jiří příhoda relocates his latest ARK dwelling to a rural czech village

jiří příhoda relocates the latest continuation of his ongoing ARK project in which he introduces contemporary occupiable sculpture to rural communities. this architectural object, entitled c-ARK (collector’s ark) was first realized on the site of troja chateau prague. it was part of the exhibition “jiří příhoda: sculptures” organized by prague city gallery. during the exhibition the object housed the central fragment of a ceiling fresco from the main imperial hall depicting the holy trinity.

image by martin hurych

at the closing of the exhibition, jiří příhoda donated c-ARK to a small village nearby the renaissance-era czech town of litomysl. with support of czech ministry of culture c-ark was re-installed and opened as a community cultural center. příhoda had lived at this site for seven years, during which time he began the ARK project with an idea to introduce quality contemporary art to local rural communities around the world. the new cultural center is run with help of an association entitled ‘prezpolni’ which was founded by young people from the village. prezpolni has started the ambitious ‘alternativeARK’ program in which influential contemporary czech artists are invited to create site specific installations for the ARK project.

image by martin hurych

the alternativeARK program is planned for the end of 2019 to show the ARK designs of some of the most influential czech artists. these artists were just starting their carriers in the 1990s with fall of the communist regime in the central europe. the artists include marketa othova, jiri straka, katerina vincourova, david cerny, and kristof kintera. the association founded other programs which involve the support of contemporary acoustic and sound art as well as alternative contemporary forms of visual art. another program offers contemporary art education to rural communities.

image by martin polak

at the end of year 2016, ARK was announced to be the best czech artwork of the year. the competition entitled ‘worthy artist’ (umělec má cenu) involves young artists and curators under the age of 35 selecting and awarding artists over the age of 35.

image by martin hurych