Download Architecture at the PQ press release

Prague Quadrennial presents star-studded architecture
programme and changes the look of the city centre
Prague, 20 May 2011 - From 16 to 26 June, residents and visitors to Prague will be able
to reconfirm the fact that architecture is an integral part of the Prague Quadrennial of
Performance Design and Space, the world´s largest performance design event held in
Prague, Czech Republic once every four years. During those eleven days, projects
related to architecture or to the use of public space will change the face of several
locations around Prague. These projects include original uses of architectural space for
contemporary art such as the imposing installation of Boxes on the piazzetta of the
National Theatre and the international architectural exhibition and creative laboratory in
the sacral environment of Prague Crossroads (St. Anne’s Church).
The programme of the Prague Quadrennial features lectures, presentations, and
moderated discussions with dozens of emerging and established architects, urbanists,
and artists involved in reshaping public space. “At Prague Crossroads, our aim is to
create an international discussion forum on architecture and on spaces for
contemporary art and theatre. For this reason, we have invited world-renowned
individuals from various fields such as sociologist Richard Sennett, architects Arata
Isozaki and Charles Renfro, and theoretician Marvin Carlson. Also joining the debate will
be Václav Havel and Eva Jiřičná, who helped bring St. Anne’s Church back to life as a
crossroads of ideas, opinions, and creative dialogue,” says Prague Quadrennial’s
executive director Daniela Pařízková.
Already the name of the Architecture Section speaks volumes: NOW/NEXT Performance
Space at the Crossroads. The exhibition and research laboratory have one theme in
common: the crisis in contemporary theatre architecture and theatre space. Some thirty
countries will be exhibiting recently realized projects, planned projects, and purely
theoretical visions of spaces for contemporary art and theatre.
“Our aim is to creatively showcase today’s definition of ‘performance space’ that can be
used for theatre as well as other art forms,” says curator Dorita Hannah. “From the
architecture of buildings that tend to limit contemporary theatrical productions, we will
move to more abstract topics such as the architecture of space, time, and human
relations. Audiences, too, will have a chance to see performances as part of a political
rally or in a public park.”
All main Prague Quadrennial programme sections bring together a careful selection of
architects and designers. The previously mentioned boxes have been designed by Israeli
architect Oren Sagiv. The main Prague Quadrennial venue will be the Veletržní Palace,
which will be arranged on the basis of a design by the progressive Polish WWAA
architecture studio and the general commissioner of PQ 2011 Boris Kudlička, who also
collaborated on the Polish pavilion at last year’s world expo in Shanghai.
More at www.pq.cz.
At Prague Crossroads, the Architecture Section will present the inexhaustible range of
possibilities showing what theatre space for the 21st century can look like. One example of a
radically new approach is the Polish exhibit, whose designers will present theatre space as a
“de-theatralised place” of shared movements and experiences. By comparison, the Dutch
exhibition will present the nuances of how a cultural centre (the Municipal Theatre in
Amsterdam) consisting of seven stages with a capacity of 5,000 visitors can function as both a
theatre and cinema. The German exhibition, meanwhile, introduces visitors to the legendary
Bauhaus school of design.
The Canadian entry focuses on the remarkable architecture of the temporary “Opéra-pallete”
outdoor stage, which this year will make its debut at the International Opera Festival in
Quebec, created entirely from pallets and boxes. For its part, Chile has prepared a promising
project dedicated to street theatre and to performers existing outside of the system of statefunded theatre.
The United States exhibit will look at differences in contemporary theatre’s relationship to
architecture, and will also focus on social, cultural, religious, and economic communities. An
almost exotic approach to contemporary theatre production will be offered by several architects
from Nigeria, who will demonstrate the interaction of traditional folk theatre with European
approaches. Another subject is the re-use of buildings: Sweden’s project will look at the
theatrical adaptation of a former nuclear reactor, while Slovakia presents the successful
“Stanica Žilina-Záriečie” project, housed in a former railway station.
The Open Spatial Laboratory, which works with established theatre concepts, new (and
radical) ideas, and theoretical visions of how to overcome the current crisis in contemporary
architectural approaches to theatre space, will be led by New Zealand architect Dorita Hannah.
Public presentations of the laboratory’s output – which will make use of new technologies or
will break down the boundaries between contemporary dramatic genres – will be on display at
Prague Crossroads throughout the Prague Quadrennial.
The general public can also attend a series of Talks (debates and lectures) on the most
interesting topics and personalities, divided into several thematic sections including
architecture and urbanism. Both the moderated panel discussion and individual presentations
will feature leading urbanists and sociologists such as Richard Sennett from the United States,
the co-founder (together with Joseph Brodsky and Susan Sontag) of New York University’s
“New York Institute for the Humanities.” Another panel will feature Eva Jiřičná and Václav
Havel.
