Fragnerova gallery prematurely closed the exhibition after a dispute with the management of ČVUT.

Prague - The exhibition "Testimonies of Space. The Role of Architecture in Protecting Human and Environmental Rights" was supposed to last until February 2, 2025, at the Jaroslav Fragner Gallery in Prague, which is managed by the Czech Technical University (CTU). This week it was prematurely closed following a meeting of the artistic council, according to a post on the gallery's social media and a statement. In it, the gallery's management complains about censorship from the university's administration. CTK is inquiring about a response from CTU.

The exhibition presented the results of international projects that explored how architecture has served and continues to serve power structures and systematic violence in various parts of the world. British team Forensic Architecture, German Forensis, Dutch Alison Killing, and Lebanese Beirut Urban Lab showcased their research. Their interactive project focused, for example, on the level of damage to buildings in Gaza following October 7, 2023, during the months-long Israeli military response to the Hamas terrorist attack.

The announcement of the exhibition's closure on January 15 came after disagreements with the management of CTU and objections to the demands of the university's rector, Vojtěch Petráček. "Together with Forensic Architecture & Forensis, Alison Killing, and Beirut Urban Lab, we decided not to comply with the demands of the CTU rector for adjustments to the exhibition project and consequently to the politicization of academic research," the statement reads.

According to the statement, the closure of the exhibition was decided by a newly established gallery council. It stated that the interventions by the management of CTU were perceived as a form of censorship and a threat to academic freedoms.

The individual exhibited projects can be seen on the websites of the research teams. The exhibition "Testimonies of Space," which also focused on the genocide in Namibia in 1893 in addition to the Middle East, was supported by the Ministry of Culture and the capital city.

"We believe that on February 25, 2025, we will be able to open an exhibition on inclusive place-making, which we are preparing in collaboration with the Spolka collective and the Technical University of Berlin," the gallery stated on social media.

At the helm of the Jaroslav Fragner Gallery on Bethlehem Square, adjacent to the rectory of CTU, which purchased the gallery building from the Czech Architecture Foundation, is architect and urban planner Karolína Plášková since the beginning of 2023. The gallery reopened after renovations in mid-2023, and a café was established there. Plášková introduced a critical and interdisciplinary approach to architecture, leading to the development of international cooperation.