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Horažďovice renaissance

A cultural revival gets under way in a south Bohemian town
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By Mimi Fronczak Rogers
For The Prague Post
July 4th, 2007 issue

COURTESY PHOTO
The time is right for a cultural excursion to the Šumava Mountains.
Galerie Califia

Zámek Horažďovice, Horažďovice, south Bohemia. Open Thurs.–Fri. 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.–1 p.m.

HORAŽĎOVICE, SOUTH BOHEMIA
“They offered me this space because they know I’m the biggest sucker in the area,” Barbara Benish jokes about the town of Horažďovice giving her rent-free space in its Renaissance chateau to open an art gallery in this south Bohemian town.
Though running a gallery is a lot of work, it’s the town that made a smart deal. The California-born artist with Czech roots has a well-earned reputation as an energetic organizer plugged into the contemporary art scene, both in the Czech Republic and abroad. She’s also known for not being able to easily say no — no matter how much else she has on her plate — especially when it comes to supporting the arts in the region where she has made her home full-time since 2001 with her husband, the architect Petr Kalný, and their two daughters in a centuries-old mill.
That’s exactly what Horažďovice was counting on. The town’s progressive new mayor, Jindřiška Jůdová, and the director of the Horažďovice Museum, Hana Smetanová, are hoping that Benish can bring a little culture to Horažďovice as part of a grand scheme to turn this town of around 5,700 in the Šumava hills into an off-the-beaten-path Mecca for the arts.
In addition to the new Galerie Califia, there’s also a plan in the pipeline, spearheaded by town councilman Petr Kolář, to turn a former brewery in the town into a kunsthalle — a large gallery that hosts temporary art exhibitions, like Prague’s Galerie Rudolfinum.
Galerie Califia — named for the mythical goddess who guarded the gold on the shores of the Pacific Ocean — opened on a warm evening under the first of June’s two full moons. Benish curated the gallery’s first show, but says, “I want to turn it over to other curators now.” The next show, slated to open in September, will be curated by Kristin Raizada from Long Beach, California. She is already on the ground in the Czech Republic making studio visits to select works by artists that she’ll juxtapose with pieces by artists from the Los Angeles scene.
Among the group of artists in the gallery’s first show is Lenka Klodová, who contributed both a life-size sculpture of a pregnant woman (cast from her own body) with a clock on its belly, which towers above visitors from a high pedestal in the gallery’s courtyard, and life-size photographic cardboard cutouts of herself posing as the Czech porn star Dolly Buster. Taken together, Klodová’s works at Galerie Califia make a witty commentary on the madonna-whore complex.
Other artists in this first show include HK Zamani, Jorn Ake and Lynne Seifert from the United States, Malgorzada Sidor from Poland and Czech artists Hana Pavlátová and Martina Smejkalová.
One of the most attention-grabbing pieces is a sound installation titled Smoking Garden II_Transference by Bethany Lacktorin (from Minneapolis) and Anja Kaufmann (from Zürich). The two, who are now based in Prague, opened the show with a short concert of avant-garde violin and computer-driven electronica. In their installation, a chair is set amid a “garden” in which daisies, marigolds and marijuana plants grow, and the surfaces of the chair, floor and wall are tiled with cigarette packages. Visitors who sit in the chair hear a range of sounds. This process work addresses the phenomenon of transference of energy to and from the environment, and how humans can be not only a destructive but also a positive influence on the local environment.
Smoking Garden grabbed the attention of a recent group of visitors to the gallery. “A busload of babičkas came in to the gallery to use the bathroom and ended up staying two hours,” Benish says. “People have really been interested and open and curious. It’s started a dialogue, which is what it’s all about.” The gallery has been getting a mix of school groups, bus tours and drop-ins, she says, as well as a small number of visitors for whom Califia is the destination.
Part of Benish’s mission is to promote local handicrafts and also to nurture the youngest generation of budding artists. To this end, she included a small display of works by two young artists (ages 6 and 9) who have attended the Art Mill summer arts camp she runs. Benish says a lot of the young visitors to the gallery are especially drawn to the children’s works, which are showcased in a niche by the entrance. She plans to make this kids’ niche a regular part of the gallery’s program.
There is also a room devoted to selling local handicrafts by such artisans as Šárka Hnátová, who has been essential in getting the space up and running. The commission from sales at the shop will cover the wages of the gallery-sitters and defray operational costs.
Benish believes other regions in the country can be revitalized by the kind of synergy she sees happening in Horažďovice. “Other little pockets around the country are similarly starting to have increased cultural activity. It just takes people to change it, and that can happen practically overnight. … It’s not just about art, but about community.”

Mimi Fronczak Rogers can be reached at features@praguepost.com


Other articles in Night & Day (4/07/2007):

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