<Jested s klece 24 - festive announcement>

Extraordinary (and we hope, never to be repeated) 24th Ještěd f Kleci is behind us — what was the program and who took home the winning trophies?

Since all students completed the past semester “with the cage,” we decided on a non-traditional format and a new name: Ještěd with the Cage!

The past days provided a melancholic glimpse into the cage, from which we are already out and do not want to return!

Ještěd with the Cage was the online conclusion of the summer online semester. Students submitted their projects via Google Drive, which were exhibited on the website, and the jury made their decisions about the winners during a joint video call – thus, the traditional process now took a non-traditional route, through which “with the cage” all registered projects were created remotely. The online exhibition was complemented by an outdoor program, although the weather was not very accommodating.

A large group of brave souls dared to start Ještěd with the Cage with a Wednesday night hike to greet the sunrise. Adverse weather did not deter them – and so they set off into the darkness, winter, and rain towards Ještěd, where a storm trapped them until morning. They dried off, had something to eat and drink, and then ran down the hill to their homes to sleep.

On Thursday, the weather was sunny, but the program included an evening screening at Kino Varšava. The iconic Limonádový Joe bounced on the screen, shrouded in mystery until the last moment. Some attendees only discovered the film's title after they blindly paid for their tickets. With this point in the program, we wanted to support a place that is dear to us and whose fate we care about.

The climax of Ještěd with the Cage came, as always, on Friday, though the weather played a role. The day began with a workshop on handmade paper and beeswax candles, but the rain drove everyone from the university park to the studio.
The announcement of the nominated and winning projects was set to take place around a fire pit at the Liberec Forest Swimming Pool, followed by a journey to the Vokno club for an afterparty late at night. However, things turned out differently; only a few adventurers gathered at the Forest Swimming Pool in the evening downpour, leading to the award ceremony being moved from the traditional 21:00 to 22:00, directly into Vokno, where attendance was much larger. Punk-style, without a stage and the glare of spotlights, the winners and nominees were announced in front of the club, and then the past year faded into the mist from which it also emerged.

The awarded projects were decided by a five-member jury consisting of: Michaela Horáková from mh architects, architect, theorist and poet Anna Beata Háblová, Richard Heger from RicharDavidArchitekti, theorist and critic of contemporary art Silvie Šeborová, and conceptual artist Jan Nálevka.

Who are the awardees?

The architectural winner was the master's thesis of Jan Lebl and the trophy in the art category was taken home by the master's duo Alžběta Skalická and Alexandra Efremova.

Jury's evaluation: “Of the architectural projects, the jury was most impressed by the master's thesis of Jan Lébl
from the studio of Petr Stolina and Alena Mičeková. The jury was primarily attracted by the subject of the project, which relates to current ecological and social issues concerning the approach to planet Earth and its mineral wealth. Jan Lebl wants to think about an alternative future for brown coal surface mines in the Sokolov Basin through his project and utilize their thermal potential to build spas. The jury also appreciates not only the breadth of research that the author engaged in in the given area, but also the resulting visual processing of the proposal. In the art section, the jury decided to award the interactive application by Alžběta Skalická and Alexandra Efremova from the studio of Jan Stolina and Petra Vlachynská. The jury noted that a significant number of student outputs from the Faculty of Art and Architecture in Liberec take place in an online environment; often, the results of students' works are videos, interactive projects, or sketches created using a computer. The project by Skalická and Efremová is no exception; however, in their output, the chosen approach has its justification, and from the materials provided, it is clear what the authors wanted to achieve and why they chose the means they did. The jury also appreciates the connection between the visual aspect and poetry, which gives the project an additional dimension.”

They did not take home a trophy, but they received a nomination: Filip Cerha (Center for Small Gastronomy in Brooklyn), Barbora Shiffmanová and Dominik Bokr (Karlín), Petra Hůlková Majerčíková (Art and Transcendence)
and Helena Herzánová (denim cities).

Come visit www.jestedfkleci.cz to see the exhibition of the winning, nominated, and other participating projects created “with the cage” by students from FUA TUL! On the website, you can click on individual works with annotations, jury comments, visualizations, or videos, as well as links to Google Drive, where all the materials submitted for the competition are located. It is thus possible to study the projects in detail, just as offline in the studio.

You are warmly invited to the winter, hopefully traditional, 25th Ještěd f Kleci.

From the JfK team, Helena Herzánová