DOX

On Thursday, February 5, a Prague architecture enthusiast faced an unusual dilemma. That evening, two openings were taking place simultaneously: the traditional and long-standing Fragner Gallery brought to its newly reconstructed space the young Viennese architects; while the new Center for Contemporary Art was inaugurating the exhibition DOX & Holešovice: Places in Motion at the same time. A rather intimate insight into the Prague 7 district was presented through the photographs of Jan Bezucha, Michaela Brachtlová, Ondřej Bouška, and David Stecker; along with photographs by Ivan Kroupa documenting the construction process of the Dox itself.
As the organizers state: "The exhibition captures the construction of the DOX center in the context of the urban environment of Lower Holešovice and its historical transformations. Through image and text installations, it evokes intertwined stories of the topography and history of one urban area, while also hinting at questions related to urban revitalization and the transformation of former industrial districts. The transformation of the original factory complex into a center for contemporary art is a metamorphosis of forms and functions, becoming a symbol of the transformation of the entire Lower Holešovice."
And it is a drastic transformation - not only in the scale of the Holešovice district. Along with Dox, names emerged in the Czech Republic that fill this institution's spaces with eager anticipation. The international advisory board includes Vicente Todoli, director of London's Tate Modern, David Elliott, former director of the Museum of Modern Art in Istanbul, the already legendary Jonas Mekas, a pioneer of avant-garde film and founder of the New York Anthology Film Archives, and Reyn van der Lugt, former chief curator of the prestigious Netherlands Architecture Institute in Rotterdam.
For the somewhat narrow, not-so-vibrant Prague scene, the mentioned names serve as an elixir. The previous offerings of architectural themes had been limited on one side by the aforementioned Fragner Gallery (burdened by an insurmountable limit of finances and space), while the other boundary was vaguely outlined by the rather suspected than truly active role of the National Gallery, where architecture has certainly not been at the forefront in recent years: the state institution was content with taking over competitions like New Home or Grand Prix OA and providing shelter to the annual semi-commercial Art & Interior.
The fact that a Prague architecture enthusiast will increasingly have the opportunity to choose a program is also indicated by the accompanying program of the Holešovice institution, focused exclusively in February on industrial heritage. The first lecture was delivered by Eva Dvořáková from the NPÚ that very Thursday evening.
It will be interesting to see to what extent DOX will actually influence its surroundings and to what extent it will allow itself to be influenced. And does a single cell of the urban and social structure even have a chance to "infect" its surroundings? And if so, to what extent? In the case of an institution open to the public, or perhaps primarily - to what extent will it influence its audience and to what extent will that audience influence DOX? During Thursday's lecture, it seemed to me that information was rather being communicated, presented in categories to be incorporated into a cognitive framework rather than offered as a basis for communication. I would like to believe that an audience willing to venture into these areas will also be capable of greater interaction. Will it be given the space to do so? I hope so. Or does it first need to learn to communicate? Or must the presenters first approach such an approach themselves?
It is natural that an institution's work at the very beginning of its path raises questions. For at least some of them, we tried to obtain answers from the artistic director of the DOX center, Jaroslav Anděl.

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Since the opening of the center last autumn, your audience has had the opportunity to see the works of Jose-María Cañas (Welcome to Capitalism!), concepts by the Czech group Pode Bal, or the large spatial installation Sediment by Matej Krén. Ivan Kroupa and Zdeněk Lukeš have held lectures here. However, the launch of a series of programs focused on industrial heritage offers a suitable moment to ask about the longer-term concept of exhibitions with a potential architectural focus. I assume you are planning such exhibitions for the future...
Jaroslav Anděl: In this context, it is important to also mention the overall concept of our center. We often say that we are a center for contemporary art, design, and architecture - even though this does not fully appear in our name. The idea is to encompass all kinds and currents of art: photography, film, new media, design in all respects, and of course architecture. We believe that such a platform is lacking here, and also that there are often specialized institutions in the world. And although specialization is necessary, something essential is lost with it - the relationship to other activities, from which new impulses often arise. We believe that dialogue is necessary not only within a discipline but also "across" disciplines.
Architecture should be integrated into a broader framework in our conception. We do not want to duplicate the good work being done in Prague by the Jaroslav Fragner Gallery and other entities.

