Open Art Studio

Department of Special and Inclusive Education, Faculty of Education

Masaryk University (member EOA in the Czech Republic)

Open Art Studio is a specialised unit within the Department of Inclusive and Special Education at the Faculty of Education, Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic. The studio is dedicated to inclusive art education and the long-term support of artists who experience otherness. The studio provides a barrier-free environment and a professionally equipped workspace, enabling self-taught and non-professional artists to develop and realise their artistic practice. It offers curatorial support for exhibitions and vernissages, and provides special pedagogical assistance tailored to the needs of individual artists. As part of its educational mission, the studio facilitates professional placements for students of the Faculty of Education. It regularly organises dialogues and events with both professionals and non-specialist audience, exploring themes such as art as a space for inclusion and social engagement.The studio is also active in collection and documentation, cataloguing works created by artists affiliated with the studio. It conducts outreach activities in collaboration with partner institutions, including schools and social service organizations across various regions of the Czech Republic. In addition, Open Art Studio engages in interdisciplinary research and publishing, contributing to academic and professional discourse both nationally and internationally.

Olomouc Museum of Art

(member EOA in the Czech Republic)

The Olomouc Art Museum is one of the most important institutions of its kind in the Czech Republic. The museum takes professional care of artworks belonging to the state and the church as well as private works of art from antiquity to contemporary art culture. Museum develops its exhibition, research and educational activities in three buildings: the Museum of Modern Art and in two Archdiocesan museums, in Olomouc and Kroměříž. Olomouc Museum of Art currently maintains about 180.000 collection items, from old as well as modern art. The museum’s core collection consists of more than 96.000 objects and is divided by type of art into eleven sub-collections (architecture, artists’ books, photographs, prints, 20th century books, drawings, coins and medals, paintings, sculpture, applied graphics and applied arts). A unique specific feature of the sub-collection of drawings is a collection of art brut which is unparalleled in Czech galleries and museums in its scope and quality. This collection, which continues to grow, contains over 250 items and provides an image of mainly Czech art brut. This undoubtedly includes the numerous occurrences of spiritist drawings of high aesthetic quality. Almost fifty artists of better-known names, anonymous or less known, are represented in the collection. A large part of the collection consists of works by mediums whose authors were influenced by Spiritism (Adéla Ducháčová, Václav Groul, Vlasta Kodríková, Cecilie Marková, Josef Kotzian). The works of psychotic artists are also represented (Marie Kodovská, Františka Kudelová, Zbyněk Semerák). The collection of solitaire authors such as Anna Zemánková, Karel Havlíček is also significant. Pictures by Anselmo Legnani from Italy complete the profile of the collection. The works of Antonín Řehák and Natálie Schmidtová represent a position tending towards naive expression. Recently, the collection has also been expanded by art brut artists from Poland.

ATELIÉR ATRIUM

Za sklem o.s., Brno (member EOA in the Czech Republic)

ATELIÉR ATRIUM is a safe and stimulating environment for clients of the non-profit organisation Za sklem o. s. – BRNO, which provides the social services for people on the autistic spectrum. Its activities support their functional inclusion at any age and enable clients to discover, express, present and apply their artwork. The Ateliér consists of an art, ceramic, textile/graphic studios and exhibition spaces, including a rehearsal gallery and café. The team of the Atelier is made up of lecturers qualified in art and special education. Work with people between the ages of 1,5 to 64 is possible individually or in group. It covers the fields of activation, education, relaxation, motivation and professional and social skills, depending on their focus, individual setting and priorities. Neither talent nor any necessary support is needed to become a client of Ateliér. The outputs of the activities are presented both in the rehearsal gallery and in external exhibition spaces. Artistic creation helps the comprehensive development of the client's personality, their communication, social skills and self-realisation. It is an opportunity to express themselves freely. To support the self-confidence of the author, we use the presentation of the outputs of his work to a close family, but also to the wider public. At the same time, exhibition activities help to destigmatize autism spectrum disorder and people with otherness and their work. Reference: https://www.instagram.com/atelieratrium/

abcd z.s.

It is a non-profit association operating in the field of Art Brut, Outsider Art, and spontaneous visual expression. It focuses on supporting artists whose work emerges outside the academic art system, often in connection with disabilities, social exclusion, or specific life experiences. The association is engaged in the documentation, presentation, and mediation of these works through exhibitions, publications, workshops, and long-term collaboration with artists and professionals.

Galerie Art brut Praha

It is the first gallery in Prague dedicated exclusively to Art Brut and Outsider Art. It presents the work of artists operating outside the mainstream art world, whose practices emerge from an inner necessity rather than from ambitions of professional career building or market success. The gallery’s name refers to Jean Dubuffet’s concept of Art Brut (“raw art”), which is understood here in an open and inclusive manner. Art Brut Praha positions itself as a platform for authentic, non-academic artistic expression and for the sustained support of its creators within the Czech and broader Central European context. The gallery’s principal curator is Jaromír Typlt.