The year of wirecraft in ÚĽUV

Following last year’s activities, exhibitions and a series of accompanying events to mark the 80th anniversary of its foundation, the Centre for Folk Art Production (ÚĽUV) is returning to the concept of thematic years organised by material groups, under the title ‘Tradition Untraditionally’. Following wood (2021–2022), natural wickerwork (2023), and linen, hemp and nettle (2024), the focus in 2026 will be on wire craft. This craft, which the Slovaks made famous throughout the world in the 19th century, was inscribed on the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2019 under the title ‘Drotárstvo – craft and art’.

ÚĽUV plans its thematic years in advance, and this was also the case for the Year of wire craft. In 2024, the ÚĽUV Design Studio presented the exhibition ‘Drawing in Space’. Its aim was to highlight the unique status of artistic work with wire and sheet metal in Slovakia, particularly after 1989. The exhibition also brought together artists who, over the past decades, have contributed to the revival of the wire-working tradition, which had fallen into decline after the First World War.

In the spirit of this exhibition, two full-day sessions were organised in the autumn of 2025 as part of the ‘Culture for Schools’ project run by the ÚĽUV School of Crafts, aimed at students and teachers from secondary schools specialising in the arts and crafts. These sessions introduced them to the basics of wire-working, which they subsequently developed further in their own creative projects throughout this academic year. The results of their work will be presented in October at an exhibition at the ÚĽUV Design Studio and have also been entered into the craft-oriented design competition ‘Rings in Water’.

The first installation of the year at the ÚĽUV Design Studio, held as part of the Year of wirecraft, showcased a project by the established sculptor Blanka Šperková, who draws inspiration from children’s drawings. Hand-knitted wire sculptures adorned with glass beads were complemented by drawings and paintings by her grandchildren, creating a playful and colourful whole.

One of the aims of the year of wirecraft is to highlight the potential for developing wire-working in the fields of craftsmanship, design and, to some extent, the visual arts. Just as Slovak tinkers of yesteryear were distinctive throughout the world for their style and range of products (depending on the country in which they worked) and were able to make a successful living from their craft, so too is it important today that wirecraft remains a living part of our culture. The craft foundations of wirecraft and their creative development today will be highlighted by the central exhibition entitled ‘An Endless Line. The story of wire through the ages’. curated by Ladislav Jurovatý, a master of folk art production and Mária Hriešik Nepšinská, exhibition will be open from 19 June to 12 November at the ÚĽUV Gallery, Obchodná 64, Bratislava. Through the presentation of unique works from all three of the aforementioned fields, the exhibition aims to inspire contemporary creators (craftspeople, designers, sculptors and jewellers) to work with wire and sheet metal. The accompanying events for the exhibition will also be tailored to this theme.

The ethnographic exhibition ‘What a wire has bound together, time cannot tear apart’, explores further aspects of wirecraft. It is dedicated to wirecraft in its original itinerant form, as well as to the traditional repair of rural everyday objects, and will run at the ÚĽUV Gallery at Mäsiarska 52 in Košice until 30 October. The ‘Šebickí krpoši’ wirecraft´s club, which has been operating at the ÚĽUV Regional Craft Centre in Banská Bystrica since 2018, is presenting an exhibition entitled ‘When Wire Blooms’ to visitors at the centre on Dolná 14. It is a celebration of patience, craftsmanship and the infinite malleability of metal, and will run until 30 June.

They will also give the public a hands-on introduction to wireworking and craft zones at major events: at the ÚĽUV Craft Fair as part of the Východná 2026 Folklore Festival (3–5 July) and at the ÚĽUV Masters Craftsmen Days festival (5–6 September) in Bratislava’s Old Town. At these events, contemporary masters will demonstrate various approaches to wirecraft, and visitors will have the opportunity to discuss the craft with them or even try their hand at working with wire.

Adults and children with a keen interest in crafts have a unique opportunity to learn most traditional wirecraft techniques throughout the year at regular courses, creative workshops and excursions at the ÚĽUV School of Crafts in its three regional centres in Bratislava, Banská Bystrica and Košice. The ÚĽUV School of Crafts began its activities in 1999; in 2024, it was included in UNESCO’s List of Best Practices for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, and wire-working courses and creative workshops have been a continuous feature of its programme since the very beginning. Partly as a result of this, wirecraft has a large following of enthusiasts who use it as a means of creative and practical self-expression. There are currently two wire-working clubs operating under the auspices of the ÚĽUV School of Crafts – Džarek in Bratislava (founded in 2003) and the aforementioned Šebickí krpoši in Banská Bystrica. Their membership base has grown from the ranks of course graduates, tutors and craftspeople who wished to meet on a regular basis. Together, they develop the skills they have acquired, share their experiences and work on improving their craft. They present the results of their work annually through themed exhibitions.

The phenomenon of wirework is also the main theme of both issues of the journal RUD – a review of the values of craft and design, which has been published since 2000 and systematically addresses issues relating to traditional and contemporary craft, design and applied art.

Looking ahead to the autumn, the plan is to hold a specialist symposium for contemporary artists working with wire. In addition to Slovak artists, artists and craftspeople from abroad will be invited, many of whom are also presenting their work at the exhibition ‘An Endless Line. The story of wire through the ages’. The aim of the symposium will be to define, through creative dialogue, the essence of contemporary wirework in the fields of craft, design and the visual arts. It will take place to coincide with the International Day for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (17 October), which celebrates the diversity and richness of living heritage and raises awareness of the importance of its protection. The celebrations will also include an Doors Open Day on 16 October at all three regional craft centres in Bratislava, Banská Bystrica and Košice.

In 2019, ÚĽUV played a major role in securing the inscription of ‘Drotárstvo– craft and art’ on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. In the Year of wirecraft, it aims to pass on the knowledge of the generation that revived the craft in the 1990s to the next generation of craftspeople, in collaboration with other institutions and organisations in Slovakia that are selflessly and skilfully dedicated to the development of wirecraft

As Eva Ševčíková, CEO of ÚĽUV, says: “In the spirit of the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, ÚĽUV aims, during the year of wirecraft, to highlight the craft’s diverse contemporary forms – and thereby its potential avenues for development – through the activities of its practitioners and those carrying on the tradition.”

We will keep you regularly updated on the activities of the year of wirecraft through our communication channels.

We look forward to meeting you in person!