Artivist Lab: The Horned Ones

The Horned Ones is an exhibition by Monika Kováčová and Adrián Kriška that brings together the material practices of blacksmithing and textile-making to explore identity. Through processes of heat, force, weaving, and layering, the artists examine the tensions between selfhood and the structures that shape it. Their work engages with themes of queer identity, minority politics, ecology, and racial inequality, articulated through a mythopoetic language that bridges past and present while highlighting the fragmented nature of ancestral histories. At a time of rising global fascism and the continued persecution of minorities, blacksmithing and textile crafts serve not only as acts of resistance against erasure but also as methods for forging new imaginaries and mythologies.

Monika Kováčová employs blacksmithing, historically linked to Roma craftsmanship, as a means of embedding symbolism into new visual narratives. Adrián Kriška works with reclaimed leather, creating large-scale, patchwork-like hanging compositions that reference the leather-making traditions of his hometown, Liptovský Mikuláš, and his family’s legacy in leather and furniture production. Their collaboration intertwines materials and ideologies, constructing an imaginary world inhabited by ominous mythological creatures, unruly vegetation, and melancholic still lifes. A space long deemed “evil” or “undesirable,” in their interpretation, transforms into a domain of liberation, where rejection by dominant systems becomes a source of joy and emancipation.

Their search for utopia unfolds within a landscape shaped by rural and escapist sensibilities, where symbolism and organic sculpture merge into new modes of existence that defy conventional hierarchies and borders. The exhibition’s title references mythology while also addressing the persistent stereotypes and prejudices directed at those who are perceived as “the others,” “the outsiders,” “the horned ones.”

Monika Kováčová (*1992, Tekovské Lužany) is an artist, music producer, and researcher whose work focuses on material agency and identity politics. She engages blacksmithing—a historically Roma craft—as a critical space for reimagining existence, tracing the intertwined histories of materials, confronting their complex legacies, and crafting new mythologies through an imaginative language. In 2024, she earned a master’s degree from the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague in the Painting Studio, completed an internship at Universidade Católica Portuguesa in Porto, and previously studied at the School of Design in Bratislava. She has exhibited and performed at institutions such as AQB Project Space in Budapest, Karlin Studios – CCA Futura in Prague, Volkstheater Wien, Jedna Dva Tři Gallery in Prague, Galerie Holešovická Šachta, and Galerie NTK.

Adrián Kriška (*1997, Liptovský Mikuláš) is a visual artist and dramaturg working in the field of audiovisual art. His practice interweaves moving images, experimental film, and sound. He also works with reclaimed leather, continuing the leather-making tradition of his hometown, Liptovský Mikuláš, and his family’s heritage in leather and furniture production. He studied at the Center for Audiovisual Studies at FAMU in Prague and completed study programs at Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam and the University of Glasgow. He has worked as a dramaturg of summer cinema at Ankali club in Prague, interned at Mutant Radio in Tbilisi, and collaborated with the cultural center Diera do Sveta. In summer 2024 he was a resident of ISCP (International Studio & Curatorial Programme) in New York City.  His works have been exhibited at Page Five in Prague, Kunsthalle Bratislava, Neverneverland in Amsterdam, and GAMU Gallery. In 2021, he participated as a VJ at the Lunchmeat Festival with Nina Pixel.

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Opening: April 7 at 6pm

Closing day: 7 June — Guided tour within RefuFest

Curated by: Tamara Moyzes

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The opening will take place on 7 April at 6pm as part of the program and celebrations International Roma Day (MDR)which has been organizing for the 11th year Search Art. This year's theme is 2025 — FUTUROMA and will take place in Prague from 4 to 8 April 2024. The tradition of the MDR dates back to 1971, when it was founded The International Romani Union, whose delegates established the form of the Romani flag and the wording of the international Romani anthem. At the same time, Congress recognized the term Rom as the preferred designation of the Romani ethnicity and the day of its event — 8 April — was announced International Roma Day.

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AVINDO Residency / The Future is Now

This exhibition was created within the AVINDO / Future residency, awarded to Monika Kováčová, who invited Adrián Kriška to collaborate. AVINDO is a platform dedicated to supporting Roma talent in visual arts and challenging the widespread perception of Roma culture, which is often reduced to its musical traditions. Despite progress in the institutional recognition of Roma art, particularly through initiatives such as ERIAC, its presence in the professional art world remains limited. The residency not only supports artists but also art historians, critics, curators, and theorists who contribute to a broader representation and a critical transformation of the art system. This program fosters a space where Roma creators can freely develop interdisciplinary approaches and strengthen their position in contemporary artistic discourse.

The opening will take place on April 7 at 6:00 PM as part of the program and celebrations of International Romani Day (IRD), organized for the 11th year by Ara Art. This year’s edition carries the theme 2025 – FUTUROMA and will take place in Prague from April 4 to April 8, 2024. The tradition of IRD dates back to 1971 when the International Romani Union was founded, and its delegates established the design of the Romani flag and the lyrics of the international Romani anthem. The congress also officially recognized the term Rom as the preferred designation for members of the Romani ethnic group, and the day of its meeting, April 8, was declared International Romani Day.

Residency partners: ARA ART, z. s., Bader Philanthropies, Kampus Hybernská

Artivist Lab partners: MHMP, MKČR, SFK, Flash Art

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