General
Mission and Goals
EKAiR Residency is a homage to Viera Gašparíková, affectionately known as Eka—a beloved grandmother, friend, colleague, and a distinguished figure in her field. The residency’s name, EKAiR, is a wordplay derived from Viera’s nickname Eka and the abbreviation for “artist in residency,” symbolizing a blend of personal legacy and creative exploration.
Located in the village of Šumiac in central Slovakia, EKAiR is housed in a traditional wooden cottage, or “drevenica,” where Eka spent her final years immersed in inspiration and writing. Just as Eka found tranquility and creativity in this idyllic setting, we aspire for our guests to experience peace, inspiration, and the rejuvenating power of both productive and unproductive time.
Residency Offerings
EKAiR is open to individuals from all creative disciplines, including artists, curators, writers, filmmakers, musicians, poets, architects, photographers, educators, and designers. We invite our guests to spend anywhere from a few days to one month in this environment, whether they seek active productivity or a passive retreat to recharge their energies for future creativity.
A Work in Progress
While EKAiR is still evolving towards its ultimate vision, including the incorporation of Eka’s literary legacy, we are currently operating a pilot residency program. This initiative is self-funded, supported by a symbolic contribution towards expenses. We warmly welcome creative minds to join us in this journey, finding inspiration in the same space that once fueled Eka’s remarkable productivity.
EKAiR Residency is more than just a creative retreat—it’s a tribute to Eka’s enduring spirit and a space for creative renewal.
Behind the scenes
EKAiR is managed by the civic association KOMPONENT, whose members include Martinka Bobríková, Petra Balíková, and Matej Bobrík.
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Petra Baliková holds an MA in Aesthetics from the Philosophical Faculty of Comenius University in Bratislava. With extensive experience in both public and private institutions, she has played a significant role in the Slovak art scene. She worked with the Slovak section of AICA, collaborated long-term with the artist group Public Pedestal, and actively participates in the community project “Na Šanci”. For a decade, she served as a program coordinator at tranzit.sk. Currently, she is the Head of Production at the Bratislava City Gallery (GMB).
Martinka Bobrikova is an artist with a background in stage design, fine arts, and sound art. For the past 20 years, she has worked collaboratively with Oscar de Carmen, developing projects and exhibitions internationally. Beyond her artistic practice, she has been a key initiator and driving force behind numerous artist-run initiatives and cultural projects, often in collaboration with de Carmen or other practitioners. She is currently co-running The Union, an organization dedicated to creating alternative valorization structures for art, life, and culture—reshaping interactions and fostering new collective practices of care, participation, and empowerment. Previously, she was engaged in projects such as PAO – Performance Art Oslo, Future Utopia Community Key, and Vandaler Forening, among others.
LOCATION
Šumiac, a quaint village with 1,200 residents, is renowned for its legendary polyphonic singing, timeless folklore, traditional barns, charming wooden houses, and warm-hearted locals. This idyllic village is perfect for sports and hiking, and you can easily cycle to the highest peak in the eastern part of the Low Tatras – the iconic and beloved Kráľova hoľa.
Šumiac is also home to rich folklore traditions and notable initiatives. One such initiative is the first sauna in Czechoslovakia, built shortly after World War I by Michal Demo. This sauna in Šumiac, known locally as Demova kupieľka, was restored and opened to the public as a museum in 2022. This unique landmark offers visitors a chance to step back in time and explore the history of saunating. However, as the historic sauna now functions solely as a museum piece, the village is planning to build a new, fully operational sauna by 2024. The new sauna will revive the old tradition of Šumiac saunating while offering fresh, hot experiences for visitors. It will blend beautifully with the captivating natural surroundings, reflecting modern architectural sensibilities. Just as the original sauna served both locals and travelers, the new sauna will be open to all. Visitors can book their sessions through a simple reservation system for a specific day and time, ensuring a seamless and enjoyable experience.
