The Kafkárna is a unique, almost 100-year-old building in Prague's Ořechovka district, which was created for Kafka's monumental realisations (especially the statue of Jan Žižka in Prague's Vítkov). At the beginning of the 1990s, the studio was acquired by Kurt Gebauer, then head of the UMPRUM Studio of Sculpture. In recent years, the premises have been used not only as art workshops but have also become the background for the UMPRUM Centre for Art and Ecology, initiated by Dominik Lang and Kateřina Vídenová.
The HOUSE & GARDEN exhibition offers several levels and different themes. It documents the evolution and transformation of the site and its uses. It presents the transformation of the space, opening up of international cooperation, building a community around the garden, and also maps a series of events for residents along with the general public. All this is supported by documentation including historical photographs, videos, and above all, artistic artefacts associated with the site. We can mention, for example, Bohumil Kafka's small animal sculptures, which were lent to the exhibition by the Prague City Gallery.
The Kafkárna can be characterized as a place full of life and creativity. The exhibition is therefore not only limited to the presentation of artworks but also places great emphasis on the current Kafkárna programme. The atmosphere of the site will be conveyed through numerous accompanying events, which will not only focus on the gallery itself, but on the entire UMPRUM building on Náměstí Jana Palacha. "In the installation itself and through the accompanying programme, we want to offer a view of Kafkárna as a meeting place, a laboratory, a hiding place, and a source of knowledge. During the course of the exhibition, we will temporarily transfer themes and activities of the Kafkárna to the entire school building so that they figuratively permeate all floors, and potentially find roots at the Náměstí Jana Palacha building. Whether it is thematic lectures, seminars, workshops, for instance, vegetarian cooking, hairdressing, and yoga” as the exhibition curators Amálie Bulandrová, and Kateřina Vídenová explain. Visitors can look forward to various creative workshops, and seminars, as well as a special "Kafkárna" menu in the school cafeteria U Princezny, or a football match in the courtyard of the neighbouring Dance Conservatory of the Capital City of Prague.
"The Kafkárna is one of the three buildings used by UMPRUM. Its environment and atmosphere alone dictate that local activities should be more focused on the senses, nature, and other facts that we often forget in our everyday lives," says Dominik Lang, describing the current form of the studio.
The exhibition was created in parallel with a publication of the same name, which was produced by the Center for Art and Ecology at UMPRUM and will be published by the UMPRUM Publishing House in April 2024 with the support of the EEA and Norway Grants.
The exhibition itself can be visited until the end of March this year.
Exhibitors:
Barvolam, Nina Bělíčková, Jan Boháč, Eva Brodská, Liv Bugge, Viktor Dedek, Elpida, Anna Fiedlerová, Kurt Gebauer, Jan Haubelt, Marie Hantáková a Nikola Šmeralová, Irvine Hill, Jana Chmelařová, Bohumil Kafka, Jiří Kovanda a Veronika Zapletalová, Stanislav Karoli, Krunýř, Jeongsoo Lim, Anna Žofie Langová, Matouš Lipus, Julie Luňáková, Marek Mirčev, Mercedes Mühleisen, Aleš Novák, Daniela Peterová, Tatiana Piussi, Horymír Povolný, Nicolas Prokop, Ruta Putramentaite, Anna Ročňová, Ivan Svoboda, Josef Sudek, Dagmar Šubrtová, Marie Tučková, Milada Wlazelová, and Žižkostel.
Implementation team: Amálie Bulandrová, Dominik Lang, and Kateřina Vídenová.
Graphic Design: Žofia Fodorová, and Magdalena Konečná.
Installation team: Jakub Lukáš, Marek Mirčev, Nikola Šmeraloví, and Hubert Švaříček.
Audio: Marie Hantáková, Jana Chmelařová, and Jonáš Richter.
Text: Benjamin Foerster Baldenius, Ruta Putramentaite, Catriona Sandilands, and Tereza Stöckelová.
Shelving: Adam Wlazel
Acknowledgements: the EEA and Norway Grants 2014-2021 (Culture Programme), the Prague City Gallery, the National Gallery Archives, the Institute of Art History of the Czech Academy of Sciences, and Vladimír Faltus.