Sennett’s rhetorical question, “Where is theatre?” will be addressed by Charles Renfro from
New York’s renowned Diller Scofidio + Renfro studio in his lecture entitled “When is theatre?”
Answers to the question of “What is theatre?” and other subjects, including the semiotics of
theatre architecture, will be addressed by influential American theoretician and the author of
nearly fifteen books on theatre theory and practice, Marvin Carlson. And finally, the question of
“Why is theatre?” will be discussed by one of today’s most influential architects, Japan’s Arata
Isozaki, who has left his mark on numerous temples of culture around the world: the Kyoto
Concert Hall, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, The Sport Hall in Barcelona,
and the Domus Casa Del Hombre in La Coruña.
Other inspirational projects and spaces for theatrical productions that are sure to catch the
public’s attention will be presented by screenings on the Media Tower. These will include
projects designed by famed Swiss artist and performer Pipilotti Rist or another icon of
contemporary architecture, Zaha Hadid.
Perhaps the most visible part of the architecture programme will be the installation of
performance boxes, complete with bar and cinema. The boxes are perhaps the best way of
presenting the interaction between art, architecture, and public space: the design by head
architect of the Israeli National Museum Oren Sagiv offers an imaginative combination of a
labyrinth of thirty boxes and various giant cubes for the presentation of art exhibits and live
performances, including a publicly accessible roof with terraces and raised walkways with areas
for relaxing.
In addition to their unique design, the Boxes will also attract visitors by what they have to offer
inside. Some of the best artists in their fields have accepted our invitation to create installations
and performances: Italian theatre experimenter Romeo Castellucci, leading dancer and
choreographer Josef Nadj, and American artistic duo Ilya and Emilia Kabakov. “The boxes are an
open architecture project that invites visitor interaction and stimulates audiences’ imagination. We
are convinced that viewers will return to the boxes with pleasure and in great numbers,” says
Sodja Lotker, artistic director of the Prague Quadrennial.
Architecture Media Tower includes the following videos: Zaha Hadid: JS BACH Chamber
Music Hall // Theun Mosk: Wiek/Rotor // Beth Weinstein: Frédéric Flamand in Collaboration
with Six Architects // Lead Pencil Studio: Installing Non-Sign II // Sven Mehzoud: Shanghai
Scenographies: Danish Pavilion // Fabrizio Crisafulli: Spectacle of Light //
MAP_Movement_Architecture_Performance: Tongues of Stone // Serpentine Gallery:
Serpentine Pavilions: 2000-2010 // Oren Sagiv and Artists without Borders: Transparent
Wall // Monika Ponjavić & Marina Radulj: Body Never Lies // muf architecture/art & Atelier
One: Villa Frankenstein // Omar Khan: Six Columns // Willi Dorner: Bodies in Urban Space
// Hotel ProForma: Algebra of Place // Philippe Starck: One Day in AlhóndigaBilbao // Juliet
Rufford & Robert Brocklehurst: Scratching BAC // Kengo Kuma: Casalgrande Ceramic
Cloud // Nick Kapica: Sasha Waltz’s Dialogues with Architecture // Jean Nouvel: Danish
Radio Hall // Rodrigo Tisi, Roberto Barría, Pablo Silva: Plastic Forest // Mette RamsgardThomsen: Strange Metabolisms // Kere and Schlingensief: Festspielhaus Afrika
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -----For editors: What is the Prague Quadrennial?
The Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space is a leading world artistic event – a
presentation of contemporary work in a variety of performance design disciplines and genres
including costume, stage, lighting, sound design, and theatre architecture for dance, opera,
drama, site-specific, multi-media performances, and performance art.
Founded in 1967, the Prague Quadrennial has presented work from more than 70 countries on
5 continents. The exhibition draws thousands of performance and theatre professionals,
students, and spectators from all over the world. At the most recent Quadrennial in 2007,
35,000 visitors came to enjoy installations, photos, videos, and live performances of work
ranging between theatre and visual arts, as well as more than 500 events, workshops,
performances, presentations, lectures, and discussions.
Press contact:
General Information:
Nathalie Frank
International Public Relations
Cell+420 774 255 867
E [email protected]
Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space
June 16 - 26 2011
Celetná 17 | 110 00 Prague 1 | Czech Republic
T +420 224 809 102 | F +420 224 809 225
Follow us on www.pq.cz, Facebook & Twitter
The Prague Quadrennial is organized and funded by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech
Republic and realized by Arts and Theatre Institute.
Under the auspices of the President of the Czech Republic Václav Klaus, the Mayor of the City
of Prague Bohuslav Svoboda and the Mayor of Prague 7 Marek Ječmének.
With the support of the Culture Program of the European Union.
Supported by UNESCO, Trust for Mutual Understanding, the City of Prague, Czech-German
Fund For The Future.
International Media Partners: Flash Art, American Theatre, Mouvement.