Date
20 years of European Art Graduates
Jamal Ageli (KABK The Hague), Brent Decraene (KASK Antwerp), Jan Luis Gottwald (UdK Berlin), Romana Halgošová (VŠVU Bratislava), Linda Hauerová (UMPRUM Prague), Marius Houschyar (HFBK Dresden), Sveske Ourø (GRA Amsterdam), Benjamin Pompe (HKU Utrecht), Vera Roggli (KASK Gent), Tomáš Vobóril (FAMU Prague), Stanislav Zábrodský (AVU Prague)
Opening: December 6, from 6pm
The StartPoint Prize for graduates of European art academies enters its twentieth year this year. Although only four Czech art schools participated in the first edition in the foothills of the Šumava Mountains in 2003, over the following decade the award has expanded to more than thirty European academies from all over Europe. This year's 12 selected schools from five European countries represent a logistical and economic return to current reality, but STARTPOINT is still a project unparalleled on the European art scene.
After two complicated lockdown years, the selection of this year's graduates also reflects the restlessness and uncertainty of our current situation in many different aspects, responding to an increasingly clear change of civilizational perspective. In addition to works describing loneliness and uprootedness in an empathetic way, there are also hints of the future and its utopias, new perspectives on colonial, national and environmental issues. Like every year, StartPoint's selection is a strong and multi-layered reflection of our contemporary issues.
The final exhibition of the StartPoint Prize is presented for the third time in the beautiful space of the HYB4 Gallery at the Hybernská Campus. From 7 to 22 December, twelve of this year's finalists will be on display. During November and December, the 2021 award-winning artists (Shifra Osorio Whewell, Kvet Nguyen, Adam Hejduk) are also in residence in Prague, culminating in an exhibition opening and concert in the salon of the HYB4 Gallery on Sunday, December 4.
The STARTPOINT project was initiated in 2003 at the Klatovy/Klenová Gallery by its director Marcel Fišer and collector Jan Pelánek as a competition for graduates of Czech art schools. It soon spread to neighbouring countries, and in 2009 the prize was supplemented by the STARTED residency programme for award-winning artists. Since 2010, the StartPoint project has been hosted by many prestigious institutions in the Czech Republic (GASK Kutná Hora, Wannieck Gallery Brno, DOX, National Gallery in Prague, Brno House of Arts) and abroad (Bucharest, Bratislava, Amsterdam, Antwerp, Ghent). Over the past twenty years, almost 500 artists from 22 European countries have passed through the StartPoint Prize, together creating a unique geographical and temporal cross-section of contemporary European art in its freshest form.
Open Wed-Sat 14:00-19:00
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Accompanying programme
4 Dec - 19:30, HYB4 Galerie - concert by Shifra Osorio Whewell + Pavla Jonsson + Marka Míková (Zuby Nehty)
6 Dec - 17:00-18:00 HYB4 Galerie - press conference, guided tour with artists and curator
22 Dec - 18:00, HYB4 Galerie – exhibition’s finissage with guided tour
StartPoint Prize is supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic and the Prague City Hall.
Supported by: Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands / Delegation of Flanders in the Czech Republic / Energeia Partners: Berlínskej Model / ArtMap.cz / Czech Centre Rotterdam / Arti & Amicitiae, Amsterdam