ACCOMPANYING PROGRAMME TO THE HOUSE & GARDEN EXHIBITION IN THE UM GALLERY
Saturday 24. 2. / 2:00 p.m.
Sunday 25. 2. / 7:30 p.m.
Monday 26. 2. / 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday 27. 2. / 7:30 p.m.
YOGA AT UMPRUM
Studio of Architecture II, nám. Jana Palacha 80, Prague 1, 1st floor, room 102.
Filip Janík
Saturday 2. 3.
1:00 p.m.
HOUSE (guided tour of the exhibition)
UM Gallery
Curators: Amálie Bulandrová, Dominik Lang, and Kateřina Vídenová.
2:00 - 5:00 p.m.
FONT & NATURE (calligraphy workshop for children)
Studio of type design and typography, nám. Jana Palacha 80, Prague 1, 3rd floor, room 305.
Žofia Fodorová, and Magdalena Konečná.
Monday 4. 3.
Tuesday 5. 3. / during the day
KAFKÁRNA U PRINCEZNY (our vegetarian dishes in the school cafeteria)
Buffet U Princezny, nám. Jana Palacha 80, Prague 1, basement.
Cooking: Marko Čambor, Šenay Kobak, Ondřej Novák, Julie Petrůjová, Kateřina Vídenová, and Amalie Bulandrová.
Saturday 9. 3.
11:00 a.m.
GARDEN (guided tour of Kafkárna)
Meeting at the UM Gallery, nám. Jana Palacha 80, Prague 1.
Curators: Amálie Bulandrová, Dominik Lang, and Kateřina Vídenová.
2:00 - 5:00 p.m.
COLLECTIVE TABLECLOTH (production of a tablecloth for the Kafkárna)
Studio of Illustration and Graphics, nám. Jana Palacha 80, Prague 1, 2nd floor, room 203.
Lecturers: KNEDLÍK (Františka Iblová, Leona Krlínová, Jantra Šímová, and Barbora Žentelová).
Thursday 14.03. at 6:00 p.m.
NO GROWTH IN CULTURE (lecture)
nám. Jana Palacha 80, Prague 1, 1st floor, lecture room 115.
Lecturer: Šárka Zahálková
Saturday 16.03.
10 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
DECONSTRUCTION OF THE ZOO (facilitated walk with collective reflection)
Meeting at the UM Gallery, nám. Jana Palacha 80, Prague 1
Reservation required: katerina.krebsova@umprum.cz
Lecturers: Kateřina Krebsová, and Ondřej Sliš.
2:00 - 6:00 p.m.
SALON UM (hairdresser)
Studio of Architecture II, nám. Jana Palacha 80, Prague 1, 1st floor, room 102.
We recommend booking: @umprum_salon
Mariana Chavíková, and Adam Rýznar.
Tuesday 19.03. / 6:30 p.m.
GERMINATION / FOLLOWING NON-HUMAN FOOTSTEPS: POSTHUMANIMUS BETWEEN THEORY AND PRACTICE (film seminar)
Hlinárna, nám. Jana Palacha 80, Prague 1, basement, room S20.
Speakers: Tereza Staňková, and Jáchym Šidlák.
Wednesday 20.03 / 6:30 p.m.
SPROUTING / LIVING IN COMMUNITY: CREATING A VIABLE SPACE (film seminar)
Hlinárna, nám. Jana Palacha 80, Prague 1, basement, room S20.
Speakers: Tereza Staňková, and Jáchym Šidlák.
Thursday 21.03. / 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
GARDENING, LUNCH, FOOTBALL (symbolic welcoming of spring)
nám. Jana Palacha 80, Prague 1, courtyard
Patrik Platil, and Nikola Šmeralová.
Saturday 23.03 / 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.
PLASTER (material workshop)
Studio of Fine Arts III, nám. Jana Palacha 80, Prague 1, 2nd floor, room 207.
Šenay Kobak, and Natálie Matějková.
Thursday 28.03. / 5:00 p.m.
TREES MAKE THE FOREST AND YOU MAKE THE TREE (participatory performance)
Studio of Fine Arts I, nám. Jana Palacha 80, Prague 1, ground floor, room 004.
Artists: Jan Boháč, and Jonáš Richter.
Admission to the accompanying programmes is free.
