature // final project: Bestiary — inspired by medieval bestiaries — Beastie Boys & Grrrlz
Studio of Type Design and Typography / Filip Kraus, Jan Čumlivski: Exploration of Narrative Themes - storytelling through imagery, sequences, repetition, and story; publications resulting from workshops with Yevgeniy Anfalov, Matyáš Machat, and Ilia Bazhanov // final project: Authorial projects exploring the theme of storytelling
Studio of Graphic Design and Visual Communications / Zuzana Lednická, as. Richard Jaroš: Corpus et anima - Redesign of a book series according to personal selection and typesetting of an entire book including its cover // final project: "The Dreamer's True Friend: GDVK Dream Dictionary" - an alphabetical dream dictionary of the GDVK studio. Each student processed 3 letters of the alphabet and created 4 entries for each.
Studio of Film and Animation / Jan Drozda, as. Jakub Zich, as. Zuzana Bukovinská: Original audiovisual projects // final project: "Monument of the Studio, Studio as a Monument" - homage to the place where generations of authors worked within the animation studio for over 70 years.
Studio of Graphic Design and New Media / Petr Babák, as. Lukáš Kijonka, as. Martin Ponec: New logo and comprehensive visual style, including 3D merchandise, corporate catalog, TikTok, etc., for PRUSA RESEARCH company and its subsidiaries. // final project: Presentation of logo and comprehensive visual style for PRUSA RESEARCH company.
Studio of Photography II / Alena Kotzmannová, as. Karin Zadrick: Collaboration with other studios at UMPRUM – Studio of Fashion Design – collection photoshoot, Studio of Illustration and Graphics – Children's Photo Book, Studio of Textile and K.O.V. – documentation of the Wool project // final project: "When Time Comes" - a final project as a time to pause, providing space to work on individual themes.
Studio of  Design and Digital Technology / Jan Netušil, as. Jiří Hölzel: Music and Image: Basic Understanding of Analog and Digital Music and Its Visual Representation // final project: Recap of the interactive video mapping executed at the House of Culture in Ústí nad Labem titled "Rytmik Mosaik"; echoes of the exhibition project "Exploring Sound Fields" (at the BHROX gallery in Berlin) and other individual student projects associated with the semester's theme.
Visual Arts – Master's degree program in English / final project: "Strangers Everywhere" - a workshop followed by an exhibition of clay masks, reflecting on what makes us strangers or what compels us to feel like strangers, not only in a different country but also within our own countries, bodies, social groups, genders, and identities.

Graphics: Hana Kubrichtová, Anna Vašičková, David Stejskal, Filip Sajler
Photography: Ondřej Kubeš, Alžběta Chrudimská