THE LOCAL Art civic association and curator Zuzana Duchová will turn the government saloon at Bratislava’s main railway station into a gallery featuring regular exhibitions, cultural events and discussions, the Sme daily reported in its September 9 issue.
“We indirectly claim allegiance to the tradition of cultural centres that used to be at bigger railway stations in the past,” Duchová said, as quoted by Sme.
Such centres also used to exist in Bratislava, where passengers could spend time while waiting for the train. Until recently, the saloon was used mostly as a luxury waiting room for governmental delegations or by the president. The government does not currently use it.
Local Art now proposes to use the space mostly as a gallery. The design is inspired by similar centres located at railway stations in Žilina, Banská Štiavnica, Topoľčany or in Prague.
“Using non-traditional spaces for art purposes is a long-running trend in the world,” Duchová added.
The organisation says it wants to attract not only people who come specifically to the station for a cultural event, but also passengers waiting for their train to depart.
Though the saloon will officially open on September 16 with a photo exhibition titled Inauguration, containing photos by Tomáš Halász capturing the presidential campaign of Andrej Kiska, the space already hosted the exhibition of painter Ján Triaška in June.
Another exhibition is scheduled for October and will present socio-critical designs by Mária Čorejová, Sme wrote.
