PUT YOUR FINGER

Susanna Inglada - ESP/NL

Merel Noorlander - NL

Stephanie Rizaj - AUT

Curator of the exhibition Radek Váňa

Architect of the exhibition: Tomáš Petermann

-

Young artists in an open society have the difficult task of relating to the complex interconnected world around us. They use reflection, metaphor or direct input. It is not only about the current state of affairs, it is also about trying to find an alternative. The artists in this exhibition use and blend these methods, often in a very personal way.

At the same time, today the notion of decolonization, as a very frequent imperative, is applied in general to a wide field of human (and non-human) activities and actions. It is used not only in connection with the struggles of indigenous peoples to reclaim the land, natural resources and rights that have been dispossessed from them, but also often in connection with the necessary structural changes to various types of educational (schools, universities) or cultural institutions (museums and galleries) in former metropolises. It refers generally to the very ways of thinking and functioning of the Western - Euro-American - world, shaped for centuries by the conquering/exploitative/racist/supremacist attitude of the superior imperial and colonial powers. It has become an acute need, one of the instruments of change, but also a metaphor too easily applied.

Curator and theorist Radek Váňa worked in the 1990s as curator of the Modern and Contemporary Art Collection at the National Gallery Prague and, as an independent exhibition maker, was behind a number of key exhibition projects that helped to shape the shape and direction of contemporary Czech art. Thanks to his contacts, he continues to maintain continuity from Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where he currently works as a freelance artist, thus placing Czech art in an international context. He is one of the main curators and organisers of the prestigious Startpoint award for graduates of European art schools.