Biennale Matter of Art 2022 21. 7. 2022 – 23. 10. 2022
Curatorial group: Rado Ištok, Renan Laru-an, Piotr Sikora, and tranzit.cz
The second edition of Biennale Matter of Art will take place from July 21 to October 23, 2022, at the Prague City Gallery, the General University Hospital, and the Šaloun Studio in Prague. The exhibition and public program will be open to the public free of charge. The biennale will comprise newly commissioned and existing artworks, performances, guided tours, film screenings, talks, and discussions. On the occasion of the biennale, tranzit.cz will publish a bilingual anthology of texts that will further develop the thematic anchoring of the project from various artistic, critical, and historical perspectives. The biennale is co-curated by members of the international curatorial group comprising Rado Ištok, Renan Laru-an, Piotr Sikora, and tranzit.cz.
The second edition of Biennale Matter of Art in Prague explores what lies beyond the identity of Central and Eastern Europe as a space of in-betweenness, caught up between belonging to “Fortress Europe” and being Europe’s periphery. It will understand the violence of the present conditions in historical traumas and will offer languages from contemporary art and visual culture that process, narrate, or hold difficult historical moments in order to better understand how the past haunts us still. Biennale Matter of Art 2022 imagines alternative futures by grasping strength in relationships that may be intergenerational, transitional, incipient, or even weak. It will incorporate the “minor” perspectives of children, enthusiasts, kidults, and introverts as well as the “poor” experiences of the chronically ill, prematurely deceased, or monstrous as agents who act, create, and deliberate meanings.
The biennale is organized by the initiative tranzit.cz in cooperation with Prague City Gallery. Biennale Matter of Art 2022 is taking place in the year of the twentieth anniversary of the founding of the international network tranzit.org. Biennale Matter of Art is a founding member of the East Europe Biennial Alliance. The main partner of tranzit.cz is the ERSTE Foundation. The biennale is a part of the project tranzit.cz / Biennale Matter of Art “Center and Periphery: Cultural Deserts in Eastern Europe,” which is supported by grants from Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway (EEA Grants) in the scope of the Culture Program. The exhibition is being held with the support of the minister of culture of the Czech Republic, Martin Baxa, and Prague city councilor Hana Třeštíková.