How do you want to further distinguish yourselves from them?
Another specificity arises from the identity and philosophy of Dox. We have outlined certain themes that we want to follow in the long term. This will be reflected in the dramaturgy of exhibitions. An example is the issue of public space, to which architecture is very closely related...

… and which is usually overlooked by other institutions.
Another theme is dialogue, the meeting of science and art. This issue, of course, is also reflected in architecture, as new trends are closely related to development.
Because we have larger spaces than the Fragner Gallery, we believe that we can also significantly present the works of global architects.

Are you referring to contemporary creators?
Sometimes we may delve into history - although that is not our priority - however, there are significant gaps here and many key figures of 20th-century art have never been presented here... However, we want to look back only marginally and in relation to current issues. For example, we have been negotiating for a long time about a large retrospective of Marcel Breuer, which has already been seen by audiences in Japan, the United States, and some European countries.
Fundamentally, however, we remain focused on living authors: We have established contacts and are negotiating, for example, with Steven Holl and Daniel Libeskind.
An important area for me personally also includes architects who are not yet well-known here, but whose work is already beginning to make significant waves internationally, as they engage in trends whose significance will only grow in the future. An example is Teddy Cruz, a creator originally from Guatemala working in San Diego, with whom we have a very interesting project in progress.
Also thanks to my contacts in New York, we have established partnerships with several foreign institutions. For instance, I approached the New York Storefront for Art and Architecture - a relatively small yet very vibrant institution, with which we are negotiating the acquisition of certain exhibitions. We have also contacted the influential architect-theorist Keller Easterling, who works at Yale University and is the author of several theoretically stimulating publications, for example, about the significance of infrastructures in relation to contemporary architecture.

It seems we have a lot to look forward to. To what extent can you, as a private institution, afford to pursue quality and where does dependence on attendance begin?
Every gallery certainly grapples with this question. However, thanks to exhibition spaces of various sizes and characteristics, we have considerable flexibility, which is important for presenting contemporary art. We want to mix the program so that it is varied: simultaneously presenting small, larger, monographic, thematic exhibitions… even short-term presentations of young promising individuals. We refer to one of the rooms as the "project room". Here we plan to exhibit works by students - of course, of excellent quality. Recently, we have been negotiating with architectural studios from the VŠUP.
We do not intend to only present international stars. Our mission is to initiate dialogue between the local and the international, as well as between the aforementioned fields on the scene.

In addition to exhibitions, you also organize lectures, discussions, and other accompanying programs. To what extent do you want to direct them towards schools?
In the Czech Republic, there are huge deficits in the education of modern visual culture...
In the long term, we want to work with all levels of education - perhaps even including kindergartens. However, we initially reached out to higher art schools. We contacted rectors, deans, and educators with an offer of collaboration. We would welcome exceptionally good projects, perhaps also from the field of doctoral research at universities. For secondary schools, we are preparing guided tours, which we are working on in cooperation with the Educational Research Institute and with educators who focus on the topic of animating museums or galleries at VŠUP.

Finally, may I ask: You split your time between New York and Prague. Do you have time for anything else besides Dox?
Most of my time is currently definitely consumed by work for DOX. The team is small, and the work is plentiful. However, I try to connect tasks. I can at least mention one project that, although it will not be at the DOX center, certainly has indirect significance for it. It is a large exhibition project under the auspices of the Council of Europe, which initiates a large exhibition every ten to fifteen years that then travels to major European institutions. The last such project was in 1995 with the exhibition Art under Dictatorship - i.e., art during the rule of Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, and Franco. The current project Art after 1945 follows, and I am a member of the preparatory team...

Thank you for the interview.