BIG THING opens a new phase of cooperation between UMPRUM and Burg Giebichenstein Kunsthochschule Halle

The exhibition The Big Thing was organized as a thematic biennial exhibition of UMPRUM students. The public was able to first see it in Prague and then as part of the Brussels Design September exhibition. The concept of the exhibition project corresponds to the focus of the school, which provides education in the field of fine arts, architecture, and design. Thanks to the diverse range of disciplines, students have the opportunity to learn not only various technological and craft skills, but also the opportunity to think in an interdisciplinary context. Their work is not limited to a bubble of academic assignments, but has overlap and reflects on issues that plague our world.

The aim of this year's exhibition was to show how art and design can contribute to positive changes in society. In their selection, the curators responded to the feeling of powerlessness that comes from being overwhelmed by negative news in the spheres of politics, climate, and social development. The individual works offer solutions to improve a given situation or viewpoint and confirm that a series of smaller steps precede a big thing.

The optimistic theme of the project attracted the attention of the partner art school, which included the exhibition in its gallery program. "Burg Giebichenstein Kunsthochschule Halle is delighted to present the exhibition The Big Thing at the beginning of the semester in its university gallery. In order to promote an intensive exchange between students and graduates of both universities, BURG is planning a further exchange programme with the UMPRUM in Prague. We are also working towards the possibility of exhibitions from the Burg Giebichenstein Halle University of Art and Design at UMPRUM in Prague in the near future. We believe that a closer relationship with our partner university in Prague can become a valuable information and communication platform for the ideas and working practices of students from both universities", say Prof. Bettina Erzgräber, Rector and Prof. Tilo Baumgärtel, Deputy Rector of BURG.

"The Burg Giebichenstein Kunsthochschule Halle is one of the oldest and most important art schools in German-speaking Europe. It was already a laboratory of radical cultural and social transformation more than a century ago and, alongside the Bauhaus, was one of the key educational institutions of the avant-garde. It is no coincidence that Burg Giebichenstein has been a partner school of UMPRUM for many years. The potential for our collaboration is enormous, as both institutions have similarly focused studios and are interested in the same themes, such as sustainability and social responsibility. With the exchange of exhibition projects, our cooperation is entering a new phase", says Prof. Dr Jindřich Vybíral, Rector of UMPRUM, about the strengthening cooperation between the two schools.

The exhibition at The Burg Gallery, which presents a selection of projects by UMPRUM students across all the school's studios, will be on display until November 3rd. The focus of each work is documented and presented in a detailed exhibition catalogue.

Exhibitors:
Ilya Bazhanov, Dita Buchtová,Tereza Burianová, Julie Černá, Svetlana Devyatkina, Sabina Falcmanová, Sofie Gjuričová, Thea Chatrná, Inga Khatiashvili, Jakub Kozelka, Valéria Kršiaková, Adam Kvaček, Darja Lukjanenko, Jasmína Lustigová, Mike Ma, Jiří Macků, Tomás Máčik, Ondřej Mazanec, Matej Mihályi, Petra Mikolášová, Jakub Míča, Matej Neubert, David Novák, Kristína Opálková, Natália Peterková, Mikuláš Procházka, Ruta Putramentaite, Anastázie Rainischová, Jakub Rozehnal, Šimon Schnierer, Ondřej Salava, Barbora Satranská, Filip Sobol, Ema Soukupová, David Stingl, Antónia Stretavská, Katerřna Suchánková, Kateřina Šípová, Jana Štefková, Jáchym Stulíř, Thanh Mai Tran, Tuan Trieu, Patrik Trska, Jonáš Urbánek, Valerie Vrbová, Josef Žárský, Viktória Žigmundová
Curators: Marie Kordovská, Anna Sedláček Roubalová and Petr Hák
Exhibition architecture: Markéta Mráčková and Barbora Šimonová
Graphics: Ondřej Mazanec, Kateřina Pravdová; adaptation for the BURG: Arne Winter