On 18 November 2025, the International Balkan University had the pleasure of hosting Assoc. Prof. Lenka Sýkorová, Ph.D. — an art historian, critic, and curator of contemporary fine art, known for her long-term curatorial work at Altán Klamovka Gallery in Prague and her extensive research on drawing as a contemporary artistic medium.

Lecture: “Thinking Through Drawing”

Time: 10:30 – 11:30
Target group: Students of Graphic Design and Visual Communication

During the lecture, Assoc. Prof. Sýkorová explored drawing as a space for slowing down, reflection, and embodied thinking. She emphasized how drawing functions as an intimate gesture and one of the most direct artistic tools for capturing lived experience. In recent years — shaped by global societal challenges — artists have increasingly turned to drawing to observe, process, and record both personal and collective histories.

The lecture presented research focusing on contemporary approaches to drawing, featuring works by internationally active artists:

• Jan Pfeiffer (CZ) – Movement of Metal (2015)

• Jasmin Schaitl (AT) – Reciprocity (2021)

• Marija Griniuk (LT) – Techno-Diving into Reflexive Painting (2022)

All three projects were exhibited at Altán Klamovka Gallery in Prague. These case studies were further contextualized within broader international exhibitions in Stockholm, Los Angeles, Valletta (Malta), and Recess (Ireland), demonstrating the relevance of drawing across diverse cultural and geographic settings.

Workshop: “Thinking Through Drawing: Nonverbal Communication and Material and Body Expression”

Time: 12:00 – 13:30
Target group: Students of Graphic Design and Visual Communication
Theme: Joy
Format: Pictograms

In the afternoon session, Assoc. Prof. Sýkorová led an experimental workshop that introduced students to drawing as a form of nonverbal communication and embodied expression. The workshop encouraged participants to move beyond traditional, representational drawing and instead explore:

• sensory perception,

• emotional response,

• gesture-based mark-making,

• the interaction between body, material, and space.

Using simple and accessible materials, students investigated how pictograms can communicate personal experiences of joy. The workshop integrated performative elements, allowing students to create, transform, and spatially engage with their pictographic symbols.

About the Lecturer

Assoc. Prof. Lenka Sýkorová, Ph.D. (1977, Prague)
An art historian, critic, and curator specializing in contemporary drawing and intermedia practices. She holds degrees from Charles University in Prague and the Faculty of Art and Design at J. E. Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem, where she completed her PhD in 2012 and became Associate Professor in 2022. Since 2004, she has served as curator of the Altán Klamovka Gallery in Prague, organizing numerous exhibition projects dedicated to the evolving forms and meanings of drawing in contemporary art.

This event significantly enriched the academic and artistic experience of IBU students, offering them deeper insight into drawing as a research method, artistic practice, and form of embodied knowledge.