I Promise: Sráč Sam's Solo Show Opens on March 14

I Promise is an art project conceived by Sráč Sam and curated by Tereza Stejskalová and František Fekete in the gallery SVĚTOVA 1. The exhibition is organized by the tranzit.cz initiative in the gallery SVĚTOVA 1. The public opening of the exhibition will take place on March 14, 2025, and the exhibition will run until May 3, 2025. Admission is free of charge.

The installation of pillows, concrete blocks, and plates with texts shows art as a story that focuses on ordinary things and everyday relationships. In such art, one does not perform great achievements in spite of the circumstances; what is important here is the relationship to the needs and existence of others. In it, the boundary between the artistic and the applied dissolves. In this way, Sráč Sam follows the tradition of the artistic practice of Czechoslovak women artists who explicitly or implicitly criticized socialist society through objects relating to invisible and socially devalued domestic work.

The participatory part of the project consists of one hundred original artworks. These works will be donated to visitors in exchange for making a pledge. This promise will be the same for all; it is a symbolic declaration to give art one’s attention. The fulfillment of the promise and its interpretation, however, are left up to the audience. With this gesture, the artist expresses her trust in them, and with this attitude she creates a specific case of a social, ethical art economy based on attention and trust.

Sráč Sam’s artistic practice interconnects personal and collective experiences. Interwoven with themes of restraint, trust, and promise, her work creates a space for reflection: How can art cope with the realities of life and societal expectations? She reminds us of hidden and forgotten works but also shows us that art is always about us, our relationships, and what we are willing to promise and accept.

Sráč Sam (*1969) is a visual artist, curator, and organizer who lives and works in Česká Bříza. In her work, she rethinks linguistic, visual, and social patterns. She founded the gallery sam83, organizes the residency project Artist in Cottage, publishes the independent magazine PIŽMO, and has published the texts Vanda, Kuniba likes to have things triple, and My husband’s fear. By setting her own socioeconomic models, Sráč Sam is one of the artists who anticipated the ethical turn in art.

The main partner of tranzit.cz is the ERSTE Foundation. The year-round activities of tranzit.cz are supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the City of Prague, and the State Culture Fund.