Salon of Czech Scenography 2013/2014
The Salon of Czech Scenography 2013/2014 took place after seven years thanks to the Czech Organization of Scenographers, Theatre Architects and Technicians and it is the fifth showcase of its kind.
Photos from Prague
The salons of Czech scenography continued in the tradition of the National Showcases of Czech Scenography (1977, 1981, 1986, 1989), which were mapping the state of Czech scenic, costume and puppet visual arts in the period between the respective international scenographic exhibition Prague Quadrennial. The first Salon of Czech Scenography was held in 1991 as an accompanying programme of the PQ’ 91 in the foyer of the New Stage in Prague. In 1995, the Salon of Czech Scenography filled the generous space of the Waldstein Riding School in Prague. June 1999 saw the Salon of Czech scenographers in a small hall of the Veletržní palace in Holešovice as a part of the PQ programme. The Salon of Czech Scenography as well as an accompanying programme were accommodated in the representative rooms of the Lobkowicz palace at the Prague Castle in 2005. Although the name of the event has undergone slight changes, its aim was to provide opportunities to Czech professional scenographers (in theatre, film and TV) as well as the scenographic school students to show their work to the public at its widest scope. Regarding the intensive inclination towards disrupting the border between theatre and related art disciplines, the contemporary Salon faces a difficult yet interesting task to reflect this invincible process appropriately despite the fact the process is not always welcome. Moreover, the Salon takes place in the half-time of the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space, which is going to be held in June 2015. The Salon of Czech Scenography 2013/2014 can also serve as a partial inventory check of the state of Czech scenography before the top professional event.
The Salon welcomed 30 artists such as Petr Matásek, Jozef Ciller, Simona Rybáková, Sylva Zimula Hanáková or Šimon Caban, Marie Jirásková, Jana Preková and Kamila Polívková, who have formed and represented the landscape of Czech scenography for a number of years. However, this year’s Salon presented lesser-known or new names of recent graduates or students, who are going to exhibit their first projects. We could see that contemporary Czech scenography has a lot of forms. The visitors to the exhibition saw the presentation of traditional dramatic, opera and ballet works, they are able to admire sophisticated architectonic solutions of the stage and imaginative costumes, which develop a rich legacy of the traditional school of Czech scenography. At the same time, they were able to peek into the world of the contemporary production, which takes pleasure in questioning the conventional borders between theatre and visual arts and places demands on authors and audiences: we could see the documentation of a performance in public space or an interactive presentation of site specific projects. We were also able to notice the growing importance of light design, which substitutes the tangible structures and scenes in the field of contemporary dance. We could also see that scenographers are versatile: they direct and create concepts of their performances but they also write and publish books or realize exhibitions about their discipline.
Photos from Brno.
The Salon of Czech scenography presented works by Czech scenographers and scenically-focused artists from 2006 to 2013 and it is exhibited in the atrium of the Reduta Theatre in Brno (November 22 – December 6, 2013, opening November 21, 2013) and those, who are interested in theatre, visual and other arts, have the opportunity to see it in the Czech Centre in Prague (April 1 – May 16, 2014, opening April 1, 2014). The exhibition took place under the auspices of Professor Jaroslav Malina and it is supervised by Marie Jirásková and Jana Preková.
Exhibiting artists:
Salon of Czech Scenography 2013/2014
Under the auspices of Prof. Jaroslav Malina
Concept: Czech Organization of Scenographers, Theatre Architects and Technicians (ČOSDAT, o. s.)
Professional supervision: Marie Jirásková, Jana Preková
Production: František Fabián, Martina Černá, Denisa Šťastná, Daniela Ferenčíková
Texts: Barbora Příhodová, Denisa Šťastná, Marie Zdeňková
Reduta Theatre, Brno
22. 11. – 6. 12.2013
Czech centre Prague, Rytířská 31, Praha 1
1. 4. – 2. 5. 2014
Main organizer:
The Salon of Czech Scenography 2013/2014 takes place with the kind support of:
Partners of the Salon of Czech Scenography 2013/2014:
