Current Photography / Modern and/or Totalitarian in Slovak Architecture of the 20th Century

The exhibition presents seven exceptional architectural works of the 20th century that are part of the international project Architecture of Totalitarian Regimes in Urban Management (ATRIUM). The selection of presented works is based on their key position within the architecture of Slovakia. In the European context, they will in the future form individual stops on a cultural journey through the architectures of totalitarian regimes, which is being prepared in collaboration by 11 European countries participating in the project.

The way in which the ideas of totalitarian and authoritarian regimes were reflected in architecture gradually evolved from the late 1930s to the late 1980s. The exhibition captures three significant trends – the period of the Slovak State, the onset of Soviet influence in the 1950s, and the period of political relaxation in the early 1960s – through works of exceptional architectural or urban value. The exhibition features well-known works such as Freedom Square in Bratislava, the Representative House in Žilina, the Socialist City of Nová Dubnica, and the SNP Bridge, through original photographs by the young successful photographer Olja Triaška Stefanovič. The atmosphere of the social environment of the period when the projects were created is brought closer by historical documentary films from the Film Institute Archive.

The exhibition was conceptually prepared by the Department of Architecture of the Institute of Construction and Architecture of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava. The architectural design of the installation was authored by architect Martin Jančok, a multiple winner of the CE.ZA.AR award, and the graphic concept was created by Pavlína Morháčová.