Art in Context is AVU's three-year post-bachelor fine art master’s programme taught in English that focuses on practice-based research, experimentation and collaboration through diverse fine art practices. Applications for October 2027 open in March 2027.
Employees
MgA. Tomáš Džadoň, ArtD.
Head of the Studio, Lecturer in Integrated Discipline – Diving into the Scene
tomas.dzadon@avu.czLuiza Prado
Lecturer in Studio
doc. PhDr. Pavlína Morganová, Ph.D.
Lecturer for the course Central and Eastern European Art 1945–1989
pavlina.morganova@avu.czArt in Context is AVU’s English-language studio MFA that focuses on practice-based research, experimentation and collaboration through diverse fine art practices.
The Art in Context curriculum combines a core studio programme with seminars, projects and individual consultation from an internationally renowned team of artists, performers, theorists and thinkers. The programme is designed around mutual exchange between students and instructors. Two years of intense learning culminate with a final third year focused on the creation and exhibition of a diploma project. Art in Context is based at Jan Zajíc Studio, close to AVU's main campus.
Studio work is complemented by a programme of workshops, contextual studies and lectures in art history and critical theory. Students have access to all of AVU’s facilities and workshops at the oldest art academy in the Czech Republic, and benefit from the rich history and dynamic community of students, alumni, artists, curators and art professionals at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. Students who complete this programme are awarded the degree of MgA. (Magistr umění), the recognised Czech equivalent of an MFA (Master of Fine Arts).
three-year study programme allowing time to develop an individual and collective artistic practice
small year-groups (up to 7 students), allowing for individual, student-focused tutoring
diverse student body
safe and supportive critical environment for presenting and discussing ideas
local and international instructors and lecturers drawing on varied disciplines and traditions
off-site activities and excursions within Central Europe, and eligibility for AVU’s study exchange programme
collaborative activities with local and international partners
contextual studies taught within studio practice, responding to students’ work through collectively chosen topics
option of organizing the final year according to an individual study plan, including distance learning
commitment to AVU’s Antidiscrimination Platform
Luiza Prado
As an artist, writer and theorist, Luiza Prado works between installation, sculpture, text, and image, using performance and ritual as a way of invitation and activation for audiences. Her practice explores relations and knowledge between plants, political infrastructures, and technology, and questions what processes are needed for collective concerns of environmental care and reproductive justice. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of the Arts Berlin, and an MA from the University of the Arts Bremen. Luiza leads the studio programme and consults individual projects for all semesters.
John Hill
John Hill is a writer, researcher and curator. As a member of the collective LuckyPDF, he has had work exhibited internationally, including at UCCA, Beijing and Museo Jumex, Mexico City, and has been commissioned by major institutions, including Hayward Gallery and Frieze Foundation. His practice-based Ph.D. looked at the interaction between art institutions, algorithms, self-organisation and artistic collaboration. He leads AVU’s Emergent Technologies Research Group. John teaches Reading / Writing / Practice, which is focused on the creative, professional and academic use of language as part of studio practice.
Tomáš Džadoň
Using architecture and its elements as a material for exploring historical memory and its real heritage, Tomáš Džadoň employs a wide range of forms, from objects and installations to site-specific interventions in public spaces. He explores the influence of architecture on people and society, confronting traditional folk architecture, which is closely linked to a unique context, with a universalistic view of architecture and urbanism. In 2013, for Folk Architecture Monument, he transported two traditional Slovak log cabins onto the roof of a 12-storey socialist apartment block in Košice, eastern Slovakia. Tomáš is the Art in Context programme leader and connects students to the local context.
Pavlína Morganová, Ph.D.
Pavlína Morganová is an art historian and curator, based in Prague. She works as a director of AVU’s Academic Research Centre and is the author of the acclaimed ‘A Walk Through Prague: Actions, Performances, Happenings 1949-1989’.She teaches the core subject Central and Eastern European Art 1945–1989.
Václav Magid
Václav Magid is an artist, curator and writer. He works as a researcher and lecturer at the Academic Research Centre where he is editor-in-chief of the journal Notebook of Art, Theory and Related Zones. For Art in Context he teaches Contemporary Art after 1989.
In addition to the core teaching staff, Art in Context invites international guest tutors from a wide range of fields. In previous years this has included Anna Daučíková, Jen Calleja, Alicja Rogalska and Tuan Mami. External guest artists, curators and gallerists are always part of the assessment process.AVU also hosts a wide range of guest lectures, presentations and screenings in English throughout the year.
AVU has extensive facilities for working across traditional and contemporary media. The 3D centre offers a complete range of 3D technologies such as object scanning, virtual modelling, advanced 3D printing, and soft material CNC cutting. The Craft Workshops (wood, metal and casting) offer facilities, equipment and instruction for practical making. The Printmaking Workshops provide facilities for students to learn the technology and techniques of printmaking, including silkscreen, lithograph, risograph and book-binding. The Digilab offers courses in software for video, audio, and 2D and 3D graphics. AVU’s library has an extensive physical collection of books and journals as well as access to online databases.
Art in Context students can access these facilities through inductions, workshops and elective courses, as well as during their open operating house.
The academic year is divided into a winter and a summer semester, with public presentation of works and assessments at the end of each semester. Weekly individual studio meetings, tutorials and critiques are accompanied by lectures in theory and art history. Regular study excursions and studio visits are a part of the curriculum.
Alongside core studio and theoretical subjects, students in years 1 and 2 gain credits from elective subjects with students from other programmes. These include practical instruction in woodwork, metalwork and casting, printmaking, drawing and photo/video editing or courses in architectural theory and poetry. The language of instruction is always English.
All students undertake one semester of exchange, either to another studio in AVU, or internationally supported by the EU Erasmus+ programme, through which AVU is partnered with over 70 institutions across the world.
Students enter their 3rd year through a state exam comprised of a written thesis and oral defence. The 3rd year diploma project is exhibited as part of AVU’s annual diploma exhibition and defended in front of a jury of internal and external examiners.
Art in Context welcomes students from a diverse range of backgrounds who have completed an undergraduate degree (BA or equivalent) in art or a related field of study. Art in Context accepts students from EU and non-EU countries on an equal basis, and provides support for obtaining study visas where necessary.
Applications for study beginning in October 2027 will open in March 2027. The application is digital and interviews are conducted online.
The application fee is €40.
For more information about the application process contact Tomáš Džadoň tomas.dzadon@avu.cz
If you have any further questions, please contact the Study Department by email at prijimacky@avu.cz
Fees are €6000 per year for years 1 and 2. The fee for the final diploma year is €3000. The Academy of Fine Arts, Prague does not offer any direct financial aid, but can support your application to external sources of funding.
Each semester, the studio also hosts exchange students from AVU’s partner institutions through the Erasmus+ programme, including from Poznan, Tallinn, Helsinki and Munich. If you are currently a master’s student at another University and would like to join Art in Context for an exchange semester, please see the guidance here.