Another gem in Šumiac is Margarétkovo, a charming shop established in 2013. It offers a variety of healthy products, eco-friendly goods, and unique local crafts. Visitors can enjoy specialty coffees, delicious treats, and seasonal beverages. Margarétkovo also features a cozy café and an inviting summer terrace, making it a perfect spot to relax before exploring the nearby trails and cycling routes to the iconic Kráľova hoľa. This vibrant community hub connects people from all walks of life, blending tradition with contemporary charm.
More about the sauna project
More about margaretkovo
Residency
re-cre-zident is a blend of “repetition,” “recreation,” “creation,” and “residency,” designed to offer a unique space where the cyclical nature of creativity and relaxation fosters artistic growth. This concept acknowledges the importance of both repetitive practice and leisure in the creative process, providing a sanctuary for artists, curators, writers, filmmakers, musicians, poets, architects, photographers, educators, and designers to recharge and find inspiration.
At EKAiR, the emphasis is on holistic well-being and creative rejuvenation. Situated in tranquil and inspiring settings, our re-cre-zidence encourages re-cre-zidents to step away from their usual routines, immerse themselves in nature, and engage in leisurely activities that stimulate their creative minds. The serene environment serves as a backdrop for contemplation, exploration, and artistic experimentation.
By blending recreation with residency, re-cre-zidency aims to nurture a balanced lifestyle for creatives, fostering periods of intense productivity interspersed with moments of restful recreation. This harmonious approach not only enhances creative output but also supports mental and emotional well-being, allowing residents to return to their work refreshed and invigorated.
Whether staying for a few days or a month, re-cre-zidency provides a nurturing space where the freedom to relax and the opportunity to create coexist, offering a unique and enriching experience for all participants.
Legacy
The First Lady of Slovak Fairy Tales and one of the last from the generation of pioneers, she worked at the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAV) for nearly 50 years (until 1993). However, she continued her research and publishing, releasing her key works as an emeritus scholar. Her fairy tale triptych Slovenské ľudové rozprávky 1 (1993), 2 (2001), and 3 (2004), in which she critically processed archival materials from the so-called Wollman Archive from the years 1928–1944, was described by Prof. Milan Leščák as a colossal work of Slovak folkloristics.
The renowned Slovak folklorist, PhDr. Viera Gašparíková, DrSc., dedicated her entire professional life to traditional folk literature. At a seminar held in honor of her 90th birthday, the audience was hardly surprised when she delivered an expert lecture. What was her journey in exploring folk prose—its themes, genres, bearers, and life?
Life and Path to Ethnology
Viera Gašparíková was born on April 15, 1928, in Martin, into a family of teachers with three children. After graduating from high school, she enrolled at the Faculty of Arts at Comenius University (then called the Slovak University) in Bratislava, where she studied Slovak language and literature, French language and literature, and ethnology, which was then taught within the Department of History and Archaeology. Her interest in literature and ethnology began to take shape during her high school years in Martin, particularly through her involvement in the Self-Education Club and under the influence of professors, some of whom later taught at the university in Bratislava (R. Bednárik, R. Brtáň). She completed her university studies in 1952 with a doctorate in philosophy (PhDr.). Although she worked as an assistant at the Department of Ethnology during her studies, she was not allowed to continue there. Between 1953 and 1956, she worked as an editor for the magazine Život and as the editor-in-chief of Výtvarný život.
Upon joining the Institute of Ethnology at SAV in 1956, she was sent for postgraduate studies at the Department of Ethnography and Folkloristics at Charles University in Prague. After completing her studies, she focused on the issue of folk prose. She earned her Candidate of Sciences degree (CSc.) in 1960 for her dissertation The Outlaw Michal Vdovec in History and the Folklore of the Gemer People.
In the mid-1960s, the leadership of the Institute of Ethnology at SAV assigned her to prepare scholarly comparative commentaries for the edition Slovenské ľudové rozprávky. However, the political climate at the time was unfavorable to classical scholarly treatments—the edition, fully prepared for printing, was stored in the archives of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. As a result, Gašparíková focused on other, more pressing topics in oral folklore studies. In both her fieldwork and theoretical research, she explored several key topics, primarily the theme of resistance in Slovak folk prose, as well as the collection and study of Slovak folk narratives. She approached folk prose in its broader textual, genre-based, classificatory, and comparative contexts, drawing on extensive field research to develop comparative conclusions with wider interregional and interethnic implications.
