The power of art to help change the world: Art & Activism exhibit in Prague
This Friday, June 9th will be the opening night of the first annual Prague Art and Activism exhibition. A night showcasing the talent of artists whose thought-provoking work crosses boundaries between advocacy and multi-medium beauty.
Nicholas Dungey, an American professor living in Prague, is the founder of Reluvotion, an app that connects not-for profits and NGO’s with volunteers across the world, he has coordinated the exhibition alongside local artists and activists.
‘Every year, Reluvotion selects two Fellows from around the world who are working in some type of social good, or environmental good project, and we fund them to do their work. This year, we are doing our first Reluvotion Art and Activism exhibit at the Skautsky Institut in downtown Prague.’
‘There are two artists featured this year. The first is a Czech artist named Veronika Podlasova: she’s an artist, environmentalist, a new food chef and a world-class rock climber. She is going to be doing a project that tells the story of environmental change through the disappearance of the Ant-Arctic ice shelf.
The second artist who is equally as brilliant is Peter Nylund, a Swedish artist who is doing a project on the decolonization of fascist architecture in Italy. After spending several days in these former fascist spaces, he has captured the sound of the ghosts and hauntings of fascism, and he will have an audio and visual exhibit.’
Those who visit the exhibition will see the featured work of this year’s Fellows, but additionally the work of other collectives and artists based in Prague such as Pangea, a queer & feminist non-profit, and the Fruit Juice Collective, a group of expat artists in the city. Dungey is hopeful that the visitors of this year’s exhibition will take away the important roles that both art and activism play in our lives, but also feel joy and hope.
‘Joy! We want people to experience joy. Equally as important, we hope to raise awareness of the importance of activism, and the power of art to help change the world. To put art and activism in action, during the opening night we are going to have an art auction. We have collected dozens of pieces of art that we will be auctioning off and donating the proceeds to Jako doma, a Prague based non-profit that serves women experiencing homelessness.’
The Art & Activism exhibition will be running from June 9th-June 12th at the Skautsky Institut in Mala Strana. The exhibition is free and open to all.
