Agnes Mlicka

Helping people learn, play and engage by creating memorable experiences to stimulate curiosity, creativity and collaboration.

Agnes Mlicka is an Experience Designer with 10+ years of experience in facilitation, project management and developing learning processes. She has an acacemic background in Fine Art from the University of Oxford and the University of the Arts London, and 6 years of research experience in Art & Architecture.

Agnes founded Visual Agency in 2016, where she designed and facilitated workshops and courses using participatory co-creation methods like collaborative visualisation, co-design of social games, storytelling and (visual) debates. Passionate about creating immersive journeys to inspire people, she believes in the transformative potential when learning, play and engagement are brought together.

Agnes has lived in the UK, the Netherlands, Poland, Italy and New Zealand, and is currently based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Through her multicultural background, speaking 5 languages, and interest in cultural similarities and differences, she is dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusivity.

As member of Toastmasters International, she is passionate about public speaking and good leadership, with numerous best speaker and evaluator awards.

Connect with Agnes on LinkedIn.

Experience Design & Visual Facilitation

Agnes has facilitated 50+ workshops and courses using innovative methods such as collaborative visualisation, co-design and storytelling to create stimulating contexts for engagement.

She developed learning processes, adapted to various ages and cultural backgrounds, towards education, self-development, networking, community building and collaborative projects. Her visual workshops were on contemporary issues such as climate change, mass tourism, sustainability, cross-cultural understanding, and the pandemic.

Visual Agency collaborated with educational and cultural institutions, networking groups and NGO’s, among others:

Crossing Borders
think.dk (the Center for Acceleration of Sustainable Change)
Kulturhuset Islands Brygge
the University of Copenhagen
Endrupskolen
Copenhagen Professional Networking Group at InterNations.

More information: visualagency.org

2017-03-02 visual agency course 1 class1

I am interested in innovative pedagogical approaches in which knowledge is exchanged through debate and emerges from practical endeavours.

Teaching

Agnes has a Postgraduate Certificate in Special Study in Supporting Learning from the University of Westminster, London (awarded with distinction). She is qualified in providing student-centred learning, encompassing inclusivity, lesson planning, assessment, evaluation and feedback, and undertaking reflective practice.

Agnes was Guest Lecturer & Visiting Tutor in Art and Architecture departments at the University of Westminster, London, and in Italy at the University of Florence, the New York University in Florence, and the Syracuse University in Florence.

She has designed and facilitated learning processes for art and architecture students through workshops, seminars, individual mentoring, lectures, guided field trips and group feedback sessions. She prioritises student centred learning in her teaching methodology, emphasising critical discussion and fostering engagement with contemporary events.

Public Speaking & Leadership

Agnes is a member of Toastmasters International, the leading non-profit organisation for Public Speaking, Leadership & Communication.

She is a Charter Member of the Amager Toastmasters Club in Copenhagen, and previous member of the Frederiksberg Toastmasters Club where she also acted as a mentor for new members. She regularly receives awards for best speaker and evaluator, and takes leadership roles as Toastmaster of the Day at meetings.

Speeches

17.09.2022 Everybody is an Artist!?
12.11.2022 Too Good to be True
21.01.2023 Dare to Dance
18.03.2023 Single + Mother = Single Mother

01.04.2023 The Mentoring Relationship

13.05.2023 And thanks for the coffee!
27.05.2023 The Sheep
19.08.2023 Painting Architecture
25.11.2023 Learnings from Oxford
22.04.2024 Death by PowerPoint
13.05.2024 The Lost Library

19.08.2024 It's not about sex

16.09.2024 The Great British Kettle Surge

24.11.2024 Staying Sane
25.11.2024 Table Topics Master

Publications

Mlicka, A., 2020. ‘Visual agency: participatory painting as a method for spatial negotiation’, in ‘Visual Research Methods in Architecture’, eds. Igea Troiani and Suzanne Ewing. Bristol: Intellect Books. pp. 300-316.

Mlicka, A., 2017. Facilitating Spatial Negotiation: A Pragmatic Approach to Understanding Public Space. The Journal of Public Space, 2 (2), pp. 27-36.

