Františka Blažková

“The dichotomy of PAF is that you want to tell the world about it while jealously wishing to keep it to yourself, lest it becomes touristy.” The umbrella theme of the 2024 PAF, Festival of Film Animation and Contemporary Art, was “Diaries”. Since autofiction seems to be all the rage for the past five years or so, I’ve decided to toy with the format of an “autofictitious diary” to write my report from the 4-day event. All actual act reviews are genuine but some of the accompanying commentary might be not. Enjoy. P.S. There’s a contest for an awesome PAF merch bundle at the end of the article!

Finnish designer Sofia llmonen crafts her garments with freedom in mind. Freedom to express, to play, freedom to dismantle and reassemble again. Her generous silhouettes with strong mediaeval and renaissance undertones feature elaborate fastening and lacing methods that allow for instant modification of the garment in the spirit of modularity sustainability. Explore her work brimming with possibilities.

Each element of the newest collection of Eva Immerzeel, from material and shape to the texture of the loosely knitted overlays, was carefully and consciously selected to convey “the conflicting feelings one can have when struggling with making connections” and hopeful glints of hope in reaching out. More in the interview below.

Marlena Krawczyk’s REMEMBER collection stems from a physical place that, as she claims, has “taken root in her psyche”. The Polish fashion designer uses materials and porcelain-doll-like silhouettes that are meant to evoke the spirit of childhood spent in her grandparents’ home – a bit of a sensory journey to the nostalgia-tinged past. Plunge deeper in the interview below.

The Norma Festival is a critically acclaimed dance festival taking place on November 16-17 in Prague, Czech Republic, at the Studio Hrdinů theatre. Each year, the festival commissions at least one custom performance – in 2024, it’s a piece called “Bliss” by Czech visual and virtual artist NIVVA and Polish theatre and opera director Magda Szpecht. “Bliss” is a performance that “imagines the possibilities of the relationship between a virtual being and its human creator.” Using motion capture technology, it speculates about a future where digital beings may emerge with a sense of agency beyond human design. The Czech-Polish team created this project in co-production with Æfekt Productions, Komuna Warszawa and Pawiłon Poznan.

Ziyu Ma (Taro), a dedicated fashion design major, became known for her bold, multi-layered, expansive and sculptural silhouettes, often stemming from various metaphysical and evolutionary theories. Her collections draw on a striking diversity of sources of inspiration, from the film “Annihilation”, Superstring Theory, and ancient Chinese Yangshao Banpo culture to the enigmatic bond between humans and marine life. Enjoy an exceptionally in-depth interview with the artist below.

You know what time it is – that delicious timeless interplay between solitude, melancholy, seasonal depression and self-reflection. Today, we're launching our third theme of 2024, FEELING BLUE. It will have everything to do with both the mood and the colour and we invite you in. Custom-made accompanying animation by Marek Mundok.

“We also played around with the idea of Hell as something that makes you do something involuntary endlessly, some kind of strange punishment.” As a special performance added to this year's Lunchmeat Festival, Canadian artists Louis-Philippe Demers and Bill Vorn introduced their singular project Inferno involving cybernetics, a human-machine performance, questions of relenting control, and “novice” participants from the audience. Enjoy an in-depth interview with the artists below.

Fling open the whimsical gates of Polka Dot Town! The black-and-white yet colourful collection by designer Noémi Špontáková is awash in layers of dots of various diameters and placements, resulting in a lovely tingling sensory chaos for the viewers. Noémi describes her individual looks as a set of collectables, each chosen and styled with a specific model in mind.

Honeylambs Mission is back! Our previous feature on Ernesto Stewart and his singular project became SWARM Mag's historically most viewed article. We caught up with the artist two years later to learn what's new in his sanctuary for disfigured and mutated plushies, inhabited by the souls of the deceased.

“I strive to celebrate cultural diversity in a world quick to discriminate.” Currently Paris-based fashion, textile and knitwear designer Sofia Castellon presents her candy-hued but confronting and space-claiming sculptural visions. Sofia talked to Swarm about finding her creative path, “navigating the complexities of cultural identity”, why is knitting and incredible medium for storytelling and why the designer envisions a fruitful future for one of the world's oldest thread crafts, and more.

“Every job throws you into a vortex of the unexpected.” Prague-based creative photography duo SHOTBY.US introduces a new photo series called “Sips”. Featuring vibrant colours, abstract amoebic shapes and bits of sweets, the pictures feel like examining specimen samples from a psychedelic pond under a microscope.

At first glance, Natálie Nepovímová's looks seem simplistic and stripped to the bone. The second glance, though, reveals sartorial mastery and clever structural and textural twists. Imbued with a touch of whimsy, these “working girl” variable and adjustable designs were created to not succumb to time.

Larissa Honsek is a creative director, 3D and clay artist, and author of the most adorable characters for kids and adults alike. In the interview with the creator below, we discuss how she keeps on being artistically amazed by her little daughter's “fresh brain”, her deep love of Berlin or how her multi-media style painstakingly emerged.

“We have watched many clubs and festivals opening in the Czech Republic and many fitness centres opening in Slovakia.” Nowadays, the Pohoda Festival near Trenčín, Slovakia, is an internationally acclaimed award-winning three-day event but its seeds were sown by the Slovak hardcore scene nearly three decades ago. Michal Kaščák, Pohoda’s original founding father, explains this growth, the deeply rooted activist side of the event, and how the festival has been championing an above-standard ethical, ecological and diversity framework since the first edition.

“It's impossible to get bored with ceramics.” Markéta Špundová is a Czech ceramics designer whose whimsical and delightfuly chaotic body of work overflows with cheeky humour and unexpected references. With the artist, we talked the malleable and mirroring nature of ceramics, balancing practicality and storytelling, jolting awake with sour candy, and more.

London-based fashion designer Tanya Liu's intricate creations could be simply pigeonholed as ultimate mermaidcore – but they spring from much deeper sources. The pearlescent gradients and gently billowing silhouettes are rooted in the relationship between natural biology and post-human science, and mechanisms of endless life cycles of certain species. In the interview, we talk the bell of the immortal jellyfish, pivotal influences, and the scent of lavender.

Don't let the cheery colours fool you, the whimsical world of Latvian illustrator and object maker Inga Ziemele is chock-full of adorable danger and seedy characters. In the interview, Inga talks using art to work through the themes of self-acceptance and anxiety, bringing joy into people's lives, and professes her love for deceitfully cute bunnies.

Chelsea Theilmann's vibrant tufted floral creations came about as a pandemic lockdown project and soon turned into a hallmark of her artistic practice, desired by many. Her joyful creations are intended to brighten up spaces and moods either as rugs or wall decor and some can be even worn as handbags. More in the interview below.

“In video games, nothing interested me more than character creation.” Since Polish fashion designer Maja Bączyńska founded her eponymous label, she's been gracing the world with her sometimes sleek, most of the time maximal and opulent silhouettes. In the interview, Bączyńska sheds light on her playful pieces featuring frilly and sculptural textures, unexpected twists and reference layers, and clever and uncompromising tailoring.