Elmgreen & Dragset: Read

The artist duo Elmgreen & Dragset have transformed Kunsthalle Praha into a curious public library. Titled Read, their exhibition celebrates Prague's literary heritage, and brings together works by sixty international artists.

For their first major exhibition in Czechia, Elmgreen & Dragset present their own work alongside artworks by sixty artists. Encompassing various decades, geographic regions, and artistic movements. The sprawling exhibition READ focuses on the historic and enduring relevance of books. Designed as a minimalist version of a contemporary public library, it also questions our relationship with books as physical objects and knowledge in the age of digital media. The title not only encourages reading, but also learning and understanding, as in to “read the signs,” “read a situation,” and “read the room.”

Beyond the shelves, visitors can find duo's performance Prague Diaries. It features five young men seated at a long table during Wednesdays and weekends throughout the run of the exhibition. The audience encounters the performers keeping their diaries; visitors are free to walk around, read over the diarists’ shoulders, and flip through the notebooks when the performers are on a break.