Mlicka, A., 2016. Imagining a 'Relational' Painting. Journal of Contemporary Painting, 2 (2), pp. 322-326.

Mlicka, A., 2014. Painting Architecture: Towards a Practice-Led Research Methodology. Studies in Material Thinking, 10, pp. 1-19.

Dissertations

Drawing the City: Motives and Methods

MA Painting dissertation, Wimbledon College of Art and Design, University of the Arts London, July 2007

The Psychology of the Interior

BA Fine Art dissertation, The Ruskin School of Art, University of Oxford, June 2006

Book and Art Reviews

Mlicka, A., 2013. Painting with Architecture in Mind ed. by Edward Whittaker and Alex Landrum (review). Leonardo, 46(5), p. 503.

Painting as a Function of People and the City: A Conversation between Painters Frank Creber and Agnieszka Mlicka

The Neon in Nature: An Updated Understanding of Experiencing Landscape through Painting

A review of the work of the artist Martin Stynes.

Engaging Artists in the Debate on 21st Century Cities

Published on the RSA website, 1 July 2011

The Intangible made Physical; Interview with Artist Katherine Lubar

Published in theCherwell Newspaper, Oxford, 17 Feb 2006

Research

In her interdisciplinary practice-led research, Agnes investigated how collaborative painting can be used in the field of architecture, in particular at an early design stage and as a learning method for architecture students, to improve team collaboration, to consider the larger urban context, and to consider end-users' and stakeholders' perspectives and needs.

Her expertise includes: contemporary painting, critical spatial practice, spatial agency, the production of space, participatory practice and co-design.

Conferences (selection)

2016 ‘Visualising multivocality through participatory painting’, paper presentation at the MEDIATIONS Conference 'Art & Design Agency and Participation in Public Space', RCA London, 21-22 November (forthcoming)

2015 'The Transformative Potential of Collaborative Painting', presentation at the 'Drawing Conversations: reflecting upon collective and collaborative drawing experiences' symposium, Coventry University (UK), 4 December

2014 'Facilitating Spatial Negotiation', participatory painting workshop in collaboration with Social Street, 'Past, Present and Future of Public Space' International Conference on Art, Architecture and Urban Design, Bologna, Italy, 25-27 June

2013 'Painting Architecture: Visual Modes of Spatial Thinking', research and poster presentation at the 11th Conference of the European Architectural Envisioning Association 'Envisioning Architecture: Design, Evaluation, Communication', Politecnico di Milano, Italy, 25-28 September

2013 'Positioning Painting Architecture: Different Perspectives on the Visualisation of Spatial Thinking', Spring Research Symposium, Research Network University of the Arts London (RNUAL) 11-15 February

2012 'Potential and Pitfalls of Painting Architecture as Practice-Based Research Methodology', The Art of Research Conference, Aalto University School of Art, Design and Architecture, Helsinki, Finland, 28-29 November

2012 'Painting Architecture: Material Modes of Projective Thinking' (visual presentation), Interstices Under Construction Symposium 2012: Immaterial Materialities, The University of Technology Sydney, Australia, 28-30 November

2012 'Architectural Projection and Principles in Painting', Spatial Thinking Symposium, Institut für Gestaltung.Studio2, University of Innsbruck, Austria, 9-10 November

2012 'Improving the Construction of the Image: Painting as a Function of Architectural Terms and Conditions', The Media of the Metapolis Conference, the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, Germany, 24-26 May

2012 'The Exploitation of the Visual Arts in Urban Regeneration: Visual Rhetoric Masquerading as Spatio-temporal Geography', Theoretical Currents II: Architecture and its Geographical Horizons Conference, University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, 4-5 April

Fine Art

Agnes studied Fine Art at the University of Oxford (BFA and MA) and specialised in painting, drawing and installation art at the University of the Arts London (MA).

Her artworks are in public collections, such as the University of the Arts London and the University of Copenhagen (donation), and private collections in London, Poland, Hong Kong and New Zealand.

Her works deal with urban planning, spatial construction and the psychology of interior space. Her art has been presented at over 35 group and solo exhibitions.

As Senior Gallery Assistant at the Gilden’s Arts Gallery, London, Agnes has specialised in original prints by 20th century Modern Masters and gained experience in curating exhibitions.