MY TEACHING MOBILITY IN BANJA LUKA: Svetlana Volic, Faculty of Fine Arts
Svetlana Volic
University of Arts in Belgrade, Faculty of Fine Arts
Erasmus+ Mobility for Teaching at:
University of Banja Luka – Academy of Arts, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Under the programme Erasmus+ Mobility for Teaching, I had a wonderful opportunity to teach at the Academy of Arts in Banja Luka. My stay was very well organized and included 10 hours of teaching over five days, from May 9th to May 13th 2022.
On the first mobility day, I had a meeting with dear colleagues from the Academy Administration and the Office for International Cooperation: Dean of the Academy of Arts prof. Dragana Purković Macan; Vice-Dean for Art and International Cooperation of the Academy of Arts prof. Borjana Mrđa; Mobility coordinator for Fine Arts prof. Jelena Grubor and Head of Painting department prof. Radoslav Tadić. Although we already have a good mobility exchange of students, professors and exhibitions, we discussed how to increase cooperation between the two institutions in the future. During my stay I had a chance to visit all studios at the Academy of Arts in Banja Luka to familiarize myself with students’ works and teaching processes at the host institution, I had very creative and fruitful conversations with the students and professors. I would highlight several discussions with prof. Jelena Grubor, when we shared our professional and artistic opinions on a specific topic: How to encourage implementation of various interdisciplinary approaches in current curriculums of both institutions – how to increase the exchange of expertise and related knowledge in the field of interdisciplinary art practice.
My teaching programme was conceived as a synthesis of theory and artistic research, it included Lectures and Workshops under the title “Site-specific and Psychogeography – Reading, visualizing and performing the city of Banja Luka”. The first activity was a Lecture (1.5 hours, attended by 20 students) on the topic of Art in Public Space, followed by conversation and preparations for the workshop an in situ exploration of Banja Luka. The second day included a workshop with the students – group and individual exploration of specific places in Banja Luka and implementation of interdisciplinary research practice (duration 4 hours). The aim was to introduce students to the processes and projects that have space as a partner, and the potential this type of dialogue provides for artistic expression. The artistic method applied the principle of psychogeographical research walks. The goal of these mental and physical “wandering” was to experience not only visible premises but to contemplate and imagine the invisible city as well. Throughout the research process, students produced their ”walking diaries” – in the form of text, psychogeographic maps, photographs, audio and video recordings. Student Sara Milojević from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade, who is currently on the Erasmus + student mobility programme in Banja Luka, also joined our workshop. The third day included a short Lecture about Site-specific projects and Psychogeography, as well consultations with students towards the design and implementation of final artistic reactions, further development of ideas and possible interventions in public space (duration 4 hours). The open-form concept of a workshop provided an opportunity for experimentation, creative freedom and an interdisciplinary approach.
During my stay in Banja Luka, I had several fruitful consultations with student Vladimir Vlačina from Banja Luka, as his co-mentor in the Doctoral programme in Polymedia Art at the Unversity of Arts in Belgrade. On May 13th I attended, at the Cultural Center Banski Dvor in Banja Luka, the opening of the exhibition “If Life Stopped at the First Encounter” – traditional painting and calligraphy work from the Xi’an Academy in China. Dean of the Academy of Arts Prof. Dragana Purković Macan, MA, said that this exhibition represents the beginning of cooperation with Xi’an Academy, which was established thanks to recommendations from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade, which already have exchange projects with the Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts. Next evening I had the pleasure to visit the opening of the exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art of the Republic of Srpska (MSURS): The exhibition “The future repeats itself more than history” by artist Igor Bošnjak from Trebinje and The exhibition “Decorative Properties” by artist Borjana Mrdja from Banja Luka. Before Banja Luka, Borjana presented this series of works at the Gallery of the Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade in 2020, within her doctoral art project.
My teaching mobility at the Academy of Arts in Banja Luka was a wonderful experience, it confirmed strong links between the University of Banja Luka and the University of Arts in Belgrade, and I believe it will encourage plenty of future projects and new cooperations.
