Happy Birthday

Statistically, September produces the highest number of newborns. By that logic, most artists and curators celebrate their birthdays that month – just like the curator of this exhibition. The project will connect Slovak artists of the 20th and 21st centuries born in September and September-born curators will also be invited to join the collective. The visitor will be able to explore their pre-existing pieces of art, but the artists will have a chance to respond with new works referencing one of the main themes of the exhibition (e.g. a celebration, gift, giving/receiving, self-presentation, self-glorification, birth/inception, ephemerality, the myths of solidarity, inclusion/exclusion, coincidence, etc.). Dead artists will be represented by selected works from Nitra Gallery’s collection and possible loans from other institutions. The only condition to be met is the September birthday. Is it going to be enough for a full-fledged exhibition? Or is it going to be just a (self)ironic, (self)subversive and (self)centred (de)construct? What other forms of contemporary art presentation are there to be invented? What criteria do curators use while selecting artists and works for their exhibitions? We would like to issue an accompanying exhibition catalogue in the form of a tear-off calendar and have a collective birthday party during the opening night for everyone’s involved. In the end, it might end up being a joyride even for those born in different months… Enough with all of the theme-committed exhibitions — long live art salons!