In this report, we present the eleventh edition of the multi-genre Luhovaný Vincent festival, with an emphasis on the exhibition program in the public space of the town and spa of Luhačovice.
This year, the Luhovaný Vincent exhibition aimed to look at the spa from the perspective of artistic realizations in public space. For every city, these often represent untouchable remnants of past times, regimes, and ideas, but they also illustrate current tastes and social demand. The curators reflected on the festival theme, Bez nánosu (Without Sediment), through site-specific artworks and installations, as well as performances and unexpected situations. Three guided walks through the exhibition as part of the festival also provided ample opportunity for theoretical evaluation and fruitful debate with visitors.
Visitors to the spa could encounter two unidentifiable objects by artist Tomáš Moravec on the promenade – large spheres moving from place to place. Another striking work was a large BIO sign covered with artificial grass and located near the main spa thoroughfare. Vladimír Turner's sculpture invited viewers to interact with it, but also to debate environmental issues and the question of greenwashing. Jan Šrámek's illustration, exhibited on the colonnade, represented historical work. In a monochromatic vector drawing, the author reconstructed a monument that was replaced in the 1950s by a sculpture of Red Army soldiers. In collaboration with historian Barbora Čandová, they then presented the work in a short lecture, which was part of the guided tours. Berlin artist William 'Bilwa' Costa created a sound installation for the cave above the Ottovka spring. It became a temporary invisible monument intended for concentrated listening by anyone who visited the site during the three days of the festival.
Two works were presented only during Saturday's guided tour. They focused on the theme from the perspective of the transience and uniqueness of the experience and responded to the specifics of particular places. Performer Martin Zet reconstructed situations recorded on Google Street View maps live during his performance. The artist duo StonyTellers then created an environment on the hill below the Marie spring with shared storytelling from the history of Luhačovice cuisine, during which the artists prepared and served dishes inspired by original local recipes.
The exhibition aimed to draw attention to specific places and situations without leaving any traces in the public space of the spa. Its goal was not to change the appearance of the spa, but rather to enter it, temporarily transform it, and then return it to its original state. In this way, the only witnesses would be festival visitors and random passers-by.
