Despite / architects 1969–1989–2019 - opening at GJF

On Wednesday, December 4, 2019, at 7:00 PM, there will be an opening of the exhibition "In Spite of" at the Jaroslav Fragner Gallery, Betlémské náměstí 5a, Prague 1, presenting Czech architecture from 1969 to 2019 and its participants defining themselves against both spiritual and commercial totalitarianism; thus providing a perspective on the history of 50 years of Czech architecture from the viewpoint of the moral consistency of the creators. The main themes are the freedom of architectural creation, the defense of public space, unofficial structures, and exceptional undertakings (exhibitions, workshops, happenings, etc.). In addition to presenting personalities and events, emphasis will also be placed on the contemporary situation, the historical, political, and artistic contexts, and the development of events or of individual institutions, organizations, and groups.

The core theme – the moral consistency of the creators – will be reflected from several perspectives: according to the type of project (many creators simultaneously engage in moralizing activism and "spreading good," as well as controversial contracts for a totalitarian regime or controversial personalities), in time (many creators also began their professional careers as young, moralizing revolutionaries doing "everything differently," but with growing fame and responsibility, the magnitude of projects, and age, they often end up shifting into a standardized or predominantly commercial routine), according to the nature of specific work (to what extent it is a defiance against the establishment and to what extent it is merely a "simple" effort to do their work well and ethically) or anticipated responses (to what extent are the given phenomena followed and reflected by the media or to what extent can the establishment, against which they define themselves, "evaluate" or commercially and politically exploit them). The curators do not aim to categorize creators into "bad and good" or "right and harmful" events or performances, but rather to show how interesting and strong the flow of "islands of positive deviation" has been, what (still little or not at all described) events helped the development of architecture, reacted to pan-European trends (postmodernism, technology, interest in heritage preservation, public space, ecology, theoretical works), and how the architects' awareness of their own influence on the shape of public space and their social and pedagogical responsibility today is reflected. At the same time, we want to engage the visitor in a dialogue by providing them the opportunity to add "who do I miss here."

Curatorial team: Petr Krajči / Study and Documentation Center Norbertov GHMP, Petr Vorlík, Pavel Směták / FA CTU in Prague, Dan Merta, Klára Pučerová / GJF
Graphic design: Robert V. Novák
Exhibition architect: Jakub Fišer

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