The National Gallery has announced a competition for a Czech project for the architecture biennale.

Prague – The National Gallery Prague (NGP) has announced an open competition for the national pavilion of the Czech Republic at the Architecture Biennale in Venice in 2023. This was communicated to ČTK by NGP spokesperson Eva Sochorová. Interested parties are to submit an interconnected digital and spatial concept, with an estimated project budget of 5.6 million crowns. The jury will select the winner by the end of June. However, the pavilion is undergoing reconstruction and its use for the architecture biennale is not planned.

The International Architecture Biennale in Venice is the largest showcase of contemporary architecture and current architectural trends. "The current non-standard situation, where the Czech and Slovak pavilion is closed, encourages authors and curatorial teams to find new ways of presentation that are not dependent on the tradition of a clearly defined biennale space. The aim is to seek themes at the transnational level that emerge in the Czech Republic and place them in new contexts," the gallery stated in a press release.

Interested parties are to submit proposals for two interconnected concept variants. The first concept for a digital pavilion will be anchored in the space in front of the national pavilion in Giardini della Bienale. The second, spatial solution is intended for the Arsenale building, in an exhibition area of 200 m².

The selection procedure is single-round. NGP stated that it particularly welcomes transdisciplinary author collectives from creative professions and teams that contribute to diversity and gender balance. The estimated reward for the winner is 400,000 crowns. The deadline for submitting proposals is June 27, and the winner will be announced on June 30. The competition assignment is available in the national electronic tool NEN.

This year, the Venice Biennale of Visual Arts is taking place, alternating with the architecture biennale. The Czechoslovak pavilion is among the oldest in the Venice gardens, built by Otakar Novotný in 1925. Since the split of Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic has alternated in preparing the pavilion's exhibition with Slovakia. Both countries manage it jointly. NGP and the Slovak National Gallery share investment costs at a ratio of two to one, while operational costs are divided equally. The Venice Biennale of Visual Arts always attracts over half a million visitors. It first took place in 1885.

The last Visual Arts Biennale was held in 2019, with the Czech side organizing the exhibition in the Czechoslovak pavilion, which featured works by Stanislav Kolíbal. That year, a storm significantly damaged the pavilion, and the already dilapidated building required reconstruction, which is still ongoing.

In 2020, the biennale was canceled due to the pandemic. In the following two years, the pavilion was to serve under a rotational model for the presentation of the Slovak Republic. This will take place after the reconstruction.