Hands-On Urbanism 1850–2012 - exhibition and international symposium at MG

Hands-On Urbanism 1850–2012. The Right to Green by Austrian curator Elke Krasny maps the phenomenon of urban gardening and its history. The concept of the exhibition project combines historical and activist perspectives. Although urban gardening may seem like a recent trendy pastime, the exhibition highlights its long history, often associated with periods of crisis, and its interconnection with urban policy, culture, and the shaping of urban fabric.

In connection with the sweeping wave of modernization accompanying the Industrial Revolution, cities and metropolises around the world had to face numerous serious challenges. However, residents always managed to find unique solutions to crisis situations and participate in building cities "from below." Uninstitutionalized construction and self-organization of settlements, including the cultivation of fruits and vegetables in urban spaces, led to diverse forms of collective cohesion and alternative distribution of resources. As evidenced by the activities of contemporary gardening communities, a different world can indeed be "grown."

Based on years of international research, curator Elke Krasny has gathered fifteen historical and contemporary case studies from Chicago, Leipzig, Vienna, Bremen, New York, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Porto Alegre, Havana, Quint, etc., which represent examples of city development initiated from below. The exhibition provides an overview of informal collective movements and the results of their activities. It also demonstrates that even small projects surprisingly often stand at the beginning of significant changes.
The exhibition simultaneously opens the topic of the architects' and planners' responsibilities, as well as the principles of resource distribution in our cities and metropolises. What is the role of architects in informal processes of urban formation? What can we learn from social movements? How do authorities respond to their activities? The range of official responses oscillates between tolerance and the establishment of agencies focused on regulating settlement, to the introduction of legal sanctions in urban plans.
The project was first presented in 2012 at the Architekturzentrum Wien and in the same year at the XIII. International Architecture Biennale in Venice. In the following years, the exhibition was showcased in other cities: Leipzig, Aarhus, Bremen, Cologne, Toronto, etc. Its goal is also to stimulate discussion about urban gardening in a local context, which is reflected in the accompanying program in the form of an international symposium that will take place in the Baroque Hall of the Moravian Gallery in Brno at Moravské nám. 1a on November 27, 2015.
The international symposium Hands-On Urbanism 1850–2012. The Right to Green is organized with the intention of relating the exhibition of the same name to the Czech context. The exhibition presents fifteen historical and contemporary examples of city development associated with the phenomenon of urban gardening. With the sweeping wave of modernization accompanying the Industrial Revolution, cities around the world faced many serious challenges. However, residents always managed to find unique solutions to crisis situations and simultaneously participated in building cities "from below." The exhibition project combines historical and activist perspectives and shows that a different world can be "grown."
The symposium will also address the phenomenon of so-called Brno gardens, whose analogies can be found, for example, in German Schrebergärten, and which can be compared to other forms of urban gardening presented in the exhibited studies.
The symposium consists of three lecture and discussion blocks that address the topic of gardens from various perspectives. The first, "political" panel will focus primarily on the Brno situation in relation to urban planning and policy. Participants in this section have confirmed their attendance, including Martin Ander (Deputy Mayor of Brno, Green Party), Michal Závodský (Civic Association Masarykova Čtvrť), Tomáš Kaláb (KALÁB construction company, Ltd.), and Martin Říha (City Council of Brno, Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia, Czech Gardening Association).
In the second, "academic" panel, based on their research, urban gardeners will analyze urban gardening, with presentations from Petr Gibas (Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Sciences), Lucie Sovová (Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University), and Arnošt Novák (Faculty of Humanities, Charles University in Prague).
As part of the third panel, both the author of the exhibition concept Hands-On Urbanism, Elke Krasny (Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna), and architect Gabu Heindel (Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna), architect and researcher Julia Wieger (Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna; Association of Visual Artists of Austria), and urban sociologist Mara Verlič (Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna) will present their works, which resonate with the fundamental idea of the exhibition— "right to the city," associated with social self-organization and urban planning "from below."

The symposium will be simultaneously interpreted.

Hands-On Urbanism 1850–2012. The Right to Green
Exhibition author: Elke Krasny
Graphics design of the exhibition: Alexander Schuh
Scenography: Alexandra Maringer
Curators: Rostislav Koryčánek, Jan Kristek, Markéta Žáčková
Accompanying graphic design: Florian Karsten Studio
Project organizers: SPKH, z.s., Moravian Gallery in Brno, Faculty of Architecture VUT in Brno
Project partners: Architekturzentrum Wien, Austrian Cultural Forum in Prague, Department of Culture of the Brno City Hall
Production: Marika Kupková, Nina Ličková, Karolína Plášková

The event is organized with financial support from the statutory city of Brno and in cooperation with the Austrian Cultural Forum in Prague.


Symposium Program:

FIRST PANEL (political – Brno)
10.30–10.40 Martin Říha, City Council of Brno (Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia), Czech Gardening Association
10.40–10.50 Michal Závodský, Civic Association Masarykova Čtvrť
10.50–11.00 Tomáš Kaláb, KALÁB – construction company, Ltd.

11.00–11.10 Martin Ander, Deputy Mayor of Brno (Green Party)
11.10–12.00 Discussion – moderators: Jakub Kořínek, Vice-chairman of the Strategic and Urban Planning Committee of the Brno City Council (Žít Brno with support from Pirates), and Jan Kristek, Faculty of Architecture, Brno University of Technology

12.00–13.00 Lunch


SECOND PANEL (academic – Czech Republic)
13.30–14.00 Petr Gibas, Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Garden Colonies: Urban Spaces of Taming and Cherishing Nature
14.00–14.30 Arnošt Novák, Faculty of Humanities, Charles University in Prague, The Potential of Urban Gardening – From Cosmetic Activities to Real Alternatives
14.30–15.00 Lucie Sovová, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Gardening Colonies as Spaces for Alternative Food Production
15.00–15.30 Discussion – moderator: Jan Kristek, Faculty of Architecture, Brno University of Technology


15.30–16.00 Break



THIRD PANEL (academic – Austria)
16.00–16.30 Elke Krasny, Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, Hands-On Urbanism
16.30–17.00 Gabu Heindl, Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, Non-Stop Planning. For New Planning (and Tools for Shaping) Public Space
17.00–17.30 Julia Wieger and Mara Verlič, Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, Commoning. Questions from the Kitchen
17.30–18.00 Discussion – moderator Jan Kristek, Faculty of Architecture, Brno University of Technology

18.00–18.30 Summary, Conclusion

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