Practical Fridays was a workshop series, founded and coordinated by artist Philip Matesic from 2013 until 2019. The series expanded practically on Theory Tuesdays, a nonacademic platform for theoretical discussion. Instead of discussing a theoretical text, participants had a hands-on, collective experience of learning something practical from a non-professional. Each workshop was run by a different person at various locations in Zurich, Switzerland.
Thursday 1st January 1970, 12:00am
Thanks everyone for 7 years of hands-on participation and exchange during Practical Fridays workshops, from 2013 until 2019. The workshop series has concluded after 30 workshops. Please reference the Practical Fridays archive for documentation of those workshops.
For any questions about Practical Fridays please send a message to: theory@theorytuesdays.com
Thursday 1st January 1970, 12:00am
Wenn es funkt: an diesem Practical Fridays Workshop haben wir Feuer ohne Feuerzeug gemacht. Wir haben Materialien und Bewegungen getestet, die Funken zu erzeugen. Wir haben Zunder aus Natur und Haushalt untersucht und die Funken darauf fallen gelassen. Mirjam Bayerdörfer und Carolina Cerbaro haben im Rahmen der Gruppe Healing diesem Practical Fridays Workshop eingeladen.
Zum Mitnehmen:
Ein Bündel Holz
Treffpunkt:
Shedhalle
Seestrasse 395
8038 Zürich
Thursday 1st January 1970, 12:00am
In diesem Practical Fridays Workshop stiftete Max Zeckau zum Schreiben von Tagebüchern an. Anleiten konnte er uns nur bedingt; wir schrieben einfach auf, was am Tag so war oder wir gehört haben. Sprache und Zitat und ambivalente Ambitionen spielten eine Rolle. Und publizierte Tagebücher von Werner Herzog, Connie Palmen, Samuel Pepys.
Ort:
RESEDA ZÜRICH
Badenerstrasse 230
8004 Zürich
Thursday 1st January 1970, 12:00am
During this Practical Fridays workshop, a wide range of toasting techniques were explained and demonstrated by each participant from their home culture. Cheers!
This workshop was part of the KUNST SZENE ZÜRICH VISARTE PROGRAMM CALLED: GESCHLOSSENE GESELLSCHAFT HEUTE OFFEN!
Location: Amboss Rampe Bar (Zollstrasse 80, 8005 Zürich)
Thursday 1st January 1970, 12:00am
For this international edition of Practical Fridays, Philip Matesic workshopped “How To Make Berliners” at the Berlinische Galerie as part of the one day festival “Out Now! Art in Public Space” on September 15, 2018.
The workshop lasted a total of six hours. A group of ten participants prepared four batches of dough at the beginning of the workshop. After letting the dough rise, it was then formed by a larger number of participants into the Berliner forms. There was then another waiting period for the dough to rise. Finally the Berliners were ready to be deep fried. Due to safety reasons, Philip Matesic was the only one allowed to deep fry the Berliners. But afterwards each participant who wanted to eat a Berliner was allowed to fill their own with Hagenbuttermark, cover in powder sugar and enjoy. A total of sixty four Berliners were consumed.
The Berlinische Galerie is one of the newest museums in the German capital and collects art from Berlin dating from 1870 to the present day – with both a local and international focus.
Thursday 1st January 1970, 12:00am
During this Practical Fridays, Brian lead a suturing workshop. He reviewed common suture techniques used to close a wound, using various materials and tools. Each participant then practiced these techniques individually on a pig’s foot.
“Suturing – Surgical stitching to close a wound or incision or to approximate parts. Suturing may be continuous or by separated stitches (interrupted suturing) and may employ absorbable sutures, such as collagen or catgut, or non-absorbable sutures that may have to be removed.” -Collins Dictionary of Medicine
Location: Reseda Zürich (Badenerstrasse 230, 8004 Zürich)
Thursday 1st January 1970, 12:00am
During this Practical Fridays workshop, Agnès Thöni taught everyone how to become a better listener.
Listening is not just hearing: to listen to someone means paying attention and making a conscious effort to process what you hear. But it also goes further than that. A good listener is not just good at listening but also at showing that he is listening. By making the speaker feel that she is being listened to, he is encouraging him to talk, bringing the conversation to a deeper level. This is often called active listening. We practiced, through several exercises, our capacity to pay attention and to actively listen.
Location: Reseda Zürich (Badenerstrasse 230, 8004 Zürich)
Thursday 1st January 1970, 12:00am
Für diesen Practical Fridays hat Vreni Spieser eine Einführung in unterschiedliche textile Reservetechniken – Batik, Shibori usw gegeben.
Während dieses Workshops haben wir uns experimentell dieser uralten Färbetechnik angenähern. Wir begannen mit einer kurzen Einführung ins Thema und dann hat Vreni Spieser einige Anschauungsobjekte gezeigt. Danach wurde gewickelt, geknüpft, gefaltet, geknotet, beträufelt, genäht, abgedeckt, umgestülpt und eingefärbt.
Ort: Vreni’s Wohnung (Zürich)
Thursday 1st January 1970, 12:00am
Don’t panic at the disco. Release the trapped Travolta or bound Beyoncé within you! During this Practical Fridays, Désirée Myriam Gnaba workshoped how to look good in a club. During the workshop we learned how to feel comfortable on the dance floor, have fun and not look silly.
We went over some Do’s and Don’ts, practiced simple dance steps, learned how to look confident, became more aware of our dance space and experimented with dancing with somebody else.
Location: Reseda Zürich (Badenerstrasse 230, 8004 Zürich)
Thursday 1st January 1970, 12:00am
During this Practical Fridays holiday special, Linda Pfenninger and Philip Matesic workshopped how to creatively wrap Christmas gifts. Those participating brought all the Christmas gifts they wanted to wrap.
Location: Reseda Zürich (Badenerstrasse 230, 8004 Zürich)