First IF Lab 2025/26 Gathering in Jihlava

At the inaugural workshop of IF Lab in Jihlava, the nine participants of the current edition of the Inspiration Forum LAB met in person for the first time. The first shared workshop was dedicated mainly to getting to know one another – to approaching and sharing, but also to exploring overlaps in the topics that each participant brought into the programme.

We spent a lot of time in discussion, but also experimented and engaged in various experiential methods of sharing, mutual learning, deconstruction, and synthesis of knowledge.

The programme consisted of facilitated workshops and discussions, complemented by round tables with invited guests and by an open programme of lectures and debates as part of the Inspiration Forum.

Workshops with Tutors

The core structure of the programme was formed by workshops prepared by tutors Lenka Vráblíková and Lenka Hámošov á. The tutors encouraged participants to embrace disorientation as a collaborative research methodology. Starting from the state of losing orientation – that is, disorientation – as a creative point of departure, the meeting focused on developing curiosity and openness as key skills essential for collective experimental research practice.
Exercises concentrated on trajectories in relation to their environmental, social, and technological aspects. Collective activities included bodily movement, bio-imagination, speculative mapping, reading of textual and visual materials, discussions, and reflections.

Expert Lectures and Discussions of the Inspiration Forum

The round tables and supplementary activities offered opportunities to meet inspiring guests, get acquainted with their practices, and discuss related themes and issues.

The discussion with Taiwanese writer Kevin Chen expanded the field of how to approach the topic of migration poetically and with a certain perspective. Marika Smreková, theatre director and artist, opened a debate on accessibility through the practical example of the Parent Friendly Culture initiative. Michal Mitro, alumnus of the previous edition, shared his hands-on experience of group work on a project, reflected on what made the IF Lab experience valuable for him, and how it has shaped his further trajectory.

The IF Lab collective was also briefly visited by Lucie Nováčková, curator of the Jihlava Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art (OGV), and was joined remotely by Jurij Krpan, curator of partner project Kersnikova, who introduced additional possible trajectories of thought and the spatial facilities that participants will be able to use during the next joint workshop.

Odborné přednášky a diskuze Inspiračního fóra

The series of lectures offered space for deeper reflection on a range of topics related to care, relationships, communication, and the ways of thinking about the political space of Europe.

Recordings of the lectures can be played below.

How to Glue Europe Back Together: Four Attempts

Europe used to be a symbol of hope, peace, and cooperation. Today, however, it seems to be falling apart, with trust and a sense of common purpose disappearing. What is there that can still unite us? And what might Europe look like in fifty years – a closed fortress full of local struggles, or an open network of people who want to share social harmony? We can approach the future of Europe through many disciplines, such as diplomacy, technology, biology, philosophy, and human rights. We tried to weave a new thread of ideals that could once again make Europe a place worth living in.

I Shall Not Hate: A Message from the Scorched Lan d

From the mouth of a doctor who lost three daughters in the bombing of Gaza, the words “heart” and “love” take on a different weight than they do in our everyday lives. Palestinian doctor and writer Izzeldin Abuelaish, author of the world-famous book I Shall Not Hate, transformed personal pain into a message of humanity and the courage to love even where hatred reigns. How can love, understood as an action rather than a feeling, transform a world that we saw falling apart in real time, amid the immeasurable suffering of the civilian population? Izzedin Abuelaish offered a perspective on how to overcome the political and power interests that drive wars.

The Inspiration Forum Lab is organized by Ji.hlava IDFF’s Inspiration Forum in cooperation with Kersnikova Institute, Sensorium and Display – Association for Research and Collective Practice.