ssesi (pronounced /ˈsasi/ as in "sassy")  is a cross-sectional cultural organisation freely traversing formats and disciplines. ssesi is planted on the steep hills of the Svratka river in Brno, Czechia, on the land of former communal gardens that are now rewilding. It connects artists, architects, environmental scientists and engaged public with the context of former urban gardens, its cultures and more-than-human specificities.

Our founding principles propose (1) creating and holding safe, inclusive and non-judgemental spaces for open exploration, (2) encouraging lively interdisciplinary exchange and (3) re-inventing and activating public space by virtues of wittiness, playfulness and empathy.

ssesi si polyfocal and may materialise anywhere where these principles are observed. At its current base in the former community gardens the cultural and the natural work their way around each other constantly. Much of our initiative in this context gravitates towards various ways of exploring, listening to, and appreciating the more-than-human actants that we jointly navigate these steep hills with.

In the past years we've explored the garden as a metaphor of culture and culture as a metaphor of garden, we imagined how outer-personal (as opposed to inter-personal) interspecies relationships may form and shape, and we looked at how gardening may inspire our relationship to work, care and leisure all at once. We partnered with individual artists, architects, scientists as well as with larger groups and institutions, (linked below), all of which we are grateful for. We also co-produced and facilitate offsite programmes and events and are always open to new, meaningful and exciting collaborations.

If you'd like to contact us, please drop us an email on ciao(at)ssesi(dot)space, visit us at the very location 〠 here 〠 or follow and message us on our 〠 facebook site 〠. You can also find a partial documentation of what we do on our 〠 youtube channel 〠

ssesi was founded by Michal Mitro, Eva Jašková, and Maria Komarova in 2021.

Our partners and supporters include:
Creatures - "Creative practices for transformational futures" with whom we worked on Open Urban Forest.
Culture Moves Europe - an EU mobility scheme for cultural professionals that is funding our upcoming on-site residencies.
Visegrad Fund - that has been generously fostering an artistic exchange between Czechia, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary.
Ministry of Culture of Czech Republic and municipality of Brno that financially support our ongoing activities.

Our collaborators include:
Faculty of Architecture, Brno University of Technology, Czechia
Faculty of Forestry of Mendel University, Brno, Czechia.
Paikka - a collective of creators dedicated to fostering experimentation, collaboration, and alternative learning in the realms of art, science, and technology based in Budapest, Hungary.
Uroboros collective - more-than-human design collective based in Prague, Czechia and online.
salát studio - bespoke, sustainable and fun architecture studio based in Brno, Czechia.

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