- Jak se ucit s houbami? Vráblíková, Lenka and Mitchell, Elspeth. 2022. Jak se ucit s houbami? Krunýř: mezidruhový pracovní sešit(1),
- Out of Office: Mycorrhizal encounters and the art of feminist un/learning Mitchell, Elspeth and Vráblíková, Lenka. 2022. Out of Office: Mycorrhizal encounters and the art of feminist un/learning. Antennae: The Journal of Nature in Visual Culture(58), pp. 96-107. ISSN 1756-9575
- Othering Mushrooms: Migratism and its racist entanglements in the Brexit campaign Vráblíková, Lenka. 2021. Othering Mushrooms: Migratism and its racist entanglements in the Brexit campaign. Feminist Encounters: Journal of Critical Studies in Culture and Politics, 5(1), 05. ISSN 2468-4414
- Reading the Sexual Economy of Academic Freedom with Sarah Kofman and Jacques Derrida: A feminist deconstruction of Kant’s concept of the University Vráblíková, Lenka. 2020. Reading the Sexual Economy of Academic Freedom with Sarah Kofman and Jacques Derrida: A feminist deconstruction of Kant’s concept of the University. Australian Feminist Studies, 35(103), pp. 54-69. ISSN 0816-4649
- The Salon is now in session: a reflection on UNISA’s decolonial reading Khosi, Motlatsi and Vráblíková, Lenka. 2020. The Salon is now in session: a reflection on UNISA’s decolonial reading. Journal of International Women’s Studies, 21(7), pp. 23-36. ISSN 1539-8706
- Live Body: An interview with Anne E. Berger Berger, Anne Emmanuelle and Vráblíková, Lenka. 2019. Live Body: An interview with Anne E. Berger. parallax, 25(2), pp. 119-136. ISSN 1353-4645
- à corps: the corpus of deconstruction Mercier, Thomas Clément and Vráblíková, Lenka. 2019. à corps: the corpus of deconstruction. parallax, 25(2), pp. 111-118. ISSN 1353-4645
- corps à: body/ies in deconstruction Vráblíková, Lenka and Mercier, Thomas Clément. 2019. corps à: body/ies in deconstruction. parallax, 25(1), pp. 1-7. ISSN 1353-4645
- Maria Do Mar Pereira: Power, Knowledge and Feminist Scholarship: An Ethnography of Academia Vráblíková, Lenka. 2018. Maria Do Mar Pereira: Power, Knowledge and Feminist Scholarship: An Ethnography of Academia. Czech Sociological Review, 54(3), pp. 481-484. ISSN 0038-0288
- A Feminist Space at Leeds: collective reflections on an “Event” Daly, Ruth; Mitchell, Elspeth; Park, Gill; Vráblíková, Lenka and Zhao, Yelin. 2017. A Feminist Space at Leeds: collective reflections on an “Event”. Images: Journal of Visual and Cultural Studies, 7, pp. 261-272. ISSN 2247-7950
- From Performativity to Aporia: Taking 'tremendous responsibility' towards feminism and the university Vráblíková, Lenka. 2016. From Performativity to Aporia: Taking 'tremendous responsibility' towards feminism and the university. Gender and Education, 28(3), pp. 359-371. ISSN 0954-0253
- Roxana and other feminist (hi)stories: Book review of A. E. Berger’s “The Queer Turn in Feminism" Vráblíková, Lenka. 2016. Roxana and other feminist (hi)stories: Book review of A. E. Berger’s “The Queer Turn in Feminism". Discourse: Journal for Theoretical Studies in Media and Culture, 38(2), pp. 281-284. ISSN 1522-5321
- Negativita ve studování na umělecké škole [Negativity in the studying in the Art School] Vráblíková, Lenka. 2012. Negativita ve studování na umělecké škole [Negativity in the studying in the Art School]. Sociální studia [Czech Social Studies], 9(3), pp. 51-64. ISSN 1214-813X
Dr Lenka Vráblíková
Staff details
Goldsmiths Research Centres/Groups
Lenka works in transnational feminisms and political ecology, particularly in the field of feminist visual ethnomycology
Lenka specializes in transnational feminisms, political ecology, deconstruction & new materialism, critical whiteness studies and eco-feminist art education. Her current research focuses on feminist visual ethnomycology (in collaboration with Elspeth Mitchell) which examines the role mushrooms and their foragers have played in the cultural and political imagination of European heteropatriarchal and colonial modernity. At Goldsmiths, Lenka is a lecturer in Critical Studies at the Department of Art and the Department of Visual Cultures, and a member of the Centre for Art and Ecology. She is also a co-founding member of transnational Feminist Readings Network, member of the advisory board of the Center for Arts and Ecology Kafkárna (Czech Republic) and research committee of AWARE: Archives of Women Artists, Research, and Exhibitions (France). Before joining Goldsmiths, she was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the College of Human Sciences at UNISA (the University of South Africa).
