Petra Jansa is currently researching placemaking activities, specifically focusing on regularly organized events in deindustrialized cities and dilapidated neighborhoods within the post-communist context of Central East Europe, particularly Czechia. She is about to finish a part of her case study, working under the supervision of Amanda Brandellero at ESHCC.
Throughout her university studies, Petra has been torn between disciplines, unable to decide on one. Hence when it comes to the boundaries of different academic fields, she then deliberately crosses them. However, she acknowledges that her grounding will predominantly lie in critical theories and her interest in case studies combining ethnographic approaches with systematic methods such as grounded theory or content analysis.
Petra holds a bachelors and masters in Interactive Media that uniquely combined practice with theory, one of the pioneering initiatives in Czechia to focus on digital media and interactivity in communication, culture, and the creative industries. Simultaneously, she pursued a master's degree in Cultural and Arts Management, specializing in public cultural policies and communications. While excelling in both programs and graduating with distinction, Petra was more drawn to gaining hands-on experiences than pursuing a doctoral degree. She subsequently worked for one of the world's largest communication agencies and, after acquiring valuable experience, decided to apply her knowledge to the cultural and nonprofit sectors. She collaborated with numerous cultural organizations, primarily focusing on festivals. Additionally, Petra maintained connections with academia as a lecturer and external supervisor at Masaryk University and Charles University in Prague. She continues to enrich her experience by supervising bachelor and pre-master students at ESHCC.
Having received training through international internships in visual culture and urban ethnography summer schools, Petra now combines her knowledge of Media and Cultural Studies, Urban Studies, and Cultural Policy. Her current research centers around festivals and creative placemaking activities within societies that have undergone traumatic experiences due to totalitarian regimes and subsequent socio-economic transformations. She explores how members of these societies navigate unique micro and macro experiences in their everyday lives, distinct from those of Western Europeans.
When Petra is not engrossed in reading, discovering cities' corners, or making ceramics, she visits conceptual art exhibitions to fulfill her guilty pleasure of comparing the artwork with the curatorial texts to reveal the places where the curator crossed the line of the original artistic idea. Lately, she has been following Deep End Fitness videos with a feeling of uneasiness – have you heard of this new sport?