Exhibitions Opening: Kingdom of Hex + Clairvoyant // Open Studios

On Thursday, March 2, we will open the first exhibitions of the year - the group exhibition Kingdom of Hex and the solo exhibition Clairvoyant by Jakub Hošek - and at the same time we will present the work of the current MeetFactory residents in open studios.

---

MeetFactory Gallery 
The theme of the exhibition Kingdom of Hex is related to broader developments within the contemporary cultural scene and focuses on the current form of romantic tendencies in visual art, which is dominated by supernatural phenomena, magical rituals, the return of romance, horror, decadence, and psychedelia.
Exhibiting artists: Anna-Marie Berdychová & Samuel Stano (CZ), Nela Britaňáková (CZ), Štěpán Brož (CZ), Veronika Čechmánková (CZ), Dominika Dobiášová (CZ), Masha Kovtun (UA), Matyáš Maláč (CZ), Kateřina Rafaelová (CZ), Anna Slama & Marek Delong (CZ), Šimon Sýkora (CZ), Timur Aloev (RU), Kateřina Kabová (CZ)
Curator: Ján Gajdušek
 

Kostka Gallery
Jakub Hošek's solo exhibition Clairvoyant at the Kostka Gallery will present a cross-section of his painting work, which combines post-internet aesthetics with narrative concepts of comic-horror stories and textual signs of urban subcultures.
Curator: Ján Gajdušek

Nela Britaňáková: Intertwined Zone
Nela Britaňáková's performance titled Intertwined Zone, which was created directly for the Kingdom of Hex exhibition builds on previous projects Re-Enter The Plant from 2020 and her bachelor thesis Mystical Eclipse from 2022 in its dramaturgical basis. A sense of uncertainty and anxiety pervades the abstract and non-narrative movement-sound essay. The performers evoke fluidly moving invertebrates or hybrid creatures with human characteristics. These non-human entities simultaneously find themselves in the gallery space and its specific architecture, to which they react and adapt to this environment.

The visual aspect of the performance refers to aesthetic forms associated with animal bodies, geometry, natural structures, or intertwining, which also appear in the exhibited ceramic objects by Britaňáková. These are not only part of the exhibition (a ceramic candle holder and shoes, or an object made of hair) but also function as an erformative scenographic layer. At the same time, the artist works in a broader context with the texts of the zoologist Adolf Portmann, who explored animals as autonomous beings with an interest in their visual and aesthetic qualities.

Dramaturgy: Nela Britaňáková
Movement: Julie Kubrychtová, Emilly Steele, Kristína Haviarová
Sound: Adriána Vančová

---

Artists-in-Residence Programme 

Open Studios presents
Nomadic Dzherelo 2023MF
Screening of Dzherelo "What would you do if war started?" 

The Dzherelo project is the work of the brutalist group "Wet-Hole", who occupied an old building in Kiev. They organize various art events, performances, and music production. For the past four years, Dzherelo has been serving all Ukrainians by being open 24/7 for free and conveying visual & audio art to all who are interested. Because of the war, this self-organized nomadic group is occupying the site and venturing further into the world. At MeetFactory they will present the film "What would you do if war started?", which will have its Czech premiere here. 

After the screening, there will be a short interview with the film's producer Dana Cosmina and director Plisetskiy. This will be followed by a musical performance "I hear the drip drip drip" by Boji Moroz, who is also a member of the Dzherelo project. 

Traditionally, there will be a guided tour of the residential floor, during which the curators will present the current activities of MeetFactory's residents. 

---

Music 

The program will also include a double music performance by rappers WHXISKUSHIKIME (SK) and Niery (CZ), whose experimental musical style can be characterized as trap metal (also screemo, death rap, rage or punk trap), which is a fusion genre combining elements of trap, metal, hardcore, industrial noise, electronic music and heavy distorted beats with a hard hip hop vocal line. The emergence of trap metal is associated with the contemporary American scene and rappers Scarlxrd and XXXTentacion. Within the Czech and Slovak rap scene, WHXISKUSHIKIME and Niery are one of the very first trap metal artists.

---

Line-up: 

19:00 doors
19:15 opening speech (foyer)
19:30 Nela Britaňáková - performance (MeetFactory Gallery)
19:45 Dzherelo - film screening (music hall) 
20:30 residency floor guided tour 
20:45 Boji Moroz - performance (music hall) 
21:15–22:00 WHXISKUSHIKIME (SK) and Niery (CZ) (foyer)
22:00–00:00 Dj´s

Free entry