Prague, Oct 18 (CTK) – The National Gallery (NG) in Prague plans five projects, including the Manifesto film installation by Berlin’s artist Julian Rosefeldt featuring Australian actress Cate Blanchett and an international art student contest, during the autumn season, NG curators told reporters on Wednesday.
The NG’s premises in Veletrzni Palace will host the exhibition of the finalists of StartPoint, the most extensive competition of students of European art schools, until December 10.
Michelle Hall from Dublin won the StartPoint main award this year, the organisers announced tonight.
The NG will also introduce the Manifesto project in which Blanchett will be gradually playing 13 characters and reinterpreting famous and less known statements from artistic manifestoes of the 20th century.
“Those are ideas of male artists in 99 percent of cases, but they are presented through a woman in the project. According to the author, the performative and political aspects are important,” exhibition curator Adam Budak said.
The author asks a question whether the artistic declarations and stances formulated years ago can stand the test of time, Budek added.
Another of the NG’s autumn exhibitions, entitled Biafra of the Spirit, presents the work of African and Asian students who were studying film in Prague in the 1960s and 70s.
Within the autumn gala opening, the NG will also open the so far inaccessible hall of the Veletrzni Palace with a long-term display of works by Czech artist Frantisek Skala from his recent exhibition.
StartPoint award was originally created for Czech art schools’ students before their final exams in the Klatovy/Klenova Gallery, west Bohemia, in 2003. Later, it expanded to surrounding countries as well.
It has been part of the autumn programme of the NG’s Veletrzni Palace since 2015.
This year the international jury, including NG chief curator Budak as well as representatives of galleries in Rotterdam, Vilnius, Salzburg and Warsaw, were assessing works by young artists from the record high number of 39 art academies in 17 countries.
