Zuzana Pustaiová

photo by Boris Nemeth

Zuzana Pustaiová's interest in visual arts began with painting but soon switched to photography, which she studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava (Slovakia) where she completed her Ph.D in 2022. Her artwork uses role-playing as a principal tool to explore and reveal the relationships between family members, relatives, friends, and other social groups. With a sense of wit, humor and irony, she uncovers the cultural stereotypes related to gender, age, tradition, and social inclusion. In 2022, her book One Day Every Day was shortlisted for the Paris Photo – Aperture Photobook Award. She has received numerous awards in contemporary photography — including the Grand Prix at the Rovinj Photodays 2021 and Finalist for the 2017 Lucie Foundation Scholarship in Los Angeles. In 2018 she was named Slovak Photographer of the Year. She has exhibited internationally in Europe and Canada and lives and works in Levice and Bratislava.

Zuzana’s Classes

  • Zuzana teaches new approaches to photographing family stories and self-portraiture for StrudelmediaLive.
I really enjoyed Zuzana’s class. The subject matter was a 100% match for the type of work I’ve been focusing on lately, and Zuzana is an excellent teacher — prepared, knowledgeable, engaging, and funny.
—Christine (New York City)
I really enjoyed Zuzana’s class. She helped me develop a concept for a project and gave me the push I needed to get started. I am sure it’s gonna take a while to get it done, but I know now what I want to do and how to continue. I felt that Zuzana has been genuinely interested in everyone’s work and I appreciated her feedback and tips.
—Birgit (Zurich)
I wanted to thank you for the class and for pushing me toward this new way (at least for me) of working on my personal story/project. I’m really excited to literally dive into it. Thank you for your time and support, your advice has been super helpful.
—Lara (France)
Zuzana is an experienced and inspiring teacher who motivated us a lot to find our true artistic voice by connecting with something essential and at the same time showing us many opportunities to be creative. I can’t believe that I could approach a very difficult personal topic and transform it with photography.
—Ha Thu (Vietnam)