Kunsthalle Prague will open in two years, and is already preparing the program

Prague - The newly established gallery Kunsthalle Prague, which plans to open in 2021 in the former Zenger power station building at Klárov, is preparing a program for different spaces in the meantime. On June 16, it will present a series of performances titled Living Kunsthalle at the New Scene of the National Theatre, during which a group of six artists of different nationalities will transform the New Scene into an artistic laboratory for one evening. Helena Novotná informed CTK on behalf of the organizers.

Through the Living Kunsthalle project, Kunsthalle Prague aims to indicate the character of its future exhibition activities, based on live encounters with contemporary art. Guests of Living Kunsthalle will be able to watch and experience artistic performances, sound sculptures, projections, and other experimental works throughout the evening. All works share a common thematic thread, which is sound and its visual representation.

"Invited artists explore not only performance but also other artistic forms and media, ranging from sculpture to video, installation to drawing, music to science. Living Kunsthalle is a temporary format that anticipates the focus of Kunsthalle Prague as a place connecting various disciplines and providing space for reflection, sharing, and discovery," said Kunsthalle Prague curator Christelle Havranek.

French artist of Moroccan origin Hicham Berrada will present a work in Prague titled Présage, an art-science experiment based on the reactions of chemical compounds projected onto a giant screen, evoking a surreal underwater world. Lina Lapelyte, a Lithuanian artist based in Vilnius and London, will present a performance titled Candy Shop - the Circus as part of Living Kunsthalle, in which she addresses gender stereotypes and power games hidden in pop culture, says the curator. It is a musical performance for seven female voices, acoustic and electronic instruments, a male choir, a solo drummer, and a marching band, accompanied by large-format video projections.

The Czech visual art scene is represented by Adéla Součková and Roman Štětina, both of whom have created new works specifically for this occasion.

The reconstruction of the former Zenger transformer station at Klárov drew criticism from some advocates of industrial architecture a few months ago. The owner of part of the listed building removed certain elements and is replacing them with new ones. The Ministry of Culture and the National Heritage Institute informed CTK at the time that more significant interventions were necessitated by the less quality cement used in the construction and contamination of the building with hazardous substances. Elements that were removed from the façade will return to it after reconstruction. The Pudil Family Foundation plans to primarily exhibit its collection of 20th and 21st-century art in the building.

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