The result of the selection process for the curator-operator of the Jaroslav Fragner Gallery in Prague and the Architecture Gallery in Brno

The selection committee of the NČA, in its meeting on July 12, 2010, chose Dan Merta (Architectura o.s.) as the operator and gallerist of the Jaroslav Fragner Gallery in Prague, and the 4AM Forum for Architecture and Media, o.s. as the operator of the Architecture Gallery in Brno. Both projects were selected for their emphasis on innovation in gallery operations.
The committee, composed of Tomáš Bezpalec, Jakub Fišer, Radek Kolařík, Michal Kuzemenský, Ivan Vavřík, Tomáš Zlámal, Vít Havránek, Osamu Okamura, and Cyril Říha, selected from a total of four applicants for the Prague gallery and two for the Brno gallery. In the case of the Jaroslav Fragner Gallery, the decision was made only in the second round, where two candidates, Dan Merta (Architectura o.s.) and Radek Váňa, advanced.
Regarding the individual projects, the committee stated the following:

Jaroslav Fragner Gallery Prague:

Jiří Schmidt [open project]
- an intellectually stimulating concept, very broad, but unfortunately not financially secured.

Alena Hanzlová [open project]
- unconvincing programmatic part of the project, repetition of older gallery operation schemes.

Radek Váňa
- the jury greatly appreciated the comprehensive development of the project, the proposed breadth of planned activities, and the shift of the gallery towards the typology of an architectural center. However, the professional provision of the exhibition and accompanying program was found to be less convincing.

Dan Merta Architectura o.s. [open project]
- the jury primarily valued the shifts in the program compared to the current situation: establishing a quality gallery council as a professional guarantor of the gallery's program direction, a significant shift in the functioning of the gallery towards collaboration with external curators on a specific and interdisciplinary program, and opening the gallery space to other related activities. This shift must be monitored to ensure it is truly fulfilled.

Architecture Gallery Brno:

Michal Veselý
- a managerial project with a formal approach to the assignment.

4AM Forum for Architecture and Media, o.s. [open project]
- the jury appreciated the innovative and experimental approach to operating the space, including connections with new media.

Individual projects from the participants in the proceedings who consented to publication are published on the NČA website http://www.nca.info/konkurz/projekty.

At the same time, the NČA management board wants, in cooperation with both galleries and other experts, to open a discussion about the future direction of both architectural galleries in Prague and Brno in the coming period.