Glastonbury Festival in Prague!

Although the thirteenth Prague Quadrennial starts on June 18, visitors can look forward to their first taste of the event at the end of May – specifically the exhibition devoted to the Glastonbury Festival. The Victoria and Albert Museum, acting in cooperation with PQ 2015, have prepared the very first immersive installation about the legendary Glastonbury Festival, including the premiere of as-of-yet unscreened documentary footage from 2014. The exhibition Glastonbury: Land and Legend will be open from May 28 to June 28, 2015. The official opening takes place on May 27, starting at 7:00 p.m.

photo: Charles Gervais, Both Hemispheres Photography

photo: Charles Gervais, Both Hemispheres Photography

As a part of the program for the Prague Quadrennial, the Victoria and Albert Museum has prepared its very first immersive video installation about the Glastonbury Festival. This is the world premiere of an exhibition presenting the video archives from this legendary festival for the very first time within the context of a captivating multimedia installation. The installation, including an as-of-yet unscreened film shot at Glastonbury in 2014, explores the ethos of what is the world's largest performing arts festival held outdoors in green fields. “During each year of the festival in Glastonbury, the leading British performance designers use recycled materials and, with the help of hundreds of volunteers, build what is basically a new city, which sensitively responds to the space in which the festival is held as well as to the artistic contents and social significance that the festival has for all of its participants. The themes of PQ '15 – SharedSpace: Music Weather Politics, and Tribes – are thus embodied within the very existence of this festival," according to Daniela Pařízková, the PQ Executive Director.

The roots of the multi-genre Glastonbury Festival reach back to the hippie culture of the 1970s. Inspired by the Bath Festival of Blues, Michael Eavis first organised the Glastonbury event on his family farm in 1970. Back then, the festival lasted for two days and was attended by 1,500 people. The entry fee was one pound, milk was provided free, and they listened to artists such as Mark Bolan and Al Stewart. One year later, there were 12,000 at the Worthy Farm, and they enjoyed performances by the likes of David Bowie and Traffic. Since its modest beginnings, the festival has significantly grown and last year it was attended by an unbelievable 175,000 visitors. Glastonbury, one of the world's best-known multi-genre festivals, is inextricably linked with the idyllic Somerset countryside, and provides space not only for music performances, but also for theatre and dance. The festival is itself shaped by the distinctive topography, saturated with century old myths and legends, and, at the same time, it helps to shape the landscape even further. The exhibition installation Glastonbury: Land and Legend aims to capture this complexity through looking at the various ideals and scenography of shared space. As the general media partner of the Prague Quadrennial, Czech Television has decided to also build along these thematic lines and the CT Art channel will broadcast a two-part montage from the concerts held at Glastonbury in 2014. The first part will air on June 9 at 8:20 p.m. and the second part one week later, on June 16 at the same time. The concert montage includes performance by the current four-time Grammy winner Sam Smith, as well as the group Kasabian, Imagine Dragon, De La Soul, and many more.

Glastonbury: Land and Legend
Jaroslav Fragner Gallery, May 28 – June 28, 2015
Official opening on May 27, starting at 7:00 p.m.

Exhibition Team:
Kate Bailey, Curator and Producer
Emily Harris, Film Installation Director and Producer
Helen Gush, Project Coordinator
Luke Halls, Video Design
Gareth Fry, Sound Design
Location film crew at Glastonbury 2014: Candida Richardson, Nick Gordon Smith, Gabrielle Levine, Jonathan Bentovim, Leanne Dimant, Gareth Fry, Rod Anderson, and Sara Hill
Barbora Adolfová, Prague Installation Producer

The Prague Quadrennial offers many more, not only theatre-related, experiences. This is the first time that the entire program will take place in Prague's historical center – both inside the city's important buildings and landmarks as well as outside in public spaces. In addition to the main program component – the Section of Countries and Regions – you can look forward to theatre productions, street performances, installations in public spaces, workshops, lectures, and discussions led by well-known personalities from contemporary theatre, scenography, and even film, such as Robert Lepage, Robert Wilson, and Julie Taymor.

The basic entrance fee for the PQ 2015 is CZK 300. However, visitors may take advantage of the special discounts that are offered in cooperation with various Czech theatres, cultural institutions, the Prague Public Transport Company, and many others.

Photo: Adéla Vosičková

Attachments for download

• TZ__Festival_Glastonbury_in_Prague_25.5..docx

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