The National Gallery announced a competition for the architecture biennale

The theme of the biennale is the search for the foundations of architecture.

Prague - The National Gallery (NG) in Prague has announced a competition for the design of an exhibition in the Czechoslovak pavilion for the architecture biennale, which will take place in Venice from June 7 to November 23, 2014. The theme of the exhibition in the national pavilion should correspond with the concept of curator Rem Koolhaas, who chose the search for the foundations of architecture as the leitmotif of the exhibition, Jakub Potůček, curator of the architecture collection at NG, told reporters today.
    He reminded that the goal of the exhibition is not only to present the highest quality contemporary Czech architecture in an international context but also to decipher the process that has erased national specifics and characteristic features from architecture in favor of a universal modern language over the past century.
    The conditions for submitting proposals and preparing the exhibition are available on the National Gallery's website. There is 1.5 million crowns available for the realization of the selected project; if the participant submits a proposal with a higher budget, they must provide documentation for its financing. The application deadline is August 12.
    Submitted proposals will be evaluated by a commission, which will include, for example, Dan Merta from the Jaroslav Fragner Gallery, architects Osamu Okamura and Alena Šrámková, and Radomíra Sedláková, curator of the NG architecture collection.
    The Czechoslovak exhibition pavilion has stood in Venice in the Giardini di Castello area since 1924. In the spacious park, 30 national pavilions have been built among mature trees. The oldest of them were built a hundred years ago, and others have gradually been added, making the buildings themselves a showcase of 20th-century architecture. After the division of Czechoslovakia, both successor countries manage the pavilion, alternating in organizing the exhibition.
    In odd-numbered years, the Venice Biennale of Contemporary Art takes place, while even-numbered years feature the architecture biennale. This year, the program for the Biennale of Contemporary Art, which began on June 1, is organized by the Slovak side. In a competition of two dozen proposals, the jury selected a project by a Czech curator and artists from both countries. Under the title The Same Place, the project was prepared by Marek Pokorný with artists Petra Feriancová and Zbyňek Baladrán.