Vašulka Kitchen Brno (VKB) is a place for research, artistic experiment and informal education in the field of new media art. It consists of the archive of Woody and Steina Vašulkas’ work and a permanent exhibition of their selected works. We organize events aimed at commemorating and developing the artistic and philosophical legacy of the Vašulkas, pioneers in new media art with personal ties to Brno, and we support new media art production.
History
At the end of 2016, an initiative was established in Brno to found Vašulka Kitchen, an art space referring to the work of the artists Steina Briem Bjarnadottir and Bohuslav Woody Vašulka. In October 2018, in the cooperation with the Vasulkas, we ceremoniously launched the activities of the New Media Art Center in Brno Art House. Our goals are to preserve and mediate the work of the Vasulkas and develop their legacy.
From the end of the 80's and the beginning of the 90's, several (non-profit) artistic initiatives in Czechia dealt with the art of video, electronic media, and later digital art. Today, VKB is one of the few specialized (non-academic) projects in this area. It is important that in the international context it becomes part of a network of institutions focused on the promotion, archiving, research, or distribution of art based on moving images, sound, electronic networks, coding, and performativity as an artistic practice
Vasulka Kitchen Brno is a place for study and research. It gives the public access to the digital archive, the Vasulka media library and provides accompanying programmes. In cooperation with the Vasulka Chambre at the National Gallery of Iceland, we take care of he archive and the artworks in our collection. We take care of the acquisition and cataloguing of materials related to the work and life of the Vasulka family. We continue to map and reflect on their work in a broader cultural and international context, and we also research and process works by other artists in the field of new/electronic media art. We provide facilities for Czech and international researchers, students, teachers and curators and initiate research projects and conferences.