Theatre of Architecture: Ječmen Studio | Architect's Rose-Colored Glasses

The new exhibition, discussion, and lecture platform for architecture called the Theatre of Architecture is being established by the Museum of Arts in Olomouc. The premiere will be on Wednesday, February 18, with a happening titled Architect's Pink Glasses by the Olomouc Ječmen Studio, which will take place in a gap next to the museum. This theatrical event will be followed by an exhibition at the Theatre of Music.
According to curator Klára Eliášová, the Theatre of Architecture is an umbrella term for a year-round series of activities - exhibitions, lectures, discussions, screenings, or thematic walks around the city, all of which will address architecture, urbanism, or the functioning of urban space. "As part of the exhibition program, we will focus on presenting contemporary architecture. We will also utilize temporary interventions in public space, which will be carried out by selected architects and historians and theorists of architecture from the younger generation. In this way, they will communicate their work and the themes they have been dealing with for a long time," Eliášová indicated regarding the program.
The very first event of the Theatre of Architecture will be a happening on Wednesday at 6 PM, followed by an exhibition by the Olomouc Ječmen Studio, which won the Grand Prix of Architects 2014 in the new construction category for the Kraličák mountain guesthouse in Hynčice under Sušina. "With the Architect's Pink Glasses project, they are reacting to the gap hidden behind the fence adjacent to the Museum of Arts in Olomouc, where a new building for the Central European Forum was supposed to be constructed. The undeveloped area will become their stage, and the street in front of it will serve as the audience," Eliášová said.
In front of the fence, the authors will build a passable ramp from which spectators will be able to overlook the gap. "And before them, a view of the Olomouc sea will open up. They will see sunbathing and swimming figures, a boat, and billowing waves, hear the squawking of seagulls, and watch the projection of the basilica on Holy Hill," described Lukáš Blažek from Ječmen Studio with a smile, who will provide commentary for the "performance." The recording of the event will become part of the exhibition at the Theatre of Music until April 1. However, according to Blažek, the goal of the happening is not just to entertain passersby. "The fundamental question, not just in Olomouc but in other cities as well, is the use of vacant, long-term undeveloped areas. We want to address this topic during the discussion that will follow the happening at the Theatre of Music, which will also involve Jitka Ressová from the Zlín architectural office Ellement," added the architect.
The gap, covering an area of 1800 m2, has existed next to the Museum of Arts in Olomouc since 1969 after the demolition of five historic burgher houses. In 2007, the idea of the Central European Forum Olomouc emerged, a cultural institution that would arise from the completion and reconstruction of the existing museum building. The project, valued at approximately 500 million crowns, sought funding under the Integrated Operational Program but was unsuccessful.

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