The fourth edition of the Biennale Matter of Art, entitled »Necessary Wishes«, foregrounds art born out of necessity and shaped by a reflexive, embodied engagement with the conditions people inhabit every day. Bringing together more than 49 artists and collectives, including six newly commissioned projects, the biennale explores how artistic practices respond to urgency, vulnerability, and the need for new forms of solidarity.

Co-curated by Jaroslava Tomanová, Jakub Gawkowski, and František Fekete, the 2026 edition unfolds across multiple sites in Prague and Pardubice, connecting institutional and independent spaces while fostering dialogue between diverse artistic positions, generations, and geographies.

The exhibition and programme take place from June 12 to September 13, 2026, at the National Gallery Prague – Trade Fair Palace, GAMPA – City Gallery Pardubice, and the Tusculum Prague arts center. Selected projects extend beyond this timeframe, expanding the biennale’s presence into the city and its surroundings.

Across its venues, the biennale approaches art as a form of situated knowledge and a tool for navigating lived realities. It brings together practices that move between personal experience and collective imagination, addressing questions of care, displacement, resistance, and world-making. The exhibition unfolds as a constellation of positions that propose artistic form not only as expression, but as a carrier of social relations and a means of shaping shared space.

Participating artists include AntiGonna, Noor Abed, Szymon Adamczak, Željka Aleksić, Gleb Amankulov, David Apakidze, Yana Bachynska / Jan Bačynskyj, Jürgen Baldiga, Leila Basma & Zaher Jureidini, Rufina Bazlova / Stitch It Collective, Ștefan Bertalan, Cezary Bodzianowski, Tina Bxtq, Michal Durda, Jan Durina, Fůd, GALAS (Галас), Hana Garová, Laďa Gažiová, Davyd Chychkan, Nosrat Karimi, Seba Kayan, Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven, Adrián Kriška, Běla Kolářová, kroužek intersekce, Isadora Neves Marques, Nadia Markiewicz, Zoi Michailova, Shabu Mwangi, Aron Neubert, Aliza Orlan, Bronislava Orlická & Zuzana Smrkovská, Taring Padi, Cezary Poniatowski, Publik Universal Frxnd, Margaret Raspé, Nour Shantout, Shella Radio, Alex Sihelsk*, Felipe Steinberg, StonyTellers, Alina Sokolova, Tadamun Kolektiv, Fedir Tetyanych, Huda Takriti, Liliana Zeic, Jiří Žák.

An integral part of the biennale is The Tent, a shared space located in the Great Hall of the National Gallery Prague. Initiated by the grassroots platform kroužek intersekce, it serves as an open infrastructure for community meetings, workshops, discussions, and other forms of collective use. Equipped with basic technical and office facilities, The Tent is available free of charge and reflects the biennale’s commitment to accessibility and the activation of public space.

The biennale opens with a four-day Opening Weekend from June 11 to 14, featuring performances, guided tours, and public events across all venues.

Admission is free—discover the full programme and more at Matter of Art.

The biennale is organized by tranzit.cz in collaboration with the National Gallery Prague, the City Gallery Pardubice (GAMPA), and the Petrohradská kolektiv. Biennale Matter of Art is a project of the tranzit.org network. ERSTE Foundation is the main partner of tranzit.org.

Heather image: © Alex Sihelský, Matter of Art Biennale