“This year’s edition, subtitled LOOP, has a lot of interesting things to offer, including works by foreign artists that will be on display in the Czech Republic for the first time ever. It will also highlight spaces that have only recently found their place on the artistic map of Prague. As in previous years, visitors can look forward to a rich accompanying program which includes activities for families with children. Anyone who is interested in the visual arts or just wants to discover and experience something new should not miss out on Prague Art Week,” says Lenka Bakešová, director of the festival.
A celebration of the Havrlant Art Collection, a collection with a vision
Founded in 2015 by Kateřina Havrlant, over the last decade the Havrlant Collection has emerged as one of the most progressive contemporary art collections in the Czech Republic, with an emphasis on supporting young, local talent through acquisitions oriented on the region of central and eastern Europe but also with a focus on digital and video art. The exhibition will showcase works by Czech and international artists such as Pakui Hardware, Igor Hosnedl, Klára Hosnedlová, Anna Hulačová, Zsófia Keresztes, Botond Keresztesi, Eliška Konečná, Eva Koťátková, Tadeáš Podracký, and Anna Uddenberg. The exhibition is thus not a mere overview but also a statement about the changes in contemporary art and the collector’s perspective of it. It deliberately highlights the media and themes that have shaped not only aesthetics but also social discourse in recent years. The exhibition HAC#2 – Havrlant Art Collection 10th Anniversary will run until 7 October at the Mánes Exhibition Hall.
Young Selection: A new generation in The House
The festival will also include the opening of the exhibition space The House. In its newly renovated premises in a functionalist villa in Ořechovka, it will present the exhibition Young Selection 02, which once again aims to introduce promising young artists to the public. The exhibited works will be selected by an expert committee for Prague Art Week in cooperation with The House, KODL Gallery, and Artslimit. In addition to the group exhibition, ten resident artists will also have open studios. With its magical garden and exceptional genius loci, The House will become a place for dialogue between the established and emerging art scenes.
Prague as an open gallery
This year Prague Art Week will once again transform the city into an open gallery. The public will have the opportunity to visit the roughly forty venues involved in the official program free of charge. Visitors can look forward to openings, new solo and group exhibitions, guided tours, lectures, and meetings with artists.
Participating private galleries include BOLD Gallery, C12, Clauda, Weinberg, Polansky Gallery, SPOT Gallery, The Chemistry Gallery, and The Design, all of which will be presenting exhibitions of young contemporary artists.
Auction houses will also be represented, including Dorotheum, which will have an exhibition of Zorka Ságlová, and KODL Gallery, which will once again present the preauction exhibition of Artslimit. Audiences will also be able to visit the new Mucha Museum in the Savarin Palace, and Prague’s most renowned art institutions will have special accompanying programs. For instance, the DOX Centre for Contemporary Art will have an exhibition of David Lynch, and visitors can look forward to guided tours and workshops for children at the Prague City Gallery, HYB4 Gallery, and Kunsthalle Praha. There will also be special programs at MeetFactory, the National Gallery Prague, and the Prague Castle Picture Gallery. Visitors will also find progressive artistic approaches in independent spaces such as Berlinskej Model, GAMU, Galerie NoD, or Holešovická Šachta.
Lovers of unconventional locations and art in the public space can look forward to two artworks from the project ART.cukrovar in Prague’s Modřany neighborhood or an exhibition and performance in the Bílá Hora Monastery, which is a continuation of the project Ora et lege.
For more information, follow Prague Art Week online, where the entire September program will gradually be revealed. You can join the PAW25 event on Facebook, get information in the regular newsletter, and connect with the festival on Instagram and LinkedIn.
