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The multimedia exhibition How to Touch the Sky by Barbora Šlapetová and Lukáš Rittstein opened on 5 October 2026 on the piazzetta in front of the Industrial Palace at Výstaviště Praha in Holešovice. Admission is free, and the exhibition is scheduled to run until 18 October 2026.[1][2]
Origins of the project
The exhibition draws on thirty years of artistic collaboration between Šlapetová and Rittstein and their encounters with people from Papua New Guinea.[1] The artists describe how, during their travels through the Papuan jungle, they connected local chiefs—said to be able to fly using smoke—with NASA astronauts.[1] The installation includes the story of two phone calls, in 2013 and 2022, during which astronaut Koichi Wakata spoke with Papuan chiefs from the International Space Station.[1][2]
An earlier version of the project, titled Sanctuary, was presented in 2026 at the Venice Biennale Arte, at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini museum on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore.[1]
Form of the installation
On the piazzetta in front of the Industrial Palace stands Lukáš Rittstein's 120-metre-long sculptural ensemble Runway, made up of sculptural gates and sphinxes, leading to a structure called Turbotemple, or Sanctuary.[1][2] Inside the Sanctuary is Barbora Šlapetová's film fresco, presented as a twenty-one-minute loop.[2] According to the artists, the project combines sculpture, film, animation and architecture.[1]
The film fresco also includes the happening Transfer featuring Václav Havel, which, according to Rittstein and Šlapetová, merges with a ritual of the Papuan people.[1] The exhibition's opening fell on 5 October, Václav Havel's birthday, whom both artists refer to, in connection with the project, as "our great chief."[2] Rittstein said of the opening: "At six in the evening, come to the big celebration of what would have been our great chief Havel's ninetieth birthday."[2]
Accompanying programme
The opening evening included a performance by Petr Nikl with music by Ivan Acher.[2] Guided tours with Šlapetová and Rittstein are planned for 13 and 16 October, starting at 5 p.m.[2] A closing event for the exhibition, combined with the launch of the book How to Touch the Sky, is planned for the evening of 18 October.[2]
Documentary filmmaker Amálie Kovářová is preparing a film about the project titled Do Not Come Closer, whose premiere is planned for 2027.[1]
Related articles: Prague Exhibition Grounds
Chronology
- — The multimedia exhibition Jak se dotknout nebe by Barbora Šlapetová and Lukáš Rittstein opened on the piazzetta in front of the Industrial Palace at Výstaviště Praha and will be on display until 18 October 2026. Pražský patriot Pražský deník
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Sources
- Pražský patriot — 5 October 2026
- Pražský deník — 5 October 2026