FFA BUT at Biennale Arte 2026 and on other studio excursions and international trips
On 26–29 October 2026, four studios from the Faculty of Fine Arts of Brno University of Technology (FFA BUT) took part in a joint visit to Biennale Arte 2026 in Venice. The trip brought together 54 students from Painting Studio 1, Painting Studio 3, the Performance Studio and the Sculpture Studio, accompanied by six academic staff members.
The programme focused on the 61st International Art Exhibition, Biennale Arte, conceived by curator Koyo Kouoh under the title In Minor Keys. Students explored contemporary artistic practices in the main exhibition venues at the Giardini and Arsenale, as well as in the national pavilions.
The programme also included a guided tour with Jakub Jansa, a tutor in the Performance Studio and a co-author of The Silence of the Mole at the Czechoslovak Pavilion. Students were able to discuss the development and presentation of the work directly with one of the exhibiting artists. Created by Jansa in collaboration with the artist duo Selmeci Kocka Jusko and curator Peter Sit, the project combines film, sculptural objects and architecture.
The joint trip was funded directly by the Faculty, at a cost of CZK 4,500 per student. The Photography Studio and Painting Studio 2 also organised separate visits to Biennale Arte 2026, on 10–14 May and 20–23 October respectively. Across these three trips by six studios, the Faculty supported 76 student visits, providing total funding of approximately CZK 383,000.
Other international excursions throughout the year combined visits to exhibitions and specialist institutions with artistic practice, discussion and the development of international collaborations.
The Video Studio travelled to Pizzo in Calabria on 10–21 April to continue its work connected with Cinema Mele. Since 2024, the studio has been documenting this cinema, situated in a rock cave, through photographs, illustrations, interviews and 3D scans. The excursion built on previous film and performance collaborations and developed the studio’s Bat Cave Cinema concept, which explores screenings and collective viewing experiences outside conventional exhibition spaces.
The Product Design Studio visited Milan on 23–26 April for Salone del Mobile.Milano 2026, whose 64th edition took place at Fiera Milano Rho. The excursion focused on the relationship between design and industrial production, materials and manufacturing processes, and collaboration between designers and manufacturers. The broader plans for the trip also included design museums, showrooms and production facilities in Milan and the Brianza region, including ADI Design Museum, Fondazione Achille Castiglioni and Kartell Museo.
The Visiting Artists’ Studio travelled to Warsaw with Zuza Golińska on 4–6 May. The excursion built on the semester’s exploration of space as a physical, political and emotional structure. The visit to the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw formed part of a broader programme exploring local institutions, independent galleries and artistic contexts. The plans included venues such as Zamek Ujazdowski, Zachęta, Foksal Gallery, Piktogram and Raster, alongside opportunities to connect with the local artistic and curatorial community.
Graphic Design Studio 1 attended Art Meets Radical Openness 2026 – Becoming Unreadable in Linz on 14–16 May. Exhibitions, lectures, workshops and performances combined critical reflection on digital technologies with themes of community infrastructures, open-source software, decentralisation and privacy. The visit also aimed to establish connections with servus.at, the organisation behind the festival, which provides non-commercial digital infrastructure for cultural and artistic projects.
The Environment Studio travelled to Brussels from 29 June to 2 July to prepare the exhibition Answers to Ask at Prague House. The exhibition was developed in collaboration with Printmaking Studio 2 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. Students contributed to its concept, graphic design and installation, responding to the brief Power through environmental, personal and social perspectives on power. The wider programme included encounters with Brussels’ art scene, artists’ studios and institutions such as WIELS, CIVA and ARGOS.
The Body Design Studio visited Germany’s Ruhr region on 21–26 September for Manifesta 16 Ruhr – This is not a church. The biennial used twelve former or underused churches in Duisburg, Essen, Gelsenkirchen and Bochum, exploring their transformation into spaces for cultural and community gatherings. The broader plans for the trip also included contact with Instrument Inventors in The Hague, a platform dedicated to interdisciplinary artistic and technological experimentation.
The Spatial Design Studio travelled to Copenhagen on 1–4 October to visit the architectural practice BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group. The excursion focused on collaboration between visual artists and architectural practices, and on integrating artworks into buildings and public spaces. Its programme combined a studio visit with professional discussion, a workshop with architect Jan Magasaník, and an exploration of Copenhagen’s architecture and art institutions.
Eight students received support from the BUT Excellence Programme to take part in Art Market Budapest 2026, where they presented selected bachelor’s graduation projects in the Faculty’s exhibition Susedia – Sousedé – Szomszédok – Neighbors. The trip took place on 13–18 October. The Faculty’s presentation was accompanied by a programme at the ISBN+ contemporary art centre and bookshop, including a presentation of the publication Where Them Stray Dogs At and Bat Cave Cinema screenings.
The Drawing and Printmaking Studio visited the 18th Lyon Biennale – Passer d’un rêve à l’autre / To pass from one dream to another on 14–17 October. Curated by Catherine Nichols, this edition explores the economy in a broader sense, including the circulation of value, relationships, attention and care. Alongside the biennial and museum exhibitions, the excursion aimed to develop connections with the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts de Lyon and the Institut d’art contemporain in Villeurbanne, particularly in artists’ prints, editions and zines.
Students from the Body Design Studio, together with Lenka Klodová, also presented their work at the 5th International Performance Art Meetings Tomorrow Begins Today, held on 28–30 October in Bielsko-Biała, Poland. The festival was organised by Galeria Bielska BWA in collaboration with the Faculty of Media Art, Photography and Experimental Film at the Academy of Art in Szczecin. Its programme combined artistic presentations with exchanges between students and artists teaching at European art schools.
Graphic Design Studio 2, led by Linda and Daniela Dostálková, travelled to Berlin on 4–6 November. The programme included visits to Gropius Bau, Neue Nationalgalerie, KW Institute for Contemporary Art and Schinkel Pavillon. The excursion built on the studio’s interest in the connections between graphic design, contemporary art and visual culture, offering opportunities to explore different approaches to exhibition presentation and the use of images and space.
The Visiting Artists’ Studio, led by Martin Chramosta, is visiting the University of Applied Arts Vienna on 10–11 November. The excursion builds on the semester programme Symposium of Situations, which focuses on fieldwork and public space. Collaboration with the university’s Sculpture and Space studio combines the exploration of art in public space with exchanges between students from both institutions. The trip to Vienna will be followed by a visit from students of the Vienna studio to FFA BUT in Brno. The BUT Excellence Programme also contributed to funding the trip.
The Intermedia Studio is preparing an excursion to Cairo on 25–30 November. The programme will combine contact with the Czech Centre in Cairo with visits to museums, heritage sites and contemporary art venues. Planned destinations include the Grand Egyptian Museum, the Museum of Islamic Art, the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization and the Giza archaeological complex. The trip builds on themes of postcolonial theory, critiques of Orientalism and the interpretation of historical heritage. Group discussions and students’ own visual, written and sound records will provide material for subsequent reflection and presentations at the Faculty.
Centrally recorded support for completed and planned international excursions in 2026 now exceeds CZK 1.5 million and 200 student visits. The excursions are funded through the Faculty's competition for the support of student excursions, with additional funding from the Programme for the Support of Strategic Management of Public Higher Education Institutions for 2026–2030 and the BUT Excellence Programme. Further studio excursions have taken place or are planned beyond those covered in this overview.
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