Press release
1 July 2015
Prague Quadrennial reports 180,000 entries to
all venues over the course of 11 days,
three times more than in 2011
The Prague Quadrennial, the largest international festival of theatre and
performance design in the world, held every four years in the Czech capital,
reported the total attendance of its main locations at 180,000 entries during its
11 days. The festival brought thousands of foreign guests to the city. Accredited
professionals, who came from 90 countries and regions, numbered 6,000 alone.
From 18 to 28 June, Prague thus stood at the centre of world theatre and
performance design, as visitors could take in the latest works by stage and
costume designers, architects, and lighting and sound designers from 78
countries – which means 8 more countries than in 2011.
“We are pleased at the interest that this year’s Quadrennial aroused not only among the
general public but also among theatre professionals. Foreign visitors came from all European
countries as well as North and South America, Africa and Asia. The number of visitors
increased threefold compared to the last festival, when the figure was 50,000. Contributing
factors certainly included the festival’s location in the city centre, its overall range of events,
and its diverse program: 11 days filled with more than 600 live events and with the
participation of 78 countries from around the world,” says Daniela Pařízková, the executive
director of Prague Quadrennial 2015.
The most visited part of PQ’15 was the Section of Countries and Regions – 68
scenographic expositions at diverse locations as baroque palace, gothic church
or galleries and other spaces in the historical centre of Prague. The
international jury awarded the prestigious Golden Triga for the best exposition
to Estonia’s “Unified Estonia” project created by Theatre NO99 with the
directors Ene-Liis Semper and Tiit Ojasoo and curator Eero Epner. The Gold
Medal for Best Exhibition Design went to Belgium for the project MovingLab.be,
the Netherlands were recognized for Best Curatorial Concept which was focused
on the analysis of the theatricality Prague´s public space, and Best Performance
Design went to Gao Guang Jian from China. Besides the expositions, the diverse
program also included art installations in the public space, performances, sitespecific projects, lectures, workshops, discussions, film screenings, and a
children’s program. Especially popular were events in the public space such as
Tribes, project where in total 83 groups of masked people walked through the
Prague´s center confronting thus the everyday life with scenography, the Music
and Space installation by director Jiří Heřman, and the Finnish sound
container on the Ovocný trh square. There was immense interest in the public
lectures as well, with many lectures having to turn people away for a full
capacity.
The 13th Prague Quadrennial was attended by theatre personalities such as Robert Lepage
and Robert Wilson, whose influence over the past decades has changed the very look of
theatre. At PQ’15, these two theatre directors inspired audiences during their packed lectures,
and world-renowned director Julie Taymor presented the Czech premiere of her latest film,
A Midsummer Night's Dream. But the Quadrennial brought many other artists and theatre
professionals to exhibit, perform or take part in the discussions or leading the workshops to
Prague as well, including Bianca Casady, Andris Freibergs, Sean Patten, Stefan Kaegi, Kirsten
Dehlholm, Jerzy Gurawski, Wojtek Ziemilski, Phillipe Quesne, Aby Cohen, Simon Banham,
Jim Clayburgh, John Jordan and many more.
“The Prague Quadrennial 2015 was a meeting place for artists and professionals from around
the world – people who represent the best of their countries’ theatre and performance design,
who work with space within modern and contemporary scenography. This was the first time
in history that the PQ was held in important buildings and monuments in Prague’s historic
centre. The 13th Quadrennial invited many people to view scenography as a discipline that, is
increasingly departing from the stage to become a part of everyday life and urban public
space and beyond, with new ideas and impulses,” adds programming director Sodja Lotker.
Photographs from the Prague Quadrennial 2015 can be found at www.pq.cz/press.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Prague Quadrennial is organized by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic
and realized by the Arts and Theatre Institute.
With the support of the Culture Programme of the European Union.
The 2015 Prague Quadrennial is part of the three-year international project SharedSpace:
Music Weather Politics.
www.pq.cz
www.sharedspace.cz
www.facebook.com/praguequadrennial
PR and press service:
press@pq.cz