The AKRONYM photography workshop gave FMK students the opportunity to explore the visual story of Spišský Štvrtok

Students from the Studio of Communication through Photography and the Studio of Applied Photography participated in an engaging creative photography workshop. It took place from April 21 to 26, 2026, at the monastery and church in Spišský Štvrtok.

The AKRONYM project documents a historically significant complex of religious and social buildings, reflecting their cultural, urban, and social memory through the lens of the photographers. The artists explored the relationship between the past and the present, faith, the environment, and humanity, thereby sparking a discussion about values and identity.

Bridging the Generations and Practical Experience

The student body of both studios was joined by first-year students from the Photographic Practicum courses (DIDI, KOMU), as well as doctoral students Magdaléna Tomalová, Ivana Galat, and Kristína Svítok Mayerová. The group of 15 photographers was accompanied by expert advisors—faculty members Associate Professor Jozef Sedlák and Dr. Peter Lančarič.

The joint creative workshop was also attended by long-time friends and supporters of the student workshops at the FMK UCM in Trnava: TASR photojournalist Michal Svítok, as well as priest and photographer Ľubomír Hajdučík, who is currently a student at the ITF University of Opava. The creative workshop was supported by the Tatrabanka Foundation in the visual arts section for the year 2026. The project was conceived by Jozef Sedlák.

AKRONYM as a visual-social probe

The AKRONYM project itself—a visual and social study (Spišský Štvrtok) visually maps several structures—an early Gothic church with an annex of a French-style Gothic chapel and a Baroque monastery serving as a Social Services Center with extensive secondary and urban spaces on an elevated, fortified hill.

The historically significant complex in Spišský Štvrtok represents a complex and multifaceted theme of cultural, religious, social, and urban memory. The students and authors lived directly within the buildings of the Minorite monastery. Today, it consists of a modern extension to the parish building, which is part of the extensive complex.

Photography as a Tool for Reflection and Dialogue

The project explores the communicative and cognitive aspects of photography as a medium; through artistic interpretation, it represents contemporary approaches to linking visual language—specifically, the subjective documentary—with religious, social, and environmental elements.

For the students, documenting the entire urban complex of the monastery and church served as a catalyst for a creative discussion on the interconnection of historical contrasts and binaries. The theme also addresses the intimate boundaries of faith—specifically that of the monks (Minorites)—who serve as spiritual stewards of these historic sites, while simultaneously cultivating our relationship with history, art, and an ethical approach toward the mentally and physically disabled residents living in the monastery.

Capturing Different Worlds

The creative workshop provided students with a space for reflection and meditation. Through photography, they visualized a relationship aimed at capturing diverse worlds full of paradoxes and bringing to life a new—more authentic—world.

Visual records of sacred spaces, objects, people, and clients thus reimagined reflections on the archetype associated with the metaphysics of magical reality. This could be authentically perceived only through the discontinuous line of imagery that brought to life the artist’s personal experience of the “here and now” in contact with the “then and there.”

A space for self-discovery

The creative workshop, supported by the Tatrabanka Foundation and organized by the Faculty of Mass Media Communication at UCM in Trnava, was an exploration of the symbolic meanings underlying the cultural, environmental, social, and religious layers found in historically significant buildings.

Above all, however, it served as a space for self-discovery and the rediscovery of original contexts in a new context, raising existential questions that are important for the self-reflection of young people and society.

One of the project’s outcomes is a planned photography exhibition at the Ľudovít Hlaváč Gallery, which will take place on May 19, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. at Skladová 3 in Trnava. We cordially invite all interested parties to attend the exhibition.

Participants in the creative workshop: Ivana Galat, Ľubomír Hajdučík, Peter Lančarič, Kristína Svítok Mayerová, Jozef Sedlák, Magdakéna Tomalová; študenti: Katarína Zvolenská, Radka Kariková, Patrícia Lehká, Liliana Ivanovičová, Lea Tomášková, Zuzana Ordzovenská, Emma Šafránková, Viktória Konečná, Michal Čajka, Adriana Radošová.

Author of the article: Jozef SedlákSource of the cover photo: Ivana Galat: Upper Chapel (of the Zápoľský family), St. Ladislav Church, Spišský Štvrtok