December 8, 2025

Protests, Public Space and Civic Engagement. The Art of Activism exhibition at GHMP presents the first overview of activist art in the Czech Republic

Exhibitions

Prague City Gallery showcases The Art of Activism, the first large-scale exhibition of activist and publicly engaged art in the Czech Republic. The Art of Activism features both Czech and international artists whose work responds to topics that have shaped social debate in recent decades. Through a wide range of forms, from documentary photographs and videos to installations and projects created directly for public spaces, visitors will learn about the strategies through which art enters into a dialogue about the role of public space, civic engagement and the transformations of democratic society. The exhibition has been prepared by curator Jitka Hlaváčková together with an international team and will be open to the public at GHMP Knihovna from 10 December 2025 to 8 March 2026. For the first day of the exhibition, Wednesday 10 December, GHMP is also preparing a rich programme for the International Human Rights Day in collaboration with Amnesty International and other partners, starting at 4 p.m.

The Art of Activism traces activist art across four areas: the right to housing, the right to identity, the right to asylum and the right to a safe environment. An important role is played by the documentation of civic initiatives, performances and collective actions that demonstrate how closely contemporary art is linked to the dynamics of the urban environment and social life. "GHMP is one of the first institutions to provide such an extensive compendium of significant events and manifestations of variously motivated activism. The open dialogue called for by these artists and their circle of collaborators and supporters should be widely understood in today's tense global socio-political climate," says Magdalena Juříková, director of Prague City Gallery.

Visitors to the exhibition embark on a journey through various forms of activist art. The introductory space outlines the atmosphere of global protests through projections, archival photographs and visual recordings partially taken from the international exhibition Protest I Architecture, presented at the Deutsches Architekturmuseum in Frankfurt am Main (DAM, 2023) and the Museum für angewandte Kunst in Vienna (MAK, 2024). "Abroad, activist art is commonly presented in a broader social context, and it is important to offer a similar perspective also in this country. We want to show that this work has its place on the art scene as well as in academic and public discourse. I see activism as a way of working together to find solutions to important issues and pressing problems, with art having the ability to create widely accessible and open platforms for these discussions," explains Jitka Hlaváčková, curator of the exhibition.

The section dedicated to the right to the city features interventions that originated directly in the streets. This is exemplified by motifs from Vladimír Turner's film Veřejně prospěšné práce (Community Service), which reflects the transformation of the urban environment under the pressure of advertising, motoring and development projects. The work by Pavel Karous, Beranidlo na magistrát (Ram the Town Hall, 2023) will also be recalled. This symbolic action was a response to the unavailability of housing and growing public frustration. The exhibition also features artists who have fundamentally influenced the way we perceive the city as a political and symbolic organism in the Czech context. These include artists who have long worked with its visual memory and informal layers, such as Epos 257 and Vladimír 518.

The next section of the exhibition connects personal testimonies and critical reflections on the stories of individuals and groups in difficult human-rights and political situations. The presentation will feature Barbara Holub’s work, which utilises the stories of migrants and addresses current asylum policies, alongside film essays by Tomáš Rafa, which have long documented conflicts at borders, xenophobic tendencies and community initiatives. Part of this section is also a collective project for Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian journalist imprisoned for her work on persecution in contemporary Russia.

The exhibition also includes reflections on gender, physicality and female experience through artistic approaches that sensitively address the themes of intimacy and visibility. One of the artists who engages with these subjects is Kateřina Olivová, who explores the body as a space of shared experience and political significance through her long-term performative practice.

The conclusion of the exhibition relates to issues related to the climate crisis. Among other things, visitors will be able to see projects by the prominent British artist Gustav Metzger, a pioneer of environmental art, who used radical public performances and projects created in collaboration with student initiatives to highlight the destructive effects of human activity. Other participatory works reflecting current environmental initiatives are also presented, such as Barbara Benish's installation, which uses fast food placemats to raise public awareness of ocean pollution, and the Court for Intergenerational Climate Crime (2021) by activist Radha D'Souza and artist Jonas Staal.

The exhibition installation incorporates elements of protest architecture, recycled materials and the visual language of activist movements, temporarily transforming the gallery into a space where art, public debate and the experience of urban space meet. The Art of Activism will be complemented by a publication of the same name published by GHMP in co-edition with ArtMap.

The Art of Activism exhibition will be open at GHMP Knihovna from 10 December 2025 to 8 March 2026.

On the opening day, 10 December, a rich programme will take place at 4 p.m. to mark the International Human Rights Day in collaboration with Amnesty International, the Občina association and other partners.

