Involvement in art gives students a broader perspective

Students at Anglo-American University are getting involved in the contemporary art community through Professor Karina Kottova’s Cultural Projects Planning class.

The course provides students with experience in art, education and management fields. Kottova requires students to get involved with practical work in the community with an individual cultural project.

“These projects range from launching a free music label to art gallery educational programming,” Kottova said.

Kottova expects students to compose a project through the semester that turns a basic idea into a large, comprehensive work that obtains funding. Kottova assists students in securing their internships and guides them in understanding how to organize their projects.

The class has no pre-requisites and Kottova will be offering a similar class in the fall semester called Arts and Cultural Management. Kottova says the cultural arts are an increasingly competitive field and having real world experience will help students along their future career path.

Kottova is the director of educational programming for two galleries in Prague: For the Dox Centre for Contemporary Art and Meetfactory.

Kottova defines the educational programs as “something that should provoke debate, let the visitors communicate and create their own opinions.

“We create a diversity of interactive programs for students, including guided tours, creative workshops, hands-on activities and much more,” Kottova said.

AAU student Dasa Kollarova works with professor Kottova and Meetfactory curator Zahoransky Dusan to promote art education among local high school and middle school students. Meetfactory is currently planning workshops to educate students on contemporary art in Prague. If the workshops are successful, Meetfactory plans to hold them more frequently and for larger groups of students.

Meetfactory hopes to create student interest in contemporary art and change the way the community views the art centre. “Meetfactory is usually perceived as a narrow art community, we hope to change that by attracting a younger generation,” Kollarova said.

Grad student Nemanja Djukic is an intern for Dox. “My internship has provided me with the answer to a nagging question: What exactly is a student of humanities supposed to do after finishing school?”

Djukic assists in translating the thematic interpretations of different exhibitions at Dox for young people to help them better understand the artists' concepts. Djukic’s work aims to educate children and create a better relationship between the viewer and contemporary art. Students might compare and contrast different artists’ works to uncover meanings.

Djukic said Dox mainly targets students of Czech schools in their educational programming but is currently working to reach all international schools within the Czech Republic.

Djukic found professional guidance through his internship with Dox. He enjoys experiencing the sociological concepts associated with art first-hand. Djukic steered away from marketing in his freshman year, so the accepting an internship relating to marketing was difficult for him. Djukic said the internship makes him look at art from a managerial standpoint, which gives him with a new perspective on both subjects.

“I am an opinionated guy and the idea of cultural management is on my personal blacklist, therefore I find the class to be an interesting challenge,” Djukic said.

In the future, Djukic hopes to find a position in post-secondary education. His internship provides him with the experience and the perspective to uncover his professional aspirations.