Academic qualifications
- PhD in Cultural Studies, University of Leeds, United Kingdom 2017
- MA in Cultural Studies, University of Leeds, United Kingdom 2011
- MgA. in Fine Arts, Brno University of Technology, Czech Republic 2010
- BcA. In Fine Arts, University of Ostrava, Czech Republic 2008
Teaching and supervision
TEACHING
modules convened and taught in Visual Cultures (BA History of Art, BA Fine Art and History of Art, BA Curating) and Art (BA Fine Art):
Modules convened and taught:
- Feminist and Queer Technoscience (2nd year BA, Visual Cultures)
- Feminist Lab: Art, Science and Technoecologies (2nd year BA, Fine Art, Critical Studies)
modules co-taught:
- Beyond Boundaries (1st year BA Visual Cultures)
- Curating, Education and Research (2nd year BA Visual Cultures)
- Political Ecologies (3rd year BA, Visual Cultures)
- Critical Ecopoetics, Core Course (MA Contemporary Art Theory, Visual Cultures)
- Fine Art Critical Studies (1st year Fine Art, Critical Studies)
SUPERVISION
- supervisor of BA Dissertations in Art and Visual Cultures (BA History of Art, BA Fine Art and History of Art, BA in Fine Art)
- supervisor of MA Dissertations in Visual Cultures (MA Contemporary Art Theory)
- second supervisor of PhD Dissertation "Shocking Periphery" (Katarzyna Lukasik), with Beny Wagner (Art) and 3 PhD Dissertations (Christian Tonner, Theresa Zwerschke, Killian Michael O'Dwyer ) in Visual Cultures
BA History of Art, BA Curating, BA Fine Art and History of Art (Visual Cultures), BA Fine Art (Art), MA in Contemporary Art Theory (Visual Cultures)
Research interests
Lenka's current research focuses on three areas: The first area focuses on feminist visual ethnomycology. She examines how fungi have become ‘the threatening Other’ in the racist nationalisms in modern and contemporary Europe and how they can become a potent means to unravel the divisive binary ‘native’ vs. ‘alien.’ The second area concerns how categories woman and human operate in art education and entangles with Eurocentrism and racialisation. The third strand of her research addresses the politics of the body in contemporary cultural theory, focusing on how translation–conceptualised as a necessary yet impossible practice–transforms the understanding of the key aspects of our political, socio-cultural and affective life such as embodiment, belonging and political and cultural representation.
Research areas: visual culture studies, contemporary art, feminist visual ethnomycology, transnational feminisms, critical and creative ecologies, deconstruction and new materialism, embodiment and belonging, critical whiteness studies, postsocialism, critical university studies and anti-disciplinarity, gender and art education, collaborative practice-led research methodologies and critical and eco-feminist pedagogy.
Grants and awards
2022:
Mycorrhizal Encounters (Research England Enhancing Culture Fund)
with Dr Elspeth Mitchell, University of Leeds, UK.
2022:
ERC-funded Visiting Research Fellowship
Faculty of Fine Arts, Brno University of Technology, Czechia.
2021:
CoLeGen: exploring the colonial legacies of UK geoscience in Africa (AHRC and NERC seed funding for 'Hidden histories of encironmental science')
with Dr Pete Yeandle (Loughborough University), Dr Keely Mills (British Geological Survey) and Prof Eric Odada (University of Nairobi)
Publications and research outputs
Article
- The heart of a giraffe Kotátková, Eva; Janecková, Hana and Vráblíková, Lenka. 2025. The heart of a giraffe. JVC Magazine,
- Feminist ethnomycology and the politics of visual culture Mitchell, Elspeth and Vráblíková, Lenka. 2022. Feminist ethnomycology and the politics of visual culture. FlashArt,
- 'You keep belittling us and we are sick of it!': Four lessons learned from feminist interventions in Czech art schools Vráblíková, Lenka. 2022. 'You keep belittling us and we are sick of it!': Four lessons learned from feminist interventions in Czech art schools. Gender and Education, 32(7), pp. 838-851. ISSN 0954-0253
Artist's Book
- Collaborative Poetics: Conversations with Lalela I Engel, Kathy; Marie, Maia; Nkomo, Refilwe; Vráblíková, Lenka; Moiloa Gapare, Molemo; Flores Garrido, Natalia; Masola, Athanbile; Moeketsi, Itumeleng; Moyo, Kundai; Slabbert, Annika; Sango, Anna; Itumeleng, Faith and Tshikalange, Lali. 2022. Collaborative Poetics: Conversations with Lalela I.
Book Section
- Bodies in e-motion: Hélène Cixous and Sarah Kofman encountering Rembrandt Vráblíková, Lenka. 2024. Bodies in e-motion: Hélène Cixous and Sarah Kofman encountering Rembrandt. In: Lynn Turner, ed. Erotics of Deconstruction: Auto-Affection After Derrida. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 9781399539739
- Gardening Ecofeminisms. Sympozium jako živná půda [Gardening Ecofeminisms: Symposium as a culture medium] Vráblíková, Lenka and Kubelová, Lenka. 2024. Gardening Ecofeminisms. Sympozium jako živná půda [Gardening Ecofeminisms: Symposium as a culture medium]. In: Kateřina Vídenová and Amálie Bulandrová, eds. Kafkárna / Dům a Zahrada [Kafkárna /House and Garden]. Prague: UMPRUM, pp. 289-295.
