Zuza Golińska will lead the FFA Visiting Artists’ Studio during the summer semester
During the summer semester of 2026, students will explore space as a physical, political and emotional structure shaping both individual and collective experience. Through analysis, discussion and hands-on experimentation, they will investigate how architecture, scale and materiality influence thinking, decision-making and well-being. With an emphasis on fragility, cooperation and interdependence, Zuza Golińska’s approach fosters a supportive, ‘no fear’ environment that encourages confident exploration across disciplines, media and contexts – indoors, outdoors, and in dialogue with the city and landscape.
Applications are open until 16 February 2026. Information on how to apply can be found here. If you have any questions, please contact the studio assistant, Šárka Zahálková (sarka.zahalkova@vut.cz).
Bio
Zuza Golińska is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice explores the impact of architecture and public space on the individual. Her work examines how physical and mental well-being are shaped by the psychology of space, particularly in the context of civilisational acceleration and late-stage capitalism. Golińska often challenges the boundaries between functionality and aesthetics, investigating how spatial forms influence emotion and decision-making. In her recent work, she has focused on imagining future landscapes, with particular attention to the remnants of human presence—such as ruins and industrial by-products—marking the end of human-led labour. She is a graduate of the Mirosław Bałka Studio of Spatial Activities at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. Her master’s thesis was supervised by the renowned art historian and critic Anda Rottenberg. Golińska has received scholarships from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. In 2015, she was nominated for the StartPoint Prize; in 2018, she was awarded the ArtePrize by the Delfina Foundation in London; and in 2022, she received the Dorothea von Stetten Art Award, presented by the Kunstmuseum Bonn. Golińska has taken part in residencies at the Delfina Foundation (2018) and Fogo Island Arts (2022), and was part of the Artist Development Programme run by the European Investment Bank (2017). Her work has been exhibited at leading institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Zachęta National Gallery of Art, the National Gallery in Prague and the Yokohama Museum of Art.
Teaching concept
My practice and teaching have a spatial foundation; I am closely engaged with questions of scale and the body in relation to different materialities. Together with students, I seek to analyse how politics and structures manifest physically and spatially, and how they influence our ways of thinking and decision-making. I pay particular attention to notions of fragility and tenderness, understood as bonds that connect us. By focusing on similarities, cooperation and interdependence, I understand the creative process as a traceable network of connections between art, science, literature and nature. I aim to foster a sense of safety alongside a ‘no fear’ attitude that enables students to explore scale, medium and theory with confidence.
Structure
Group activities supplemented by regular individual consultations. / Conducted both indoors and outdoors. / Regular meetings and discussions held in English. / Reading sessions and group analysis of texts and articles. / A semester-long thematic focus with regular, short creative tasks. / Identifying structures and their physical manifestations; conceptually deconstructing them. / Creating a shared dictionary of words, images and references. / Inviting guests—artists, writers, curators and/or experts from various fields. / Field trips; walks in the city and in nature; visits to galleries, museums, architectural sites and significant locations.
Draft schedule
February
18.02.2026 – First studio meeting
Part 1 – Zuza’s introduction, 11.00 am – 1.00 pm
Part 2 – Group introductions, 2.30 pm – 4.30 pm
25.02.2026 – Second studio meeting
Part 1 – Reading and discussion, 11.00 am – 1.00 pm
Part 2 – Reading, discussion and possible projects, 2.30 pm – 4.30 pm
March
18.03.2026 – Third meeting / Part 1 / Part 2
25.03.2026 – Fourth meeting / Part 1 / Part 2
April
01.04.2026 – Fifth meeting / Part 1 / Part 2
20.–24.04.2026 – Sixth meeting / Field trip
Warsaw trip (approximately three days during this week)
May
Individual consultations / group work (as required)
Texts (excerpts):
A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
Modern Nature by Derek Jarman
Philosophy of the Home: Domestic Space and Happiness by Emanuele Coccia
Pornotopia: An Essay on Playboy’s Architecture and Biopolitics by Paul Preciado
Dream Cities: Seven Urban Ideas That Shape the World by Wade Graham
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
Simians, Cyborgs, and Women: The Reinvention of Nature by Donna Haraway
Why Look at Animals? by John Berger
| Author | doc. MgA. Filip Cenek |
|---|---|
| Published | |
| Short URL | https://www.favu.vut.cz/en//f26745/d317674 |