GROTESK – The common language of Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe has been a geopolitical buffer zone for centuries and, as a result, the people who live here have had to learn to communicate by reading between the lines and laughing at their own impossible situations, giving rise to an unmistakably unique form of expression, the Eastern European grotesque.
Rather than focusing on the differences between the many peoples across the region – and the forgotten East–West divide left behind by the Cold War, which is becoming less and less relevant with globalization – the G.R.O.T.E.S.K photo project draws attention to what connects us. Through this publication and exhibitions in Czechia, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary in 2025, it highlights our common values by showcasing the best absurdist photographs from Eastern Europe!
The project is co-financed by the governments of Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia through Visegrad Grants from the International Visegrad Fund. The mission of the fund is to advance ideas for sustainable regional cooperation in Central Europe.
GROTESK – The common language of Eastern Europe
October 4–12, 2025
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Opening Event · October 4, 2025, 6:00 p.m.
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Artists ·
Hungary · Csilla Klenyánszki, Hórusz Archive (Sándor Kardos), Éva Szombat, László Török, Zsuzsi Uj
Czechia · Oskar Helcel, Dita Pepe, Iren Stehli
Slovakia · Andrej Balco, Martin Kollár, Zuzana Pustaiová, Viktor Šelesták
Poland · Zbigniew Libera, Natalia LL, Rafał Milach, Agnieszka Sejud
Romania · Mihai Barabancea, Tamás Hajdu
Ukraine · Alexander Chekmenev, Julie Poly
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Curators ·
István Virágvölgyi, Capa Center (Budapest, Hungary)
Sára Jeleňová, OFF Bratislava (Bratislava, Slovakia)
Světlana Malina, Fotograf Zone festival (Prague, Czech Republic)
Marta Szymańska, Fotofestiwal (Łódź, Poland)
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Venue · Holešovice Market, public space
(near Hall 24 on the Market Square side)
Bubenské nábř. 306, 170 00, Prague 7 Holešovice
FOTOGRAF ZONE AI FORUM
Fotograf Zone AI FORUM is an innovative international conference focused on connecting AI technology and creativity. It offers a platform for interdisciplinary collaboration and open discussion on the potential of AI in art, technology, and societal development. The event is part of Prague AI Days.
The Society of Dangerous Evidence: Dykes on Bikes 2.0
The exhibition at Fotograf Gallery maps the various forms of lesbian and queer experience in relation to space, language, the body and material structures. It arises from the need to articulate this experience not only as an identity category but as a way of being and functioning in a world often defined by heteronormative and patriarchal frameworks. The artists and collectives represented in the exhibition approach themes such as sexuality, language, cuisine, landscape or technology through specific political, corporeal and cultural strategies. This creates a layered and complex portrayal of what queer positionality can mean in contemporary European context.