A SPACE THAT COULD BE HOME

Aspects of social and affordable housing

When

24 August to 30 September 2022
Closed on 6 and 22 September

Opening Hours

Tue - Sun 10:00am - 06:00pm

Where

National Library of Technology Gallery

Curator of the Exhibition

Milan Kreuzzieger

Organizer

Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs
in the Czech Republic

Exhibitors

Alejandro Aravena
EPOS 257
Eva Koťátková
Peter Menzel
Štěpán Řehoř
Vladimír Turner
Ivan Vosecký

Collaboration

Milan Mikuláštík
(National Library of Technology)
Jana Viktorínová
(The Prague City Museum)
Michal Kohout a David Tichý
(FA ČVUT in Prague)

Graphic and Visual Solution

Milan Mikuláštík

Acknowledgement

Hunt Kastner

About the Exhibition

The exhibition’s intention is to create a temporary platform for the discussion of an important problem that has distinctly deepened after 2008, when the “financial” (mortgage) crisis broke out. In the past few years risk factors pertaining to this crisis have been strengthened by the results of the coronavirus pandemic, energy crisis and the war in the Ukraine. The impossibility of being able to have a roof over your head, forced evictions, foreclosures and gentrification are becoming an everyday reality in many places on our planet. According to the estimates of OSN over a billion people are currently unable to afford proper housing, and this situation is only getting worse. If we accept the idea that housing has become a commodity and convenient investment tool, then we must also come to terms with the fact that it has become the subject of financial speculation on a global scale and has stopped serving its function – providing people with the security and safety of a home. This is in opposition to the needs of most people.

Housing is a complex problem, its solution – especially in current times – requires setting political, economic and social priorities. It is the result of negotiations and clashes between different interest groups. We are aware that there is no one-size-fits-all solution and that despite conflicting interests, this situation requires broad cooperation between state, regional and municipal institutions, building investors, the nonprofit sector, experts from various disciplines ranging from sociologists, economists, artists and architects to social workers and activists.

The exhibition presents the issue of housing from three perspectives

• Personal perspective of contemporary artists taking a look at the various sides and critical moments related to housing. Most of the exhibiting artists created a new artistic project especially for this exhibition. The artists that can be found in this exhibition are Epos 207, Vladimír Turner, Ivan Vosecký, Eva Koťátková and Štěpán Řehoř. These artists reflect upon homelessness and life within the space of the city, the problematic impact of accommodations via the digital platform Airbnb or other alternative possibilities of housing.
• Global perspective which presents, in the form of photographs of architectural realizations, the mass social housing projects of Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena, who also won the prestigious Pritzker Prize in 2016. Importantly, Aravena’s architecture does not only promote technical solutions, but also gives priority to negotiating with the community of people who find their homes in the newly built houses while giving them the opportunity to complete them according to their own ideas and possibilities. Photographer Peter Menzel offers a different perspective in his series Material World: Global Family Portrait. In this series Menzel asked 30 families in 30 different countries to be photographed with all of their home’s furnishings. At a glance, the comparison shows significant inequalities and different levels of consumption.
• Czech perspective which highlights the causes and escalating social and economic situation of many families in the Czech Republic in the housing market and offers a range of possibilities and practical solutions for the social and available housing in the Czech Republic from social housing to participatory housing. Having a home is one of the key prerequisites for the life of individuals and families and for creating a healthy and resilient democratic society.

Part of the exhibition is a collection of reproductions of historical photographs from the Prague City Museum. These photographs illustrate how people from lower social classes lived and dealt with the economic crisis and housing shortage in the 20th century, particularly in its first half.

The question of decent, affordable and adequate housing is now being asked at a time when the post-pandemic crisis is simultaneously exacerbating social disparities and inequalities. Yet at the same time the technological revolution and a significant part of society have brought on more sensitivity to environmental problems associated with global climate change and humanity’s impact on Earth.

The aim of this exhibition project is to provide a sufficiently open multiperspective space for a multitude of diverse arguments, approaches and activities and to enable their interconnection in the Czech, European and global context.