VOŠG a SPŠG Hellichova – Tabula rasa

#2 min Tereza Zelenková

14. 9. 2026

Every photograph is the beginning of a story. Sometimes it opens up a personal memory; at other times, it records the world around us or constructs a reality of its own. This exhibition brings together works by photography students from the College of Graphics and Secondary Technical School of Graphics in Prague—artists at the beginning of their creative journeys whose individual ways of seeing the world are already taking shape.

Fotograf zone ExhibitionHellichovka

Every photograph is the beginning of a story. Sometimes it opens up a personal memory; at other times, it records the world around us or constructs a reality of its own. This exhibition brings together works by photography students from the College of Graphic Arts and the Secondary School of Graphic Arts in Prague—artists at the beginning of their creative journeys whose individual ways of seeing the world are already taking shape.

The title Tabula Rasa refers to a blank slate—not as a symbol of emptiness, but as a space gradually inscribed with experiences, doubts, and discoveries. Each image on view represents a fragment of a larger artistic project and captures a moment in the formation of a distinctive visual language.

The exhibition presents the broad range of approaches available within contemporary photography. Carefully constructed still lifes and experimental installations stand alongside documentary series exploring the environment of a psychiatric hospital, contemporary tramping culture, and transformations of the urban landscape. Analog and digital photography intersect freely, while intimate reflections on family memory, nostalgia, and a sense of place appear alongside works that employ photography as an object, a performance, or a vehicle for imagination.

The exhibition is united not by a single style or theme, but by a willingness to explore. Together, the photographs create a portrait of a generation of emerging artists who are developing their own photographic language during their studies and writing the opening chapters of their creative journeys.

BIO

The College of Graphics and Secondary Technical School of Graphics (the Prague Graphic School), collectively known as Hellichovka, have ranked among the Czech Republic’s leading schools of applied arts for more than a century. Since their founding in 1920, they have educated generations of prominent figures in Czech photography, graphic design, and the printing arts. Their teaching combines traditional craft techniques with contemporary technologies, emphasizing the development of an individual artistic approach, experimentation, and interdisciplinary collaboration. It is within this environment that the works presented in the exhibition Tabula Rasa were created.

Info

Curator | Tereza Watkins
Dates | 1–11 October 2026
Opening | 3 October 2026, 15:00
Venue | Holešovická tržnice, Tržní náměstí
Address | Bubenské nábř. 306, 170 00 Prague 7–Holešovice
The exhibition is located in the public space of Tržní náměstí (Hall 24) at Holešovice Market and can be visited at any time.

Fotograf zone ExhibitionHellichovkaFestival Fotograf Zone 2026

Tereza Zelenková

is a photographer who lives in London and Prague. Between 2007 and 2010, she studied photography at the University of Westminster, followed by studies at the Royal College of Art (2010–2012). She has taken part in a number of group projects, mostly in Great Britain but also in the United States, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Her works are part of several significant collections including the Victoria & Albert Museum (London), Foam Photography Museum (Amsterdam), Musée de l’Élysé (Lausanne), Saatchi Gallery (London) and Fotomuseum Winterthur (Winterthur).

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