The Third Successful Erasmus+ BIP Held at CU: Bioarticulations Brought Together Artists from Three Countries
The Department of Fine Arts of the Faculty of Education at the Catholic University in Ružomberok, in cooperation with the Office for International Relations and Internationalisation of CU, implemented an Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) entitled BIOARTICULATIONS / Symbiotics: Nature as a Laboratory of Contemporary Art during the week of 13 - 17 April 2026. The programme followed previous successful BIP activities, within which 52 international students were educated. This was the third BIP organised by the Catholic University within its academic environment.
The implemented blended intensive programme was aimed at educators, visual artists, and art theorists, and its core consisted of intensive joint artistic creation in the natural environment of the Liptov region. Within the programme’s concept, nature became not only a theme but also an active space for the artistic process, professional exchange, and reflection on contemporary artistic and pedagogical approaches.
“This Erasmus+ blended intensive programme brought 11 artists from three countries and six partner universities to the Catholic University. It was an intensive international meeting that created space for joint work, the exchange of experience, and professional dialogue within a short but highly concentrated period,” said Michaela Moldová Chovancová, PhD., from the Office for International Relations and Internationalisation of CU.
Representatives of the following partner institutions accepted the invitation to Ružomberok: University of Hradec Králové, Palacký University Olomouc, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin, University of Ostrava, Masaryk University in Brno, and Jan Długosz University in Częstochowa.
The academic guarantor and BIP coordinator from the Department of Fine Arts at the Faculty of Education of CU, Prof. Rastislav Biarinec, PhD., highlighted the exceptional character of the programme: “This is an extraordinary form of cooperation, as this Blended Intensive Programme was implemented primarily for staff—educators, artists, and art theorists—rather than for students. This fact enabled deeper professional connections, intensive collaboration, and the creation of high-quality artistic outcomes,” he stated.
The outcomes of the programme are exhibitions presenting artworks created during the participants’ joint artistic work. The public can view them at the CU University Library on the 2nd floor (blue level) and at the Rozeta Gallery, thus making the results of international artistic cooperation accessible to a wider audience.
The Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) is part of the Erasmus+ programme and combines short term physical mobility with online cooperation. It focuses on intensive, innovative, and thematically oriented educational activities that enable international cooperation within a short time frame and in various forms, including artistic and creative practice.