Farm in the Cave interprets the site of the Slovak National Gallery in Bratislava based on its exhibited model and a visit to its site in Bratislava, Slovakia. It emphasizes and deepens the meaning of the entire architecture exhibition of the Czech and Slovak Pavilion from the 15th International Exhibition of Architecture in Venice, which lies in the conviction that battles about this, like about any architecture, cannot be decided in clashes between supporters and adversaries of architecture, be they representatives of whichever camps and positions. On the contrary, battles must be transformed into a “dance of projects” and a renewal of architectural language, without which any care – including that for historical monuments – and any procurement – would be nothing. 

It is precisely caring for architecture, getting it to “dance” – joyous architecture itself – can through its own means and creative processes help address acute problems and return architectural questions to the centre of public interest. This is the legacy of Dedeček’s site - one of the most important and simultaneously most controversial structures of the second half of the twentieth century in Slovakia - and something to which this interpretation could also contribute.

The project Care for Architecture-Asking the Arché of Architecture to Dance is not a mere transfer of the architectural exhibition  from the 15th International Exhibition of Architecture in Venice to Prague’s DOX. It is a re-installation in the true sense of the word. It is not only a rearrangement of the model and one installation wall with diagrams and images. It is more comprehensive. Some components that were only included as text in the catalogue in Vienna become part of the pictorial whole as was originally intended. 

Accompanying programme 

11th of March 2017, DOX 

2:30 – 4:00 p.m. 
Round table 
The site of the Slovak National Gallery in Bratislava as a reflection of the approach to Czechoslovak architecture of the 1960s and 70s – Rostislav Švácha (Academy of Fine Arts in Prague), Petr Kratochvíl (Czech Technical University in Prague), Petr Hájek (Czech Technical University in Prague, Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava), Marian Zervan (Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, Trnava Universtity in Trnava), Monika Mitášová (Trnava Universtity in Trnava). 

12th of March 2017, DOX  

5:17 p.m.  
Musical interpretation 
Pavel Fiedler interprets the site of the Slovak National Gallery in Bratislava based on a dance diagram.

The project has been made possible with cooperation of Art-Now Foundation, Petr Hájek ARCHITEKTI and Lenka Flory. 

Farm in the Cave is supported by grant from the City of Prague in
the amount of 2 500 000 CZK in 2017.