Klášter Broumov
18. 6. – 30. 9. 2021

Ora et lege

The Ora et lege exhibition is a dialogue between contemporary art and the teaching principles of the Benedictines, the oldest religious order in Western Christianity. The venue is the Broumov Monastery, where artists Ed Atkins, Kamilla Bischof, Jesse Darling, Liam Gillick, Martin Kohout, Florian Meisenberg and the Slavs and Tatars group will prepare works pertaining to the knowledge, teaching, and spiritual culture of the Benedictines.

The area of Eastern Bohemia in which the Broumov Monastery is located was considered to be a bulwark against infiltration by Protestant preachers. The monastery itself was founded by the Benedictines in the 14th century in an area with a predominantly German-speaking population. The abbey became an important centre of culture and education for Central Europe, especially during the 17th and 18th centuries. In 1727–1733, the monastery was reconstructed into a more expansive complex in the Baroque style, based on designs by the architect Kilian I. Dientzenhofer. The north wing of the monastery was built at that time to provide a monumental space for the library, which takes up two floors.

The Ora et lege (‘Pray and read’) exhibition is inspired by Benedictine attitudes towards education and literature, and by the importance of the Broumov Monastic Library, one of the most unique book collections in the world. The Benedictine relationship to book culture was guided not only by its motto, Ora et labora (‘Pray and work’), but also by the rules written by the founder St. Benedict of Nursia. The Rule of Saint Benedict required that members of the monastery devote themselves daily to the study and reading of Holy Scripture, thus contributing to the development of book and scholarly culture, and encouraging the foundation of monastic libraries. The Broumov Monastic Library was established alongside the foundation of the monastery, and its collection reflects a pansophical concept of the library that is characteristic of the Benedictines.

Presenting works and texts by selected contemporary artists of international renown, this project touches on topics associated with the monastery: the history of the Benedictine Order, artistic creation, spiritual culture, and pastoral care, as well as the matter of everyday life at the monastery.

Exhibiting artists – Ed Atkins, Kamilla Bischof, Jesse Darling, Liam Gillick, Martin Kohout, Florian Meisenberg and the Slavs and Tatars group – were chosen not only for their artistic work, but for their long-term involvement in creative writing.

The exhibition reflects a narrative turn in visual art, whereby authorial writing in various forms – short stories, for example, as well as poetry and nonfiction writing – is brought to the fore. A text will be presented at the exhibition, either in traditional book form or as a collection of correspondence, comment on social media, painting, etc.

The thematic areas of individual works and texts were conceived in cooperation with the Archabbot of Břevnov Petr Prokop Siostrzonek O.S.B. and curator of the exhibition Monika Čejková.

The project will be realised as a site-specific exhibition on the unique historical premises of the Benedictine monastery in Broumov: in the church of St. Adalbert, its sacristy and mortuary chapel, as well as the Monastic Library and refectory.

Monika Čejková, curator

Exhibition guide PDF

Ora et lege

Obrázek pochází od nám neznámého autora a je převzat z emauzského benediktinského časopisu Pax, 1929, roč. 4, s. 162. Byl používán, a to i v jiných ročnících, jako grafické oddělení jednotlivých článků. Původní rozměry: 37 × 28 mm.

EXHIBITED ARTISTS

PROGRAM

Opening: 18 June 2021

Guided tours
3 July, 17 July, 31 July, 14 August, 28 August, 11 September and 25 September 2021

Admission: CZK 160

ORGANIZER

The exhibition is organized by the Broumov Educational and Cultural Centre, a non-profit organization founded in 2013 by the Broumov Region Development Agency. Through cultural, educational, and community activities, the agency helps to promote the life of the Broumov Monastery, a national cultural monument, and is a celebrated European institution that encourages creativity, self-confidence, and tolerance.

The exhibition Ora et lege is presented under the auspices of the Archabbot of Břevnov and Broumov, Petr Prokop Siostrzonek OSB.

Realization of the exhibition is supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the Czech-German Fund for the Future, the Hradec Králové Region, the State Cultural Fund of the Czech Republic, the German Embassy, the Polish Institute, the Austrian Cultural Forum, and HOBRA – Školník.

Media partners are Czech Radio Hradec Králové, magazine PROPAMÁTKY and Naše Broumovsko.

THANKS

Pavel Čejka, Dita Malečková, Martin Pokorný, Petr Prokop Siostrzonek OSB, Jan Školník, Jan Tyl

Arcadia Missa Gallery, Ed Atkins Studio, Esther Schipper Gallery, Exile Gallery, Galerie Meyer Kainer, Polansky Gallery, Galerie Raster, Sandy Brown Gallery, Simone Subal Gallery, Wentrup Gallery

KONTAKT

Žaneta Vávrová
+420 773549 160
vkcb@klasterbroumov.cz

Klášter Broumov
Klášterní 1, 550 01 Broumov
www.klasterbroumov.cz

Organizer

Vzdělávací a kulturní centrum Broumovska

Under the auspices

Klášter Broumov

Supported by

Ministerstvo kultury Státní fond kultury ČR Královéhradecký kraj Česko-německý fond budoucnosti Velvyslanectví SRN v Praze Polský institut Rakouské kulturní fórum v Praze HOBRA – ŠKOLNÍK S.R.O./

Ora et lege

Klášter Broumov
19 June – 30 September 2021

Exhibiting Artists
Ed Atkins, Kamilla Bischof, Jesse Darling, Liam Gillick, Martin Kohout, Florian Meisenberg, Slavs and Tatars

Exhibition Curator
Monika Čejková

Texts
Monika Čejková

Translation
Martin Pokorný (text umělé inteligence), Vladimíra Šefranka Žáková

Copy Editing
Eva Hrubá, Martin Pavlis

Visuals
Jakub Hošek, Nik Timková

Graphic Design
Jakub Samek

Production
Žaneta Vávrová

Education and Accompanying Program
Pavla Semeráková