About the project
WHOSE PROBLEM IS IT? HOMELESSNESS BETWEEN PRAGUE AND NEW YORK
When we examine why someone has nowhere to go to sleep at night, we begin to ask ourselves the compelling question: does our society create homeless people on its own?
What is our attitude towards housing – is it a right or a merit?
A deeper understanding of the plight of people in need can tell us something much more serious about the current housing crisis that is creeping up on each of us. The phenomenon of homelessness must be seen as an inherently political problem, materializing the acute dysfunction of the housing system.
The exhibition was created for Prague art gallery VI PER. The exhibition offers two paths: where things will lead if we continue to persuade ourselves that the housing crisis and homelessness are not our problem; and where things will lead if we accept that it is our problem, thus sparking a social discussion and action leading to change.
The architect Karolína Kripnerová and the artist Janek Rous have been long interested in social issues such as unaffordable housing, exclusion and homelessness, from the perspective of both architecture and contemporary art. Karolína leads her own architectural studio Karolína Kripnerová architekti, as well as a nonprofit collective Architects without Borders Czechia, she also lectures at Czech Technical university in Prague. Janek runs the contemporary art platform Artyčok.tv and lectures at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague.