Brno Art Open 2009 / Sculptures in the Streets

The second year of the exhibition arranged by the Brno House of Arts and commissioned by the statutory city of Brno features an art collection which is represented by varied styles of art intervention into the public space – sculpture creation, site specific installation, performance and other.
The goal of the project is both to accent and amplify a unique character of the chosen localities in the centre of the town and consequently create a discussion about their urban forms. At the same time the issue of visual art functions within the public spaces of the city should be systematically evolved. A second aim is to provide direct contact between passers-by and a work of art, which will now be situated in the open space of the city, out with the walls of museums and galleries. The artists taking part were chosen by the Brno Art Open council who selected such projects which directly relate to the spacial or social cultural context.
Projects by fi fteen Czech and foreign artists are being presented in Brno city centre since the beginning of June up until the end of August 2009:
Krystian Czaplicki (POL), Tomáš Džadon (SVK), Michal Gabriel (CZE), Otto Herbert Hajek (DEU), Milan Houser (CZE), DaliborChatrný (CZE), MagdalenaJetelová (DEU), PavlaKacírková (CZE), Václav Kyselka (CZE), Dominik Lang (CZE), Tomáš Medek (CZE), Tomáš Moravec (CZE), Vratislav Karel Novák (CZE), André Tempel (DEU), Tomáš Vanek (CZE). The second part of the information brochure contains an updated list of projects, their location and events accompanying the Sculptures in the Streets / Brno Art Open '09 taking place from 15 July to 30 August 2009. In contrast to the original intention of the Art Council, two objects less is to be found in the streets of Brno:
Ivan Kafka’s proposed installation for Vaňkovka was unable to be provided with required material – two hundred pieces of traffi c signs; the object designed by Milan Houser called the Column which was placed at Malinovské Square has been vandalised. Another object facing devastation is the Liberated Bobbin by Tomáš Moravec positioned in front of Janáček Theatre: the bobbin had been moved to Lužánky Park even before the exhibition opening by an unknown person. After repeated demolition, the flywheel mechanism stayed out of order. On the other hand, the list of objects that both the Brno inhabitants and town’s summer visitors meet in the streets has been extended by works of art arising during the accompanying events: a bench designed as a part of the Urban Vandalism project has livened up an area in Milada Horáková Street; sculptures, installations and audiovisual series presented in Art Containers have driven attention to a freshly reconstructed building of the Brno House of Arts and its neighbourhood at Malinovský Square.
A photographic catalogue will be released mid-July for the Sculptures in the Streets / Brno Art Open '09 exhibition. It will contain both photographic documentation of the projects and the unique process of the installations. The catalogue will also contain textual part by the exhibition organisers, art lecturers and comments of the featured artists.

Curators: František Kowolowski, Rostislav Koryčánek, Jana Vránová
Production: Jitka Vitásková
Accompanying Programme: Barbora Šedivá, Uff! Art, o.s.
Technical Assistance: Zdeněk Hamža, Svatopluk Sládeček, Pavel Velecký
Installation: The Brno House of Arts, Miloš Měřinský