Exhibition SHOOTERS AT THE QUEEN / Art in the public space of the Moravian-Silesian Region from 1948–1989

• opening 21 May at 5 p.m.
• curator: Martin Pavlíček

SHOOTERS AT THE QUEEN

Art in the public space of the Moravian-Silesian Region from 1948–1989

22 May – 13 September 2026

Opening: 21 May at 5:00 PM

Curator: Martin Pavlíček

The exhibition will present selected works of art in public spaces from 1948–1989 in the territory of today's Moravian-Silesian Region. In addition to examples of socialist realism, one part of the exhibition will consist of works from the 1960s, which, in a freer environment, were created primarily in the forms of abstraction and new figuration. A large number of monumental sculptures, paintings, or mosaics were then created for housing estates, schools, administrative buildings, or factories. Works from all these and similar public spaces will be brought to the exhibition. Another part of the exhibition will present works from the period of normalization, which often maintained high quality, especially if they were created by artists from the gray zone or on the verge of prohibition. Works from a diverse range of materials will be exhibited, as well as studies and models for final realizations. Among other things, the exhibition aims to demonstrate to the public the fact that the artworks of the observed era often represent a high-quality and valuable layer of cultural memory, which, after 1989, is threatened by insensitive interventions or demolitions. It also wants to contribute to their reinterpretation, which is key to understanding the visual culture of socialism, and thus join similarly targeted older projects and efforts (Vetřelci a volavky, Sochy a města).