- The University Vráblíková, Lenka. 2023. The University. In: Tilottama Rajan and Daniel Whistler, eds. The Palgrave Handbook to German Idealism and Poststructuralism. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 383-398. ISBN 9783031273445
Conference or Workshop Item
- The Art of Shapeshifting: Embodied un/learning with Fungi Vráblíková, Lenka. 2024. 'The Art of Shapeshifting: Embodied un/learning with Fungi'. In: Learning with mountains: recalibrating how we understand art and planet. Celadon Center for Arts & Ecologies, Nikosia and Kepedes, Cyprus 6 - 8 February 2025.
- Feminist Un/learning with Fungi Vráblíková, Lenka. 2024. 'Feminist Un/learning with Fungi'. In: Launch of The Centre for Art and Ecology, Goldsmiths. Goldsmiths, University of London, United Kingdom 27 September 2024.
- “The Czech Are Excellent Mushroom Hunters:” The Visual Politics of Fungi in (Post)Socialism Vráblíková, Lenka. 2024. '“The Czech Are Excellent Mushroom Hunters:” The Visual Politics of Fungi in (Post)Socialism'. In: SAVA Conference on the Great Transformation of Nature. UCL Institute of Advanced Studies, United Kingdom 16 - 17 May 2024.
Edited Journal
- à corps Mercier, Thomas Clément and Vráblíková, Lenka, eds. 2019. à corps, parallax, 25(2). 1353-4645
- corps à Vráblíková, Lenka and Mercier, Thomas Clément, eds. 2019. corps à, parallax, 25(1). 1353-4645
Film/Video
- Out of Office: Mycorrhizal encounters and the art of feminist un/learning Vráblíková, Lenka and Mitchell, Elspeth. 2021. Out of Office: Mycorrhizal encounters and the art of feminist un/learning.
Printed Ephemera
- Learning Collaboration with Fungi: A guided walk in the forest (student version) Vráblíková, Lenka and Mitchell, Elspeth. 2024. Learning Collaboration with Fungi: A guided walk in the forest (student version).
- Learning Collaboration with Fungi: A guided walk in the forest (facilitator version) Vráblíková, Lenka and Mitchell, Elspeth. 2024. Learning Collaboration with Fungi: A guided walk in the forest (facilitator version).
- Out of Office: Feminist Reading & Mushroom Hunting in Meanwood Park Mitchell, Elspeth and Vráblíková, Lenka. 2020. Out of Office: Feminist Reading & Mushroom Hunting in Meanwood Park.
Project
- Gardening Ecofeminisms Lenka, Vráblíková; Kateřina, Vídenová and Amálie, Bulandrová. 6 - 8 October 2023 Gardening Ecofeminisms.
Other
- Jak se od hub ucit spolupraci - pruvodce prochazkou lesem [Learning Collaboration from Fungi - guided walk in forest] Vráblíková, Lenka and Mitchell, Elspeth. 2023. Jak se od hub ucit spolupraci - pruvodce prochazkou lesem [Learning Collaboration from Fungi - guided walk in forest]. Futuropolis - skola emancipace, Online.
Professional projects
2023 - Conceptual Design and Dramaturgy of Art Symposium “Gardening Ecofeminisms,” Centre for Art and Ecology KAFKÁRNA (6-8.10. 2023), with Kateřina Vídenová and Amálie Blandrová, Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (UMPRUM), Czech Republic (https://www.umprum.cz/cs/web/o-umprum/udrzitelnost/kafkarna/gardening-ecofeminisms)
2022 - 2023 Educational material design of Guided Walk for Secondary Schools "Jak se s houbami učit spolupráci [Learning Collaboration with Fungi].” Critical Pedagogy project "Futuropolis: The School of Emancipation" conducted by NaZemi and Institute Uzkosti, funded by Ministry of Educationa, Czech Republic
https://futuropolis.cz/knihovna/jak-se-s-houbami-ucit-spolupraci-pruvodce-prochazkou-lesem-pro-zaky/
Since 2025 - Course and Educational material development and design for lifelong learning course "Škola ekologické imaginace" [FOG: School of Ecological Imagination], with Eva Koťátková, Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (UMPRUM), Czech Republic
https://www.umprum.cz/en/web/about-umprum/sustainability/kafkarna/fog-school-of-ecological-imagination
2025 - Visiting Lecturer, The Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, Czech Republic
Since 2022 - Visiting Research Fellow, School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies, University of Leeds
Research projects
2024:
Becoming Ecological (Art) Institution
with Centre for Art and Ecology KAFKÁRNA, Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (UMPRUM), Czech Republic
2022:
Mycorrhizal Encounters: The art of feminist un/learning and the cultural politics of fungi.
with Dr Elspeth Mitchell (University of Leeds)