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The Artwall gallery was inspired by an American artist Barbara Benish, who
at the end of the 90s came up with the idea to use the space of Letná wall for
presentation of contemporary art. The wall, which originally served as a space
for Communist propaganda, remained empty after the fall of the regime. In 2000
Benish finally revived the abandoned wall and with the organizational support
of Center for Contemporary Arts Prague realized her project "Flower
Power".
This project created a great wave of interest among Czech artists. Many of
them wanted to present their art in this way, but it was not until the year
2005 when David Walliker, another foreign artist living in Prague, managed to
gather necessary funds for implementation of the idea. It was in this year when
Artwall gallery, under the organizational management of the Centre for
Contemporary Arts Prague , started its regular operation, which was then
terminated by a Municipality ban in 2008. The
curator of the project in this period was Ludvík Hlaváček.
Between years
2005-2008 Artwall gallery presented 15 exhibitions of both Czech and foreign
artists, among others of Lenka Klodová, Mirella Bentivoglio, Martin Zet, or
groups Pode Bal and Guma Guar. It was the project "Collective
Identity" by group Guma Guar, which led the Municipality of the City of
Prague - the official owner of Letná wall - to withdraw from the leasing
contract in 2008. The project "Collective Identity" critically
paraphrased a campaign led by the Municipality, promoting the Olympic Games in
Prague in 2016. The management of Municipality wasn't able to bear this
criticism and closed the entire gallery down. After three years of operation
the wall remained empty again.
In 2011, after
personal changes in the Municipality management, Artwall gallery was brought
back to life, this time under the patronage of Prague's Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda.
The organizational management of the gallery is ensured by c2c Circle of
curators and critics , which works with the full support of the Center for
Contemporary Arts Prague, the former administrator of the gallery.
Project Artwall aims to support social impact of contemporary art in
non-gallery environment. This goal is based on the nature of the gallery's
dominant location, which ensures effective communication with the public. Due
to the number of drivers and passengers who daily pass through the embankment,
Artwall is one of the most visited Czech galleries.
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