ART FORUM PRAGUE o.s. Central-european art and culture network

Authors – founders: Adam Ondráček, Martin Pospíšil, Jakub Zeman

ART – „Art as a basic human exigence.“

The desire to create is natural for human mankind and right this attribute makes man unique. The aspiration to reshape and create his own environs is is one of the basic signs of involvement, a higher form of adaptability, which is considered to be a scientific prove of human. The Art should not only respect, butalso reshape and affect on a man both as an individual and as a society. The creation then can be included in a fucntion of an artist and not only in his piece.

FORUM – „A space to meet people, opinions and society.“

Basic themes of activity:

1) Supporting and developement of young art and culture in Czech republic and in Slovakia
2) Interdisplinary art projects
3) Culture-educative projects
4) Networking in central Europe

ART FORUM PRAGUE should associate those, who are able of positive reflection, young artists, who are not burdened either negative or positive attitude to the past and so they can best artistically reflect their environs and attain to the expression of universal beauty. Therefor is target group represented in first line by students of colleges and universities, studying their artistic field or not. In a frame of creative support we would like to give a space also to those, whatever are the circumstances, are not given the chance to study their artistic field. It corresponds to the fact, thatartstic schools in Czech republic (Prague) are closed to broader spectrum of applicants.

The artistic comunity yields to a similar problem – it is shattered to qualite, but small, one-track specialized groups whose activities are not really accesible for broad public. We feel huge absence of interdisplinary cooperation, which is one of the main condition of art an culture developement. These problems are caused by several circumstances, all of them being kind of unfortunate nature and basically they implies from social and political events of second half of 20th century. Most of the established cultural institutions follows common artistic line, which unfortunately does not offer a space to variety of artistic fields and of the young art. Alternative art and culture then falls to an underground, voluntarily activities.
ART FORUM PRAGUE does not want to stand in opposition to proffessionals and cultural institutions, but to enhance an artistic dialogue on proffesional level and a relationship of elev-editor on the level of young and emerging art.




Intention:

The intention of whole concept of Art Forum Prague is to create functioning and live network, in social and space sense, trough the young artists acting in literature, theatre, film (audiovisual), music, visual arts or dance can meet each other. Forum should draw near authors in sense of space (by developing a culture centre, café, rehearsal rooms, film clubs, ateliers) and in a social sense. Forum would help authors to influence each other not only in their oven field but also interdisciplinary. The project is aimed not onyl to young artists but generally to „young art and culture“.
The intention merges also to a creation of vital and productive young artistic comunity as an alternative to established culturalinstitutions, artistic schools and cultural events. Organisation should trough its projects actively stimulate young creation a prepare emerging artists for their professional activity. The tenability of projects is going to be provided by active cooperation with schools and universities.

Levels of activity:

Cultural level
ART FORUM PRAGUE is a new initiative, which intends in inovative form to develop culture in Prague (and Czech republic, Slovakia). It is above all a dynamic attitude to art as it is and to creation of an alternative to cultural institutions established on czecho-slovakian scene. The main aim of cultural level is to inform young artists about opportunities connected to already existing cultural initiatives/networks (home and abroad). Alogwith that we want to bring informations, opportunities and practices to both emerging and professional cultural operators.
Secondarilly ART FORUM PRAGUE aims on creating and supporting interdisplinary artistic projects, make a production umbrella and promote them within young artists, artistic and broad public. Trough supporting interdisplinary artistic cooperation we want to enhance an atmosphere for developement of artistic trends and birth of new-age ideas and concepts.

Civil society developement level
ART FORUM PRAGUE is an apliance, how to support the involvement of young people in their relation to public. We can do so trough the medium of artistic expression and cultural events, which does impeach the social topics. Whole project supports the involvement of young people – the organisation is run by young people and for young people. We believe, that proactive attitude to someones environs has its sense and that selfrealisation trough cultural projects or creation can work as a tool to express opinion.

Comunity developement level
ART FORUM PRAGUE as a space of meeting builds also on cultural influence, trough which it wants to affect on its close surrounding. As a culture centre it will dfevelop projects to enrich artistically the public space around. AFP wants to play an important role in comunity life in a location where the center is going to be situated.

European and international level
ART FORUM PRAGUE directly reacts on necessity of czech/slovak cultural scene, therewith it respects priorities given by European Union and its different programmes. AFP so intends to develop projects congruously with priorities as mobility fo artists and artistic creations, developement of cross-border cultural projects and international cooperation.
In a frame of creating qualite and functioning forum, which would equally stimulate young art, there is a need of international cooperation, creating of cross border cultural projects, artistic exchanges and partnership-buiding workshops. We perceive the region of central Europe to be ours. One odf the outputs of organistaion should be an establishment of very tight partner relations with othe indfependent cultural organisations working in fields of international projects, education and youth. Primariyl with organisations from Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria and Germany followed by organisations from Romania, Bulgary, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovenia. Specially we want to focuss in future on creating realtions with organisations from Partner Neighbouring Countries and SEE countries.
The output of this activties will be an international culture network, working with informations from czecho-slovak scene, and from european and international level.

Aims:

(1) To monitor culture associations, organisations, institutions and initiatives aiming on young art and offering occasions for young (non-professional) artist
- by own network
- operating Fřesh Fľesh Magazine

(2) Overdose informations about culture events and artists opportunities
- operating Fřesh Fľesh Magazine

(3) Provide organisation, space and production support to young artists and culture operators herewith Creating a place for meeting
- by creating a culture centre in Prague (theatre/screening, café, information checkpoint, library)
- by creating a partner network of artistic spaces
- by engaging young culture organisators to organisation

(4) Support interdisciplinary artistic cooperation
- by developing andf realisation our own projects
- by creating a production background
- by creating partner relations with organisations focussed on interdisciplinary projects

(5) Support personal developement of young people
- pointing young artists to their professionalisation
- accessing the possibility of artistic expression
- by interferring an acces to non.formal and formal education
- by enhancing acknowledge of civil society

(6) Support international cooperation between czech/slovak and foreign artists
- by using programmes designed to support mobility of artists, culture operators and youth workers
- by providing education in mobility and youth programmes