Pavel Karous, SUV shopping cart, The case for a social worker social art festival 2015, Alfréd ve dvoře, © foto Petr Zewlakk Vrabec

Brics and Bamboo Barricades (Studio Incendo), Umbrella Movement, Hongkong, 2019

Bolt958, protest perfomances Transgas is burning, 2017

Maxmilián Aron Mootz, Lime, © foto Dami1992

Martin Zetová (a Sharon Wilson, Debbie Bower, Allan Pollock, Ben Jeans Houghton, Cai Nyahoe): Limited revolt, 2007

Jezevky Group, Vzpoura o Slunovratu (Solstice Rebellion), performance documentation, Penta, Masaryčka, 20 June 2024, © photo Petr Zewlakk Vrabec

Ilona Németh, Protest Keď…, (event originally took place at Nám. SNP in Bratislava, 23 June 2016, later repeated at other locations, photographed in front of the New Synagogue in Žilina, 31 May 2025), author's archive

Demonstration against judicial reforms in Haifa, 11 March 2023. The photo shows women protesters dressed in costumes from the TV series ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ protesting against attempts by ultra-Orthodox parties to exclude women from public life and discriminate against them. About 50,000 people took part in the demonstration

Petr Zewlakk Vrabec, documentation of the protest action “Let the Clinic Breathe,” 2016

Gustav Metzger, Flailing Trees, Manchester, 2009

Photos of artworks in print quality are available here

Photos of the exhibition in print quality are available here

10 December 2025 – 8 March 2026

Curator: Jitka Hlaváčková
Co-operation: Oliver Elser, Megan Hoetger, Barbara Holub, Tamara Moyzes and Vladimír Turner
Spatial design of the exhibition: Jan Tomšů / Omlouvámesepardón
Graphic design of the publication and exhibition: Antianti
Visual style of GHMP: Anymade Studio

Exhibiting artists: Exhibiting artists: Akolektiv Helmut, Alessandra Svatek, ARA ART (David Tišer a Pavlína Matiová), Avanti Garda, Barbara Benish, Barbara Holub / Transparadiso, Barbora Šimková, Bolt958, Chto delat, Darina Alster, Epos 257, Extera XX. Erfurt Women Group, Fridays For Future CZ, Gustav Metzger, Ilona Németh, Jakub Geltner, Jean-Christophe Couet, Ghazel Radpay, Jakub Hons, Janek Rous, Jezevky, Jáchym Holoubek, Johana Merta, Jonas Staal, Kateřina Olivová, Koza nostra, Lenka Tyrpeklová, Living Monument Budapest, Lidija Mirković, MAK (Kateřina Vídenová, Adam Wlazel), Martin Mareček, Martin Zetová, Matyáš Dynka, Maxmilian Aaron Mootz, Monika & Bohuš Kubinsky, Mothers Artlovers, Nová věčnost, Oskar Helcel, Oliver Hardt, P.R.A.K. kolektiv, Pavel Karous, Petr Zewlakk Vrabec, Peter Watkins, Podebal, Mateusz Kowalczik – Kancelář post-uměleckých služeb / Post-Art Services Office / Biuro Usług Postartystycznych, Punx23, Rafani, Romane Kale Panthera, Rufina Bazlova, Ruta Putramentaite, S.R.A.T., Stephan Mörsch, Tamara Moyzes & Shlomi Yaffe (ArtivistLab), Tomáš Rafa, Vladimir 518, Vladimír Turner, Yasmin Golshani & Alsu Kurmaševa Project

GHMP KNIHOVNA, Mariánské náměstí 98/1, 110 00 Prague 1 – Old Town

Opening hours: Tue–Sun 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Thu 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Entrance fee: CZK 200 full (adults) / CZK 90 discounted (students and seniors)

For up-to-date information on accompanying programmes, guided tours and educational activities, please visit our web.

Tickets are available through the GoOut network and at GHMP box offices.

Partners: ArtMap, Artivist Lab, Omlouvámesepardón, Alza, Samsung, Hornbach
Media partners: ArtAntiques, ArtMap, FlashArt, Fotograf, Artikl, Artalk, A2, Aerokina, Radio 1

The exhibition is held under the auspices of Mgr. Martin Baxa, Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic. The exhibition programme of Prague City Gallery is supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic. The exhibition was supported by a grant from the Museums and Galleries Department of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.

Prague City Gallery manages a total of seven buildings. To enhance orientation for visitors, the gallery is gradually introducing unifying names for them in 2025.

Municipal Library, 2nd floor → GHMP Knihovna
The Stone Bell House → GHMP Zvon
House of Photography → GHMP Dům fotografie
Troja Château→ GHMP Zámek Troja
Villa Bílek → GHMP Bílkova vila
František Bílek's House in Chýnov → GHMP Bílkův dům
Colloredo-Mansfeld Palace → GHMP Colloredo-Mansfeld

Protests, Public Space and Civic Engagement. The Art of Activism exhibition at GHMP presents the first overview of activist art in the Czech Republic

Attachments

TZ_GHMP_The Art of Activism_ENG.docx