From Exploitation to Solidarity: Making Art Work Count

✴︎From exploitation to solidarity: How to appreciate the work in art✴︎

Lecture & discussion with Katja Praznik

/ 26/11/2025 / 18:00 / tranzit sk / Beskydská 12, Bratislava /
The event will take place in English.

Artistic work – that is, the very activity by which art is created – is often celebrated as creativity, but at the same time we overlook it and leave it unappreciated. Drawing on feminist theories of social reproduction and analyzes of socialist Yugoslavia as well as post-socialist transformations, the lecture explores how the art world reproduces inequality by labeling artistic work as creation rather than recognizing it as real work.
Based on the experience of recent initiatives that bring together artistic workers, I will talk about how collective action and solidarity can make visible this invisible work, oppose exploitative structures and reclaim autonomy as a condition of the collective, not the individual.
Together we will think about how organizing and mutual support can open the way to fairer and more sustainable conditions in the world of art.

✴︎ Katja Praznik is an associate professor in the Department of Arts Management and the Department of Global Gender Equality and Sexuality Studies at the University of Buffalo. She is the author of Art Work: Invisible Labor and the Legacy of Yugoslav Socialism (University of Toronto Press, 2021) and numerous articles on cultural politics, labor, and social reproduction. Her research connects Marxist-feminist analyzes of work with the real experiences of artistic workers in a socialist and post-socialist context. Katja participated in the founding of the trade union of artistic workers ZASUK in Slovenia and continues to be involved in initiatives for workers' rights. It explores how collective actions and solidarity can make invisible work visible and change exploitative practices in the field of culture.

✴︎ The lecture will be followed by an open discussion where Katja will share her experiences from ZASUK, the Slovenian trade union of artists, of which she is a member and co-founder. He will share with us practical advice and experience, as well as measures that they have managed to implement. ✴︎

Photo: Andrej Lamut and Tine Lisjak, in the photo: Founding Congress of Zasuk

You can also find the event on our website--> https://sk.tranzit.org/sk/prednaska/0/2025-11-26/od-vykoristovania-k-solidarity-ako-docenit-pracu-v-umeni
IG: https://www.instagram.com/tranzitsk?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/tranzitsk.bsky.social
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The ERSTE Foundation is a partner of tranzit sk.
The event takes place as part of the On the way to other possible art worlds program in the curatorial concept of Judit Angel and Eliška Mazalanova.
Media partnership: Artalk.info, Flash Art CZ & SK, Kapitál, GoOut.net

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EN: ✴︎From Exploitation to Solidarity: Making Art Work Count✴︎

Lecture & discussion with Katja Praznik

/ 26/11/2025 / 6 p.m. / tranzit sk / Beskydská 12, Bratislava /
The event will be held in English.

Art work - the labor of making art - is often celebrated as creativity while remaining invisible and uncompensated. Drawing on feminist theories of social reproduction and analyzes of socialist Yugoslavia and post-socialist transitions, this lecture examines how the art world reproduces inequality by essentializing artistic labor as creation rather than recognizing it as work. Building on experiences from recent organizing initiatives among art workers, I will discuss how collective action and solidarity can make this invisible labor visible, challenge exploitative structures, and reclaim autonomy as a collective, rather than individual, condition. Together, we will reflect on how organizing and mutual support can open pathways towards more just and sustainable art worlds.

✴︎ The lecture will be followed by an open discussion in which Katja will share her experiences from ZASUK, the Slovenian arts unions of which she is a member and co-founder. She will share practical advice and experiences with us, as well as the policies they have managed to implement. ✴︎

✴︎ Katja Praznik is Associate Professor in the Arts Management Program and the Department of Global Gender and Sexuality Studies at the University at Buffalo. She is the author of Art Work: Invisible Labor and the Legacy of Yugoslav Socialism (University of Toronto Press, 2021) and numerous articles on cultural politics, labor, and social reproduction. Her research connects Marxist-feminist analyzes of labor with the lived realities of art workers in socialist and post-socialist contexts. Katja co-founded the art workers' union Zasuk in Slovenia and continues to be involved in labor organizing initiatives, exploring how collective action and solidarity can make invisible labor visible and transform exploitative practices in the cultural field.

Photo by Andrej Lamut and Tine Lisjak, The founding congress of Zasuk

You can find this event on our web --> https://sk.tranzit.org/en/lecture/0/2025-11-26/from-exploitation-to-solidarity-making-art-work-count
IG: https://www.instagram.com/tranzitsk?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/tranzitsk.bsky.social
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ERSTE Foundation is main partner of tranzit.

The event is part of the Towards Other Possible Artworlds program curated by Judit Angel and Eliška Mazalanová.

Media partners: Artalk.info, Flash Art CZ & SK, Kapitál, GoOut.net