On October 24, 2024, an international online conference was held as part of the project Hidden Visegrad Heritage: Artists’ Studios Online, organized by the Polish Arton Foundation in cooperation with the Faculty of Arts at TUKE and other partners from V4 countries. The conference focused on the topic of care for private artistic archives and the legacy of creators.

Speakers included Luiza Nader, Róna Kopeczky, Kata Balázs, Jana Písaříková, and other theorists from the V4 countries. The Slovak section was represented by experts coordinated by the Faculty of Arts TUKE: Assoc. Prof. Richard Kitta, ArtD., Mgr. Gabriela Garlatyová, PhD., Dr. Katarína Bajcurová, PhD., and Mgr. art. Tomáš Marušiak, who actively contributed with presentations linked to the project’s research activities. The project is focused on documenting and digitally processing the works of significant Central European artists.

The conference block was opened by Gabriela Garlatyová with the presentation “Catalogue raisonné of Mária Bartuszová (1936–1996): An outline of the current state of research and analysis of sources in relation to the work of Mária Bartuszová.” She addressed not only the biography and oeuvre of this exceptional Slovak sculptor but also the process of creating her artistic archive and compiling the comprehensive catalogue titled Maria Bartuszová Catalogue Raisonné.

She was followed by Katarína Bajcurová with the topic “Rudolf Sikora: Between ecology, cosmology, and social activism.” She outlined the development of the work of one of the most prominent representatives of the Slovak neo-avant-garde, highlighted his environmental and social stances, and analyzed the context in which his works emerged.

Tomáš Marušiak followed up on Sikora’s work with the presentation “Artistic-research strategies of Rudolf Sikora: A perspective on artistic-research strategies as transpositions of scientific thinking into the sphere of art.” His presentation focused on Sikora’s philosophical and research foundations, as well as on the potential of using artificial intelligence in further exploration of his work.

The final presentation of the conference was delivered by Richard Kitta, titled “Archives of M.A.: Non-definitive research of the artist’s memory.” He introduced the life and work of intermedia artist Milan Adamčiak and the structure of his extensive archive. He also drew attention to the four-part monograph Quadrology of Archives (ed. Michal Murin, Dive Buki) and the album Adamčiak Začni!, which documents the artist’s literary and musical concepts created for his final exhibition.

Conference online:
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