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Description
The project will enable the implementation of MeetFactory Gallery’s long-term exhibition and research program themed “Other Knowledge” and will broaden its outcomes. The project is based on an international exchange and partnership with the Icelandic institution Art Without Borders (a festival focusing on the creative work made by disabled artists). The theme aims to find alternatives to the rationalist conception of the world and modes of oppression related to such dominant rationality.
Within the scope of this project, we will produce three exhibitions in the Czech Republic and one exhibition in Iceland, organize an interdisciplinary symposium in Prague, and publish a comprehensive publication summarizing the topical research using documentation from the exhibitions and new authorial texts.
The social outreach of the project will allow us to open the space to creators from disadvantaged groups and expand to include these groups in our audience.
An important part of the project is the commission of new artworks and the support of artists, who will be provided with a professional framework (production and curatorial). Aside from the activities meant for the general public, the project also takes into account the need for the organizers themselves to undergo training and capacity development.
The partnership with the AWB will provide a new international framework for our activities, ensure valuable curatorial support, help to expand our network of professional contacts and enrich the activities of the MF Gallery with different cultural perspectives.
The implementation of the project will also significantly bolster the Gallery’s reputation in the Czech Republic and internationally. The result will be a strengthened, internationally interconnected institution with a clear conceptual and artistic vision, standing on a solid foundation that facilitates the presentation of the best contemporary art to the wide public.
Summary of project results
The project was successful in fulfilling its main goals, i.e. to support the professionalization of the functioning of the MeetFactory galleries and its international reputation, to help expand the audience and develop a multi-year continuous curatorial dramaturgy. The fulfillment of these goals has the potential to have a long-term impact on the functioning of the MeetFactory galleries, which now operate under new curatorial leadership.
The project was implemented in full, as designed in the application. Meetfactory carried out three complex exhibition projects in the MeetFactory Gallery (two of them also extended to the Kostka Gallery) and a final group exhibition connecting mainly Czech and Icelandic artists in the LAM Gallery in Reykjavík. Through the exhibitions themselves and accompanying activities, project promoter tried to expand the possibilities of accessibility towards the audience and in relation to the exhibitors (cooperation with artists with special needs). In this regard, the seminar for project managers held in Prague under the leadership of Margaret Nohrdahl from Iceland was important, as was the networking trip of Czech curators to Iceland. An international, interdisciplinary symposium and the subsequent publication of a summary publication (in English) mapping the entire three-year Other Knowledge project were also key to strengthening international cooperation and the visibility of MeetFactory.
The aim of the project was to bring an even more diverse audience to MeetFactory and generally connect different target groups during different activities. The target groups were able to profit from this social and intellectual exchange, and the project thus served as a positive model of cooperation and togetherness. The main indicator of the project''s impact was the public''s interest in our outputs (total attendance 5240).
Summary of bilateral results
The main results of the collaboration are two exhibitions, one directly at the MeetFactory Gallery in Prague (specifically Let Me Hear Your Footprints) and one at the Living Art Museum in Reykjavík (Fragments of Other Knowledge). Both exhibitions were internationally represented and Icelandic authors with specific needs were also presented thanks to the expert recommendation of the AWB. Second, as we have mentioned earlier, the experts linked to the AWB organisation also brought important knowledge to the Czech team at the MF regarding communication with the public with specific needs. In addition, thanks to the cooperation, both organisations significantly expanded their professional network and raised awareness of their activities on an international scale.