Describe your studio/work practice
From 2020 till March 2024 I had been working as a curator at Kunsthalle Bratislava, where I have been developing the A Plant programme for the last two years. In my actual curatorial praxis I am mostly focused on environmental issues. The aim of the program was to highlight the importance of urban greenery, especially in the context of the climate crisis, to draw attention to it, as well as to contribute to its improvement and protection. I implement 12 projects of artists and curators in cooperation with experts in the field of urban greenery directly in situ; in areas such as: meadows, parks, wetlands or the banks of the Danube. We worked with themes such as mitigating the impact of the climate crisis in the city through urban greenery, medicinal plants, invasive plants in the city, urban gardens, botanical gardens as colonial structures, among others. I curated in Kunsthalle Bratislava also various exhibitions and site and context specific projects in public space, such as Roman Ondak´s Parking SK or Matej Gavula Promenade.
However, Kunsthalle Bratislava had been closed in the end of March. It was decision of the new Minister of Culture, Martina Šimkovi?ová, a well-known right wing figure of the Slovak conspiracy scene, who has already managed to replace the directors of the International House of Art for Children Bibiana and the Slovak National Library in half a year in office, in addition to closing down the Kunsthalle Bratislava. Under her authority, a proposal of new law is currently being prepared to change the Slovak Art Council or Slovak Television and Radio, where the Ministry of Culture wants to have more influence.
Legally the Kunshalle Bratislava went under the Slovak National Gallery, but in effective, all the employees were dismissed, and the Slovak National Gallery did not take them over together with the institution. Its exhibition spaces, some of the most beautiful in Bratislava, are now unused. The Slovak National Gallery was given the task by the Ministry to create a new legal status of Kunsthalle Bratislava. According to the Ministry, it should not be a state-owned contributory organisation. Kunsthalle Bratislava was a distinctive, opinion-forming institution, but it is now sorely missed on the Slovak art scene. In Slovakia, repressions similar to those in Hungary are beginning to take place, maybe even harder; for example, a student who prepared a public farewell programme for Kunsthalle Bratislava with a number of speeches was interrogated by the police.
About the Venice project
I would like to introduce shortly the project I am curating at the 60th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, by artist Oto Hudec, called Floating Arboretum.
He works with an archive/database/file of stories, telling of a collective effort when a united community of activists prevented deforestation and the destruction of trees. The artist is an activist himself and has actively participated in several protest actions. We believe that Floating Arboretum’s stories can spark transformative imagination, and that they can be inspirational in our everyday lives.
A recurring motif in Oto Hudec’s work is escapism, the desire to save what it is almost impossible to save in a given world, in a given civilizational setting, through flying, swimming, ships, or spacecraft. Even the trees in the Giardini, or in Venice, are threatened with extinction due to climate change and rising sea levels.
Oto calls for their rescue, as well as for the rescue of other endangered trees in the world. He contemplates an arboretum, a symbolic utopian place, a sanctuary for trees threatened by human expansion and extravagance. The project is an imaginative glimpse into a dystopian future in which we select and save trees by moving them to a safe (fictional) arboretum. Different timelines intersect here, the present protests against deforestation, the felling of trees in different parts of the world, the climate crisis, and the imaginary dystopian future of saving them.
The endangered trees will be painted by Oto Hudec directly on the façade of the pavilion. The mural will be accompanied in the immediate surroundings of the pavilion by a site-specific installation of a boat with a sculpture of a seed, and by an audio piece and performance designed by Fero Király.
The stories of Floating Arboretum were poeticized by Juliana Sokolová, the performance was choreographed by Petra Fornayová and the costumes were created by Michaela Bednárová. Anyone can get involved in Floating Arboretum via floatingarboretum.sng.sk, where they can nominate for rescue their choice of any specific tree with an upsetting fate.
What does participation in the Venice Biennale mean to you?
I appreciate that the Slovak National Gallery has entrusted me to curate the Slovak exposition at the Venice Biennale. I am very happy that my invitation was accepted by the artist Oto Hudec, whom I respect very much as an artist as a person. We were approached quite late, so we have been working very hard since the beginning.
What do you expect in terms of your career as a result of this participation?
I firmly believe that Oto and I, as well as a large team of collaborators, will succeed in realizing the project as we dreamed it and that we will be cheerful and not stressed throughout its realization. At the same time, I hope that I will be able to get to know many interesting artists and curators personally and that this will also bring about further diverse collaborations and friendships that will develop in the years to come.
Did you feel or sense anything during the application process or preparation that made you aware of being Central-Eastern European? If yes, what were the advantages or disadvantages of this? (eg.: financial aspect, reception)
Central Europeanness can certainly be felt in the budget we have at our disposal, which is certainly incomparable to larger Western countries. However, we are certainly united by our resilience and the fact that we can cope in any situation and that we can survive even in more difficult conditions.
Do you think there is such a thing as ‘Central-Eastern European-ness’ in the field of fine arts, similar to history, politics, and culture? If yes, in what ways?
Now the Slovak cultural workers are starting to be in a very similar situation as their Hungarian colleagues, because of the political situation in our country. And our Polish colleagues get away from the very similar situation a short time ago…
As a curator at the Venice Biennale, did you notice any changes in yourself during the preparation? E.g: Has your attention, taste, or opinion changed? Has your range of interests expanded? If yes, in what way?
I am more confident in what I do as a curator, and that applies to other exhibitions as well, not just this Venice project.