1. Are you trying to eliminate the curatorial aspect in your gallery?
1. Ancient mine Mayrau, today the mining open-air museum, is a technical monument. Connection of technical environment of deserted black-coal mine with fine arts, music or theatre performance creates a quite strong moment for making a choice and accepting certain restrictions, which should be handled mainly by the artists themselves. The theme of the gallery is gradually changing and with it the choice of artists.
2. What is the concept of your gallery like?
2. During the time a gallery was created which respects the place with its rough character of intensive mining activity, with signs of aging and passing of time. It’s not necessary to multiply the number of artifacts, so the strategy has changed within the last few years – the point of interest becoming less material, performing arts: theatre, performance, concerts and their connection with visual creation and culture heritage education. The world of art is blending with life of ancient citizens of Kladno, sometimes comrades from the shaft, sometimes hardworking men. Both worlds try to understand each other, as artists are grateful for this environment and miners see how the open-air museum is passing from one owner to the other and they fear their destiny. So the artists and miners, both the outsiders in this world, “brothers in constraint”, are discovering unexpected path to each other. Thus an assemblage of buildings, destinies and objects is created, which exists only now, it never did before and never will again.
3. Do you know about any contemporary art gallery with a similar concept abroad, which is as well run by the artists and whose activity remains in the non-profit sector? Would you give me, please, its website and email address. Choose one gallery only.
3. Stanica Žilina, www.stanica.sk
Martin Krištof: matostanica.sk
4. Are you willing to participate in a small conference held in October 2009 on the subject: Role of the curator in contemporary Czech fine art?
4. Yes.
Dagmar Šubrtová
08-17-2009