TINA B
The Prague Contemporary Art Festival
Dates: May 18-June 27
Place: Prague, Czech Republic
For more information:
info [at] tina-b.com 420 774 695 494
Tina B, an acronym for This Is Not Another Biennale, is a contemporary art festival planned for every two years in the Czech capital of Prague. The inaugural event takes place from May 18June 27, and organizers hope to draw a whole new breed of visitor to the Golden City: prominent art collectors from abroad, representatives from renowned art galleries and institutions, and high-profile personalities on the international art scene as well as international art journalists.
With around 90 artists participating in sections organized by a field of just nine curators, viewers can expect a clearer and more concentrated presentation of art than with more unwieldy productions. At the same time, the organizers realize the importance of social networking.
A VIP and press week is scheduled from June 612, and there will be dinners, receptions and other social events. This is just prior to Art Basel and the festival overlaps with two biennales in Romania. Tina B also coincides with the annual Art Prague art fair, which runs May 2328. This timing offers an unbeatable synergy in terms of an influx and galvanization of artists, curators, art dealers and collectors.
Visitors who come to Prague for the art will have the opportunity to gain a unique view into the countrys history and architecture as they travel among the various Tina B venues.
The Functionalist monolith of Veletrzní Palace, home to the Czech National Gallerys collection of modern and contemporary art, will house such sections as Pascal Beausses Same Same but Different and Peep Show, exploring the border between art and pornography. An intriguing mesh of cultures takes place with the project Oy/Eh, exploring the contemporary art of Finland and Canada. Also on show will be Yohannes Schmidts Perceptions of Everyday Life and Adam Vackars Reality Blurred.
In the vast post-industrial space of Karlín Hall, the exhibition Large/Digital brings together large-scale and digital works by International and Czech artists. The highly diverse and often site-specific installations tackle a diversity of artistic themes social and political commentary, philosophical contemplations as well as the exploration of abstract geometrical forms.
The sober emptiness of the hilltop National Monument is an ideal setting for Daniele Balits section In a Silent Way, which will send sound-based installations resonating throughout the mausoleum-like atmosphere.
This years Tina B side project is Open Source by Adam Vackar, an ensemble of videos in a former synagogue, which examines the relationship between Jewish culture and society in general in a site-specific historical context.
The civic association Prague Art Future, one of the festivals organizers, aims to broaden perspectives and invite comparisons by putting Czech art in confrontation with foreign art. By educating the local public and art institutions about contemporary trends, the hope is to stimulate a base of galleries, private collectors and institutions that by purchasing art in turn support the artists.
Festival Director Monika Burian says that its necessary for the movers and shakers on the countrys art scene to collaborate, to create support. There should not be competition or concentration on isolated activities.
