During the week of 14-18 October, a Slovak delegation of four teachers and their 12 pupils from the Tatranská Lomnica Primary School of Arts visited our school.
After welcoming our Slovak friends in the school building, to the sound of music played by the headmistress and the deputy, we headed towards Přemysl Otakar II Square, where the mayor was waiting for us at the town hall. He summarized the history of our town, a significant part of which they could see with their own eyes during a visit to the Museum of Car Body Building. That morning we also had a chance to visit the exhibition in the town gallery, where our colleague Jiří Vedral exhibited his work.
In the afternoon we went back to school so that our friends could soak up the artistic atmosphere and we got down to work. Music rehearsals and art workshops accompanied us throughout the week.
Tuesday began at St. Lawrence Church where we heard an exceptional talk by Mr. Jaroslav Korbel. We were inspired by the architecture of the church, especially the stained glass windows, which we also created at school during the week. In the afternoon, we prepared for a joint concert of Slovak and Czech pupils, at the end of which we christened the book Open to Art, Open to Europe, which summarizes the school's 10 years of Erasmus+ projects.
(More from this event: https://www.zusmyto.cz/projekty/open-to-art-open-to-europe/)
On Wednesday, we went to Nové Hrady and Litomyšl for inspiration, where we were interested in the local architecture and art along the way. We used this trip to create artwork and musical interpretations in unusual places.
A day later we visited the Automatic Mills in Pardubice. We reflected on the meaning of the artworks and tried other techniques. After a lunchtime pig slaughter (traditional Czech dish), which we visited with gusto, our colleague Jakub Jedlinský gave us a tour of the Pardubice Conservatory. In the afternoon, we returned to making art at school.
On Friday we stayed at home (at school), where we were fine-tuning the last details of the joint exhibition and concert, and the children from the Pod Smrkem kindergarten came to help us. The whole week culminated in this joint event, which moved us. The mutual cooperation enriched not only the pupils, but also us teachers. We all hope that we will meet again soon to create many interesting works of art together and get new inspiration and ideas.
A big thank you to Silvia, Ivana, Lucia, Matej and their students for their commitment to come and create together.
Thank you to all the families who hosted the Slovak pupils.
Thank you to the Municipal Gallery in Vysoké Mýto
Thank you to the Museum of Czech Car Body Building
Thank you to the Roman Catholic parish and Mr. Korbel
Filip Janouch
