The Prague Quadriennale will take place in 2011 at the Veletržní Palace

Prague - The date and location are already known to the organizers of the largest international showcase dedicated to scenography and theater architecture, the Prague Quadrennial (PQ). In 2011, when the 12th edition will take place, it will be held from June 16 to 26 at the Trade Fair Palace of the National Gallery, with participation from 56 countries already registered. This was announced today by the project's spokesperson Silvie Marková.
The previous traditional location at the Exhibition Grounds is not functional due to the fire-damaged wing of the Industrial Palace, and such large events need to be planned well in advance for a specific space. The functionalist building of the Trade Fair Palace will host the Section of Countries and Regions and the Student Section.
"In addition to the exhibitions spread over several floors, a number of lectures and other accompanying programs will take place here. However, artists will also head to the center of Prague, where a series of performances, exhibitions, or performances will be held right in the streets, at the National Theater's piazza, and in the building of the Theatre Academy of Performing Arts," Marková stated.
The Prague Quadrennial boasted nearly 30,000 visitors and 5,000 theater professionals and students in 2007. Organizers of the new edition therefore actively searched for a new venue. "We wanted it to provide sufficient facilities for all participants and visitors, but also to bring a number of new impulses. The connection with the National Gallery offers new contexts for this showcase, presenting scenography as a discipline between visual art and theater and other fields," said its artistic director Sodja Lotkerová in a press release.
The aim of the Prague Quadrennial of Scenography and Theatre Space is to bring the current work of theater visual artists, designers, and architects from around the world as close as possible to the broadest public. The organizers are preparing, alongside professional content, a multitude of programs targeted at both lay and professional audiences, including children. More detailed information is available at www.pq.cz.
According to Marková, the new PQ project, known as the Intersection, is being prepared most intensively. It will encompass workshops, symposia, and the artistic event itself. It aims to be the most extensive integration of various fields and genres of contemporary art that work with theater, dance, installation, video art, performance, fashion, or architecture. The result of several years of effort will be an installation/performance in the center of Prague consisting of three dozen boxes, where all-day theater performances will take place, and where visitors will encounter installations or video art.
"The importance of the project is confirmed by the involvement of eight other significant European institutions, as well as the awarding of a Culture grant from the European Union, which was successful among 296 projects from across Europe," Marková stated. The first part, an international theoretical symposium, will take place this autumn in Amsterdam and Zurich.
The most extensive program part of the PQ remains the Section of Countries and Regions. The curatorial concepts of individual national exhibitions should present stage design, costumes, lighting, and sound design, and the connections between them. The Czech Republic will be represented by a project from theater dramaturge Marta Ljubková and set designer Andrea Králová.