Stefania Duricova

The Union is delighted to welcome colleagues from Šopa Gallery in Košice, Slovakia, for a week of research and networking.

Stefania Duricova is an art historian, curator, and doctoral researcher at the University of St Andrews, specialising in contemporary art and curatorial practices. She has curated numerous exhibitions, led international art projects, and contributed to academic and art publications, with a strong focus on inclusivity in cultural institutions. In addition to her curatorial work, she has taught at universities in Slovakia and the UK.

Šopa is an independent gallery space located in Košice, Slovakia, founded in 2015 by the civic association BIIIF. The gallery showcases contemporary visual art and its intersections with scientific disciplines. Its primary focus is on young and mid-career artists from Central Europe and beyond. Through a diverse range of media, including experimental, interdisciplinary, and often site-specific projects, Šopa aims to engage audiences with current social and environmental issues. Since its inception, the gallery has organized over 80 exhibitions and 250 events, such as openings, workshops, lectures, and talks. Additionally, Šopa has published a monograph of Svetlana Fialová, further contributing to the discourse around contemporary art.

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KAIR Košice Artist in Residence is an international residency program dedicated to artists worldwide and all artistic disciplines and expressions. KAIR strongly focuses on creating international cooperation between Slovak and foreign artists and art organizations. Since 2011, artists have had the chance to work in the inspiring environment of Košice’s singular cultural surroundings, realize art projects, collaborate with the agile local art scene, and present themselves to the local public. In recent years, the residency program has focused on connecting individuals and sharing responsibility with the world during a common global crisis (environmental, political, economic, social, etc.).The residency program provides a cozy two-bedroom apartment, two separate studios, approx. 20 m2 in size, suitable for visual or interdisciplinary artists, and they are connected to the Šopa Gallery, where most of the residency activities take place. 

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Mobility project is supported by Culture Moves Europe, a project funded by the European Union.