The exhibition project Moments brings the (hidden) fates, stories and emotions of this year's Prague Pride festival
Moments is the first ever exhibition of photographs from this year's festival capturing forgotten or invisible, but all the more magical moments. The project, as the title suggests, touches on unique moments and the destinies, stories and emotions hidden within them that were worthy of pictorial capture from the photographers* perspective. Thus, you will not find classic reportage or marketing photographs in the exhibition. "Some of the photos make you wonder what and why is happening in them, what are the stories and relationships of the people depicted in them. With others, one can look for details. It was important for us to capture the non-repetitive fleetingness of the festival atmosphere," explains Martin Lyko, the curator of the exhibition.
The moments are thus also a kind of counterbalance to the attractive shots, which are meant to be clearly legible, attractive and serve to promote the next edition of the festival. Although people usually think of Prague Pride as a mass event full of various events, they paradoxically forget about those who already make the festival an unforgettable moment through their participation. And this is also true for the resulting visual depiction of the festival, from which the fleeting, but still important moments seem to have disappeared. Yet it is the individual fates and moments that make up the entire festival.
Prague Pride through the eyes of volunteer photographers*
The festival has always been captured by professionals, but according to the coordinator of the photographers*, Kristýna Svobodová, this year it was decided that a volunteer "photo-team" would be formed, which would emerge from a selection process. "In the end, twenty-four female photographers were selected, some of whom were more than experienced and some of whom were photographing such a large event for the first time. And in that week, they all moved on tremendously," Svobodová added. "Together, they did great. They did a lot of work, helped each other during the shoot and formed new friendships. I believe that we have created a solid photo foundation around Prague Pride for years to come," she concluded.
Before the festival started, however, no one had any idea that the work of all the photographers* involved would result in an independent project. "When Kristýna Svobodová and I were going through the thousands of images from the festival, we realised that there were a lot of beautiful photos among them," is how Martin Lyko described the birth of the idea. "It would be a shame if photos with so much potential were to remain only in the archives. That's why we decided to organise an exhibition and recognise the great work of the volunteers*ic by sharing it with the wider public," he added.
The Moments exhibition project, which involved several artists*ic, follows a series of exhibitions at the LGBT+ Community Centre and gives space to young artists working on queer issues. "Stop, like time in a photograph, and let your thoughts run away for a moment back to the festival moments - the ones you will see in the exhibition, or perhaps the ones you have experienced yourself," Martin Lyko invites.
The exhibition is on display for free at the LGBT+ Community Centre at Železná 492/18, Prague 1, until the end of January 2023. You can come and see it during the open Thursdays, always from 3 pm to 9 pm.
