The 15th edition of the multi-genre festival Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space is now open. Over eleven days, its programme spans from lively performances in the streets of Prague and eventful main exhibitions in the Holešovice Market, to original stagings by students and emerging artists at the Theatre Faculty – DAMU. As opposed to the live acts, projects brought to the Trade Fair Palace of the National Gallery Prague are dedicated to scenographic elements and works of theatre architecture.
The Holešovice Market
The industrial site of the Holešovice Market will be the epicentre of the entire festival. As visitors explore this vibrant place, they can engage with the immersive and dynamic installations on the Main Square as part of the Student Exhibition. This open-air space provides a unique stage for showcasing the innovative approaches of students and emerging artists. Spacious halls 11, 13, and 17 have become venues for the Exhibition of Countries and Regions. With a total of 100 installations by creative teams representing 59 countries and regions, the main exhibitions are built as diverse portraits of talent.
Markéta Fantová, the festival's artistic director, reflects on the thematic range: "Peeking into the programme, four significant thematic points resonate throughout the main exhibitions. The first revolves around reflecting on the fragility and impermanence of human existence in a post-pandemic context, along with an exploration of the concept of 'home.' Other exhibitions capture the essence of urbanism, contemplating the relation between time and space, looking into places of assembly and the use of public space, both physical and digital. The most vibrant and colourful exhibitions draw inspiration from traditional folklore, legends, and cultural heritage. Finally, the focus is on sustainability, with pieces criticising consumerism and ecological footprint."
In response to the festival's artistic concept, RARE, the participating countries and regions contribute to a complex mosaic of socially critical insights into the diversity of cultures through a variety of artistic means of expression.
The impact they have on their audience can be amplified through a series of live events, curated by the artistic teams, happening within the main exhibitions. PQ Performances in turn take over the corsos between the halls, skillfully manipulating space and movement and often prompting audience members to actively participate and unleash their own imaginations.
The Trade Fair Palace of the National Gallery Prague
A focused, immersive and visually engaging programme awaits the visitors on the 5th floor of the Trade Fair Palace, in five distinct programme sections. Through a multitude of innovative “stages”, the Performance Space Exhibition is a collection of multimedia installations, representing a total of 35 spaces dedicated to performance and acts of cultural assembly. The visitors can then seamlessly move to the Fragments II exhibition, where 23 works - encompassing models, scenes, and objects - playfully manipulate scenographic scale in a progressive manner. Continuing the journey, the display of books competing in the Best Publication Award is set up on the 5th floor, while the ground floor corso hosts the [UN]Common Design Project exhibition, a physical exhibition mirroring interventions to public space from students of participating universities across the world. The journey can be concluded by attending one of the fluid PQ Performances, held in either Malá Dvorana or the Piazzetta of the NGP.
Public places of Prague and DAMU
Even when crossing between the main locations, visitors can encounter creative events in various places throughout Prague, such as Vltavská Park or Štvanice Island. The latter will be the venue for rather dark and reflective professional and student performances. Leading the way into the Old Town, the student programme is held at DAMU and the DISK theatre, introducing the PQ Studio Stage section—a series of progressive student performances, installations, and exhibitions, continuing the Zlomvaz festival tradition.
The PQ evenings are dedicated to keynote presentations by renowned guests as part of the discussion programme PQ Talks, hosted in the Jatka78 theatre hall. It is also at this venue where the anticipated awards ceremony will be held on 13th June, including the awarding of the prestigious Golden Triga, contested among projects featured in the main exhibitions. Additionally, the festival organises the off-programme of live shows and electronic music sets within the PQ Chill section, taking place at the Jatka78 café, the Main Square, on the roof of the DAMU building and other locations.
Admission
With the one-day Exhibition Ticket, visitors can fully immerse themselves in the PQ-rich programme. With these tickets, visitors can enjoy the captivating exhibition projects, witness one or two performances, and end the day with a party or an inspired talk. Tickets can be bought on-site at the Central Hall of the Holešovice Market Hall. Additionally, 1, 3 and 11-day Festival Passes are available for purchase as well. Visit the PQ website for more information, including a detailed daily programme.
Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space
Since 1967, once every four years, PQ explores the artistic areas of scenography, performance design and space within all their aspects - from scenic art, costume, lighting and sound design, and performance space architecture to side-adaptive performance, applied scenography or costume as a performance. The core of the festival’s idea is to present contemporary performance design as a self-sufficient art form, acting upon the human imagination through all the senses - sight, smell, hearing, touch and taste. PQ traditionally hosts artists from more than a hundred countries and is the most important event of its kind in the world.
Performance design/scenography has evolved substantially and expanded far beyond established theatre conventions. Models, sketches of designs, and performance photographs still remain excellent resources that map the minds and open the door to the imagination of their creators. On the other hand, these formats capture only one part of the creative process and tell us little about the environment, circumstances, emotions, and overall atmosphere of the performance. The one way to present scenography in its genuine form, comprising all of its parts and including audience participation, is to experience it live, in performative settings and curatorial environments that create or recreate its operations.
The present-day practice of performance design/scenography is one of the most exciting art forms and creative domains – in the innovative, fresh and holistic ways of engaging their audiences, participants, and the public.
In 2015 Prague Quadrennial received the EFFE award and was named one of the most innovative festivals in Europe.
Prague Quadrennial is initiated by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic
and organized by the Arts and Theatre Institute.
With the supprt of: Prague 7 City District
In cooperation with: the Holešovice Market, National Gallery Prague, the Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, Czech Centers, Art&Digital Lab - H40, Máš umělecké střevo?
Partners: Volkswagen Czech Republic, Mama Shelter Prague
Main media partner: Czech Radio
