Dear architects… - Architecture as work - exhibition at GJF

Galerie Jaroslava Fragnera will present the exhibition "Architecture as Work" about working conditions in architecture. "Dear Architects..." is a project that speaks to architects and has something to say again. For the third time, curator Karolína Plášková calls for reflection on the position of architects in society and their working conditions. The Czech Technical University in Prague, as the owner of the J. Fragner Gallery, opens the exhibition Architecture as Work with a vernissage on Thursday, June 15, 2023, at 19:00, which will last until August 31, 2023. The exhibition and accompanying program will present global initiatives and personalities that focus on the topic and highlight tangible successes in improving working and living conditions both domestically and abroad. Come to the newly reopened gallery to find out if architecture is a calling or "just" a job. The first exhibition of the Jaroslav Fragner Gallery under the leadership of new director Karolína Plášková, titled "Architecture as Work," focuses on the uncertain working and living conditions of architects. The exhibition is part of the long-term project "Dear Architects..." through which Karolína Plášková has been bringing topics related to the role of architects and ethics of practice into public discourse over the past several years. The exhibition on the precarity of work was created within the framework of the dramaturgical program Space for Engaged Architecture under the auspices of the Faculty of Architecture of the Czech Technical University in Brno and was presented at the end of the year at the Architecture Gallery in Brno. In Prague, the exhibition will be presented in the spaces of the Jaroslav Fragner Gallery, which was purchased by the Czech Technical University in Prague in 2020. "We want to talk about the reality that people working in architecture commonly encounter and show that they are not alone. Similar problems are identified by individuals and organizations around the world, and we wish to expand the discussion here and outline possible paths forward that are more about emancipation than struggles for more money," describes curator Karolína Plášková.
Architects often present the agenda of architecture as a search for solutions to current global problems, without attempting to find solutions to the toxic conditions under which architecture is created. If they are expected to work ethically, it is necessary to talk about ethics and culture in architectural offices and studios. However, the problem often arises much earlier; students at universities around the world encounter the narrative of architecture as a life mission, which is meant to compensate for an unacceptable environment and poorly paid work. The exhibition Architecture as Work aims not only to describe the current critical situation but also to present initiatives or successes in improving working conditions. The goal is to raise awareness and perhaps contribute to the discussion about collective organization of work, balance between work and personal life, structure of architectural offices (hierarchical vs. non-hierarchical), associations, and groups focusing on the same topic, and taking the topic into their own hands by the younger generation, for example, via social networks. Despite the ingrained resistance to utilizing collective power, the attempt is to show that tangible successes can be achieved through bottom-up organization and solidarity. The exhibition should serve as a basis for community meetings, and several topics will thus be discussed within the accompanying program in the form of lectures, workshops, or panel discussions, similarly to Brno, where visitors could meet among others with Charlie Edmonds, founder of the British Future Architects Front, Marisa Cortright, author of the book "Can this be? Surely this cannot be?" Architectural Workers Organizing in Europe, or Angelika Hinterbrandner, co-founder of the online magazine and podcast contextur and the platform spaceforfuture.org.

exhibition curator: Karolína Plášková
exhibition architecture: Karolína Munková, Eva Truncová
graphic design: Bára Růžičková
consultation: Jan Kristek

opening hours: Wednesday — Sunday, 14:00 — 19:00
free admission