Monday, 18 September 2023 (9:00–17:00), and Tuesday, 19 September 2023 (9.00–15.00)
Museum of Madness Trate, Trate 14c, 2213 Zgornja Velka
Led by: Saša Bezjak, artist.

You are kindly invited to attend the two-day art embroidery workshop at the Museum of Madness Trate on Monday and Tuesday, 18 and 19 September, under the guidance of Saša Bezjak, painter, pedagogue and all-round artist.

The workshop is organized in the framework of the European project EMPACT – Empathy and Sustainability: The Art of Thinking like a Mountain, co-funded by the EU Creative Europe Programme (Grant Agreement No: 101055903 – EMPACT – CREA-CULT-2021-COOP-2). In EMPACT we’ve set out to tackle the themes of empathy and sustainability and the relationship between them under the slogan «The art of thinking like a mountain». The project and the workshop take a holistic approach to environmental questions and try to transfer empathy, an emotion principally directed towards fellow human beings or other living beings, to the inanimate world, for example in relation to climate or geological processes.

In this workshop, participants will examine the relationship between the body and the landscape, and the parallels that can be drawn between them – the principle of inviolability, (irreversible) interventions, life cycles – through the contemplative practice of embroidery. The participants will each embroider scenes on their own square metre of fabric, with the help of Copatarice, members of the handicraft group of the Museum of Madness Trate, which will be hand-drawn by Saša Bezjak.

No prior embroidery knowledge is required to take part in the workshop. All are welcome! Participation is free of charge. Participants will receive materials for work, snacks and refreshments at the workshop. To attend, please apply by 10 September 2023 at: ziva.kleindienst@ugm.si

Programme:
Monday, 18 September 2023
9:00–10:00 Arrival and refreshments
10:00–13:00 Guided tour of the exhibitions at the Museum of Madness Trate
13:00–14:00 Lunch
14:00–17:00 Embroidery with mentors

Tuesday, 19 September 2023
9:00–10:00 Arrival and refreshments
10:00–13:00 Embroidery with mentors
13:00–14:00 Lunch
14:00–15:00 Closing and socialising

Saša Bezjak (b. 1971, Maribor) graduated in 1999 under the mentorship of sculpture professor Darko Golija at the Faculty of Education in Maribor, and in 2001 under the mentorship of professors Metka Krašovec and dr. Nadje Zgonik from painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana. There she also completed a master’s degree in sculpture with professor Lujo Vodopivec. Since 2002, she has been self-employed in culture. In 2013, the University of Maribor awarded her the title of expert associate for the subject area of special didactics. She has been preparing art workshops for young people and adults for a decade as a mentor. She is involved in drawing, painting, sculpture, embroidery, art campaigns and teaching. She has participated in over 70 group and over 55 solo exhibitions. Since 2006 she has been living and creating in Gornja Radgona.

EMPACT workshops facilitate and encourage creative discussion and support informal learning about compassion and sustainability through diverse artistic and environmental practices. The EMPACT project is supported by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.

The Museum of Madness strives to create a comprehensive representation of the phenomenon of madness that will be accessible and relevant to individuals and groups at both the professional and layperson levels, with the ultimate goal of broadening the concept, bringing it up to date, removing tabus, and detaching it from the process of institutionalisation.

Join EMPACT social media and keep updated about empathy and sustainability through the arts: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube.

Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.