ASSEMBLY:30X30 Tim+Františka Gilman

 

The exhibition ASSEMBLY: 30×30 by Františka and Tim Gilman explores the issue of biodiversity in the Czech Republic.
What would it mean for our planet if 30% of the Earth's land and water were effectively protected by 2030?
The 30×30 target was adopted by the European Union in December 2022 as part of its biodiversity strategy. Its goal is to designate 30% of the Earth's land and marine areas as protected by 2030, helping to safeguard the planet and halt the loss of biodiversity. The idea builds on ecologist Edward O. Wilson's earlier Half-Earth proposal, which called for protecting 50% of the planet in order to ensure the survival of approximately 85% of all plant and animal species in the face of human-driven climate change and habitat loss. Today, species are estimated to be disappearing at a rate up to 1,000 times higher than the natural background extinction rate that existed before the emergence of humans.
In the Czech Republic, approximately 21% of the country's total area—covering nearly 79,000 km²—is currently protected. This raises important questions about what increasing protected land by a further 9% would mean for both the country's inhabitants and its natural environment.
The exhibition also presents the work of the RETI Center, a non-profit organization led by Tim Gilman-Ševčík. The Center focuses on ecology, economics, and climate justice, with particular emphasis on climate adaptation in the coastal areas of New York City.
ASSEMBLY explores the idea of Institutional Sculpture—an artistic practice that creates, reimagines, or embodies institutions both within and beyond the field of art. As a participatory artwork, it encompasses all those involved, whether they engage consciously or become part of the work without being aware of their participation.
Františka and Tim Gilman live between Prague and New York and collaborate on artistic projects, writing, and curatorial initiatives.

GUEST SPEAKERS:

JAN ALBERT ŠTURMA

He studied geobotany at the Faculty of Science, Charles University. His research focuses on urban and landscape ecology, the ethnobotany of the Sudeten region, and, in his free time, the landscapes of the Mediterranean. He currently works as an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Humanities, Charles University, where he teaches landscape ecology and general ecology. He also collaborates with several architectural studios and is particularly interested in the intersection of land art and contemporary nature conservation. He is the co-author of the books Planet Prague and Wild Nature of Prague and Its Surroundings.

EDITH JEŘÁBKOVÁ

 She is a curator of contemporary art whose practice emphasizes intuition and non-hierarchical forms of collaboration. Her interests include exhibition-making, the spatial choreography of artworks, the ways works communicate with one another, and practices of care for both artworks and their makers. She has long focused on the transformative processes shaping Czech art over the past four decades. Her research explores the intersections of permaculture and artistic practice, as well as the interconnected ethical, ecological, and aesthetic relationships within art, soil, and landscape systems, and among multispecies communities. She investigates these living interactions both as a curator at PLATO Ostrava and beyond the gallery, as a member of the LES growing community and the Are Association for Art Theory. Until recently, teaching at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (UMPRUM) formed an important part of her professional practice. She has previously worked with Galerie Klatovy/Klenová, the Research Centre of the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, the Olomouc Museum of Art, Fotograf Gallery, Kurzor, and the Center for Contemporary Art Prague. She is also active as an editor and author of publications. She lives in the forests of the Orlické Mountains

foto: Radek Dětinský