 NAMES FEST
29 August – 7 September 2008
NAMES Exhibition
8 September – 13 October 2008
Trafacka Gallery area
www.namesfest.net
Interview with SK on the web-site
 A unique opportunity to meet more than forty graffiti and street art authors from all around the world during an extraordinary event in Prague! The first NAMES International Festival will be held from 29 August until 7 September 2008.
The 2D and 3D pieces we have encountered over the past years in Prague /as well as in other Czech and Moravian towns/, generally classified by mainstream society as vandalism, are to re-emerge in an entirely different light and with a greater intensity. This gathering of Czech and international street art and graffiti presents a unique opportunity to familiarise oneself with works by forty writers, as well as provide Prague residents with a view on street art from a different perspective. Besides the artworks, we have prepared a wide ranging accompanying programme covering discussions and lectures on street art and post-graffiti that is to help the city residents employ a more creative outlook. Graffiti, stickers and 3D objects are no longer merely a part of an adventurous game of cat and mouse with the police, rather they very often contribute significantly to the character of particular cityscapes. They are ironic references, political messages as well as poetic pictures and visual puns skilfully embedded into surprising street contexts. Even though it may remain unnoticed by most people, street art is everywhere around us.
The first festival of street art and graffiti, the art inspired directly by the city and streets, follows in the footsteps of similar events held all over the world. The precedent in organising street art festivals was set in Berlin, a city tolerant to contemporary art expressions. It was here that street art festivals such as Backjumps and Planet Prozess have won international recognition alongside renowned annual cultural events.
The NAMES Festival includes a varied accompanying programme (panel discussions, film screenings, guided City Walks around Prague, Names_map, Best Piece competition). It will culminate in the Best Piece award ceremony and run as an exhibition in Trafacka gallery until mid October (entry will be free). A catalogue and DVD with a short film about the preparation of the festival and its duration together with documentation of the accompanying programme and interviews with the individual participants will be published. |
