2022 Summary

This year, we realized the major project Cartography of (Eco)systems: Black Edition, with the generous support of EEA and Norway Grants, a collaboration between Agosto Foundation, Harpefoss Kunstarena, RurArtMap and Public Hall Hraničář. It was a project of many moving parts, including a new website, a conference, and a thick printed book; in which we focused on smaller cultural and artistic initiatives that actively engage with the ecological and social problems of their respective regions of the Czech Republic. These include individuals as well as formal and informal associations and groups, and the site offers original profiles, interviews, opinions and reports about their activities. In the Black Edition project, we focused on the overlaps between art, culture, science and the activities of cultural civic communities working in rural and peripheral areas.

The project culminated with a conference hosted by Public Hall Hraničář in Ústí nad Labem, which brought together many of the project leaders to meet (many for the first time) and discuss together the challenges they have faced and those to come. Graced by a keynote by Ewa Jacobsson, and an introduction by project director Dana Recmanová, the conference centered on a series of panel discussions, and also included a city walk, a gallery visit, and an evening performance.

Going forward, the website blackedition.cz and the book Kartografie (Eko)systémů: RurArtMap a Mapa Perpedian: Black Edition (download pdf) will serve as a valuable directory and resource for the continuing development of cultural projects throughout Czechia, hopefully fostering further collaborations between these projects, further interactions with their communities, and the continued initiation of similar projects in the years to come.

Recent Publications

Speaking of books, in spite of the Agosto Foundation not being a publisher, we nevertheless managed to participate in the publishing of three new books in 2022. In addition to the above-mentioned Black Edition, titles also bearing the Agosto logo include:

• Upsych 316a: Universal Psychiatric Church 316a, a visual catalog of the massive assemblage work by JSD

• Básně a kresby: Poetry and Drawings of Květa Válová (from a photo album, 1953-55), in collaboration with Dagmar Šubrtová and Antonín Petruželka

• With CENSE, we supported the publication of the first CENSE Almanac, a collective interview in which dozens of audio practitioners throughout Europe offer their answer to a series of questions concerning acoustic ecology and sound art practices.

You can find all publications mentioned, as well as our first publication, the book vs. Interpretation, at our partner ArtMap Bookstore.

PF 2023

In the future, our presence on the Czech cultural scene will remain, albeit mainly through the rich legacy of our online Mediateka, as we mull the current realities of the cultural climate and assess the availability of resources.

We invite you to browse our extensive media collections in the Mediateka, which include:

• Hermit Foundation and Center for Metamedia Plasy: Documentation from the CMP Archives 1992 – 1999

• Acoustic Ecology: Exploring the Aural World, our Acoustic Ecology Reader.

• Speculative Ecologies: The Fertile Ground Between Art and Ecology

… among many other media collections.

With this, our final newsletter of the year, Agosto Foundation would like to wish all our readers and website visitors a joyful holiday season and a peaceful New Year.

We also wish to offer our sincere thanks to all of our donors, supporters and the various participants of all disciplines who have helped make this project possible. We could not have done it without you.

Image: Dagmar Šubrtová: Recultivation, 2018-2022. Temporary installation, Festival Obnaženi, Chomutov.