June 3rd, 2006, Jiri Svestka Gallery, Prague
Guest appearance in the show Petra Feriancova
"By the way..." May 5th - June 3th 2006
Project prepared under the framework of Transkultura, Iniciated by Bunkier Sztuki Contemporay Art Gallery, Krakow.
Galerie NoD-Roxy , Prague
1.11. - 30.11. 2006
Special Guests: Karima Zoubir and Ahmed Abdi
Karima Zoubir (1979) is a filmmaker living in Casablanca, residing in
Brno until the 03 of december in the framework of the exhibition
Transkultura: Akt 1 in the ATRIUM in the Moravian Gallery. She has
recently been showing her work in the Tribeca Film Festival (New
York) and Unimovie in Pescara (Italy). In the exhibition she present
the work Veiled Women (Lamnagbattes),
Video, 9:30 Min. 2005,
Marrakech
Acmed Abdi (1982) works normally in the Zoo in Alger, Algeria. He is taking polaroid photos for visitors in the zoo, using a gorilla costume for the attraction. For the audience in Prague it possible to have their own polaroid photo taken by Mr Abdi, with the gorilla. Ahmed Abdi is residing in Brno and Prague until the end of November in the framework of the exhibition Transkultura: Akt 1 in the ATRIUM in the Moravian Gallery.
Project prepared under the framework of Transkultura, Iniciated by Bunkier Sztuki Contemporay Art Gallery, Krakow.
13/10-3/12/2006
Pražák Palace (Atrium)
curator: Petr Ingerle
opening 12/10/2006
www.moravska-galerie.cz
The project for the Atrium exhibition space in the Pražák Palace in Moravian Gallery in Brno is the first part of a project related to a journey visiting countries bordering the European Union. Morocco, Algeria, Tunis, Libya and Egypt are the places visited so far, and they constitute the geographical framework and reference points for this exhibition. The show is developed in two parallel directions; one formal installation in the Atrium, while the second part of the show is elaborated within the city of Brno.
The installation part in the gallery space consists of objects borrowed from various public and private art collections in the Czech Republic. Common for all the items is their direct or indirect relation to North Africa. Some objects are old pictorial representations, while other items are more related to crafts. The installation aims to reach each object's provenance and thus reflects upon personal, historical and ideological relationships.
The second part of the work is directly connected to the visit to the five countries mentioned above. Travelling and meetings with people in each country resulted in a decision to invite five individuals to Brno for the duration of the exhibition. This idea was motivated by the possibility to provide for the guests a subjective cultural experience, which normally would be difficult or impossible, due to restrictions of movement, economical conditions or other obstacles.
The official invitation for the five guests has been kindly provided by the Moravian Gallery. Their everyday life during the stay in Brno will be supported in various ways (accommodation, food, activity and social network etc.) by a group of volunteers and private sponsors prepared with special attention to integrate these substantial aspects into an active part of the project as a whole.
Project prepared under the framework of Transkultura, Iniciated by Bunkier Sztuki Contemporay Art Gallery, Krakow.
Isabela Grosseova / Jesper Alvaer
July 6th 2007 - Sep. 2nd 2007 Dolna Gallery, Krakow, Poland
Curators: Anna Smolak, Magdalena Ujma
The title of the exhibition Figure and Ground refers to the expression used in visual arts. It is the way of working used by the artists in Bunkier Sztuki. The method is based on seeing people and objects in a holistic way in this case in the context of culturally diverse landscape which is shaped by historical processes and human activity. The ground in the title may be then a background against which a person or an object (figure) is presented. The word ground may also mean land or soil. What is very important is the semantic layer of these synonyms, which suggests the land being an important element of the existence of all people no matter what is their place of living or native language.
The exhibition entitled Figure and Ground is the third part of the project by Alvaer and Grosseová (the previous ones took place in Jiri Svestkas Gallery in Prague and in Moravska Gallery in Brno in 2006). It is a road project with casual framework it is not a colonial, ethnographic exploration of some terrains. Their aim is neither documenting nor experiencing an adventure. Alvaer and Grosseová are led by road and time. They are interested in people standing by the road, by local buildings and cultures. They observe how different traditions are mixed together and how they are being flooded by cheap products from China. The artists traveled through the countries which surround Western Europe, the mythic centre, Eldorado, everybodys dream and goal (at least in fantasies). They are interested in margins, border regions, forgotten regions of poverty. They have already traveled through North Africa, South-Eastern, Eastern and North-Eastern Europe.
The main subject of the exhibition in Bunkier Sztuki is groceries. During their journey Alvaer and Grosseová collect what they meet on their way. These are different products and plants from a given area. The artist form a collection of them, which is supplemented with comments made by experts in the language of the country the products come from. Among Polish experts there are Piotr Bikont, Robert Maklowicz and Lukasz Luczaj. All of them present different points of view and different bits of knowledge about food.