Comparative Study of Contemporary Folklore Topics
Her research on social revolts in the 18th century expanded to include another historical phase—the decline of banditry in Slovakia in the 19th century. She examined its portrayal in folk prose through several academic and popular works. As part of a broader comparative study, Viera Gašparíková contributed methodologically, organizationally, and editorially to an international collaboration that resulted in the publication of the synthesis Heroes or Bandits? – Geroj ili zbojnik? (2002), which was published in a Russian-English edition.
Building on her research into folk traditions of resistance, she also studied the folkloric portrayal of events from the Slovak National Uprising and published numerous studies on the image of anti-fascist resistance heroes, as well as the relationship between historical reality and its folkloric interpretation.
She authored numerous studies on the poetics of various prose genres and the history of folkloristics, synthesizing her findings in the publication Slovenská ľudová próza a jej súčasné vývinové tendencie (1986), which was also published in Hungarian in 1988.
Her deep knowledge of the entire spectrum of traditional prose genres is evident in her monographs on specific genres. She made humorous narratives accessible to the public through Ostrovtipné príbehy a veliké cigánstva a žarty (1980) and published collections of magical fairy tales Zlatá podkova, zlaté pero, zlatý vlas I-II (1984–1985). Through long-term work on textual analysis, scholarly comparative commentary, and interpretative studies, she evaluated the storytelling heritage recorded during interwar field research by students of the Slavic Seminar under the guidance of Prof. F. Wollman. This work culminated in the edition Slovenské ľudové rozprávky I–III (1993, 2002, 2004) and the German-language publication Slowakische Volksmärchen (2000). Her specific abilities made her particularly suited for one of the classical branches of folkloristics—classification and cataloging of folk prose within the so-called Wollman Archive, resulting in Katalóg slovenskej ľudovej prózy I-II (1991–1992).
In her comparative research, Viera Gašparíková focused primarily on inter-Slavic relationships in the book Spievajúca lipka. Rozprávky západných Slovanov (1972) and presented her findings at International Slavic Congresses from 1963 onward (Sofia, Prague, Warsaw, Zagreb, Kyiv, Bratislava, Kraków, Ljubljana). In 1989, she was one of the initiators and an active member of the editorial team of the International Bulletin of Slavic Folkloristics, which serves as an information forum for the Commission on Slavic Folklore within the International Committee of Slavists. She was also involved in Slavic studies as Vice-Chair of the Slovak Committee of Slavists.
International Recognition
Among the numerous international awards recognizing her scholarly and organizational contributions were the Honorary Plaque of the International Committee of Slavists and the prestigious Europäische Märchenpreis (European Fairy Tale Prize). In 1988, the Slovak Academy of Sciences awarded her the Ľudovít Štúr Gold Plaque for her contributions to the social sciences. Even after retiring, she remained actively engaged with various scholarly issues, mentored doctoral students, reviewed dissertations, and spoke in the media about traditional prose.
For almost half a century (1956–1993), Viera Gašparíková worked at the Institute of Ethnology at SAV (now the Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology at SAV), where she held various roles, including Head of the Department of Spiritual Culture, Senior Researcher, Editor of Slovenský národopis, and Editorial Officer. She was a member of both national and international scholarly organizations (Polskie Towarzystwo Ludoznawcze, International Society for Folk Narrative Research, Société Internationale d´Ethnologie et de Folklore).
Until the very last moments of her prolific life, she remained engaged in the field. Symbolically, when asked what her younger colleagues—her friends—should read to her in her final days, she softly whispered, “That book,” and with her eyes closed, she signaled that she enjoyed listening to the Wollman fairy tales…
Honor to her memory!
Hana Hlôšková