Project

Region	Prague
Title of the Programme	Culture
Title of the Project	Center and Periphery: Cultural Deserts in Eastern Europe
Number of the Project	KU-CA1-007
Project Promoter	tranzit.cz
Project Partner from Donor State	Kunsthall Oslo (NOR)
Status	Estimated project duration: 04/2021-04/2023
More Information	Target group: Universities/Research institutions, Museums (and other visual arts institutions), Media Web pages: http://cz.tranzit.org/en/project/0/2021-03-01/center-periphery-2021-2022
Total Eligible Costs	221 533 EUR
Grant	198 443 EUR (90%)

Project description:

Center and Periphery: Cultural Deserts in Eastern Europe names a new platform co-organized by tranzit.cz and Kunsthall Oslo. We will invite eight artists primarily from the Czech Republic and Slovakia, but also other countries from around the world in order to research and create new works which through the concept of ‘cultural desert’ examine the relationship between centers and peripheries.

Cultural desert is usually defined as any place that is characterized by having a distinct lack of complexity, vibrancy, vitality, or interest in intellectual and artistic activity. However, we understand the phrase as a tool that allows one to analyze what different groups of people of different genders, classes and races understand under the term culture. It is less a designation of a particular location and more a perspective of a particular community over whether or not it has access to contemporary culture. Thus, it is a tool for how to examine various socio-economic processes such as gentrification, revitalisation, or strategies of state art funding as well as the ways in which cultural deserts appear and disappear.

During the duration of the project we will organize residencies for the invited artists and the project will culminate in an exhibition at the City Gallery Prague. Also, a series of podcasts as well as workshops involving social scientists, urbanists, architects, artists, activists, community organisers, and other experts interested in the topic will be organized. The project will culminate with an exhibition during the summer of 2022. This collaborative project will involve tranzit.cz, City Gallery Prague and Kunsthall Oslo.