Real Shit (is More Fun Within Group)

Been there, done that!

Ztohoven

Ztohoven is a Czech (Cloud based but coming from Prague) guerrilla artist collective known for its artistically motivated pranks. The group consists of a core of around 20 regularly active artists, rising to around 100 when additional participants are called upon for a particular task.

Ztohoven aims for a limited number of high quality works, as opposed to concentrating on a high volume of minor works. Thus, the group tends to disappear from public notice for long periods only to resurface, sometimes years later. The group aims to use familiar tools and methods to challenge public perceptions of society.

Members of the group are anonymous, and use pseudonyms when appearing or commenting in public. The Ztohoven name is itself a Czech-language pun, and can be read either as Z toho ven (“The way out”), or Sto Hoven (“One hundred shits”). The group translates the name into English as “Out of shit”.

Workshop

For two days participating students will investigate “public space”. For Ztohoven art collective (Cloud based but coming from Prague) public space is not just only streets of the city, but also internet, politics, media etc. While doing this you will realise (hands on) which data are out there and experience different sides of this public space from within and without.

For this workshop interest in the areas like Open-source Intelligence (OSINT) is appreciated but not a condition. (“Open-source intelligence (OSINT) is the collection and analysis of data gathered from open sources (overt and publicly available sources) to produce actionable intelligence.”[wiki]) Furthermore this workshop focuses on how far you can reach by working together.

Multiple art collectives will take shape in order to each investigate a desired topic and later create public awareness about this specific topic.

Questions that will take stage during these two days are:
How can actions in public/media space bring together humour, politics and art?
How can you organise a collective operation while staying anonymous?
How does being a collective contribute to anonymity?
How do you (collectively) deal with the public eye?

Working together in this workshop is at first based on positive aspects like fun, joy, adrenalin and stress. Negatives are easily overcome by courage.

Set up

students

– WANT to work in a group;

– CAN IMAGINE that they work in a group on one piece;

– are IN NEED for collective action based adrenaline;

– are motivated TO CROSS their comfort zone

One week in advance students will receive instructions from Ztohoven, with instructions and things they need to prepare before hand. Strict non disclosure is important.