Lenka Tsikoliya

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Uhříněves – a city in the countryside, a countryside in the city

02/12/2024

Collaboration between the students of the Institute of Sociological Studies, FSV UK, and the Department of Art Education, PedF UK, under the Guidance of Barbora Spálová and Lenka Tsikoliya


We conducted a short applied research project with the residents of the Uhříněves district to explore their relationship with the lived environment. We used narrative interview techniques and mental mapping based on Kevin Lynch’s methodology. The research findings were processed by students of ISS FSV UK into a brief semi-popularized text, which was then shared with the residents of Uhříněves. The students of Kvv PedF UK designed and implemented site-specific art in Uhříněves. The course concluded with a walk through Uhříněves for local residents and a reflection session for students.

Site-specific art can serve as a means to establish a connection with public space, engage with its challenges and potential, and foster a deeper relationship with the local environment. In collaboration with sociology experts, art can create a vital link between participants in artistic activities and the lived space of a given location.

Installations, events, performances, and games were based on sociological research. These installations were based not only on the physical characteristics of the space but, more importantly, on its social qualities, including its history and local narratives. Finally, a reflection process took place to evaluate how participants’ relationships with the location had changed.