The Prague Quadrennial is an internationally acknowledged and prestigious event in the field of theatrical design and performance, being the world’s biggest event dedicated to scenography. Taking place for two weeks, every four years, in the city of Prague, Czech Republic, the PQ gathers artists, designers, and professionals from all over the world to celebrate and to explore the innovations and tendencies in scenic design. At the PQ, there is a competitive exhibition, besides several parallel events, including installations, lectures, debates, workshops and presentations.
The Brazilian participation in the Prague Quadrennials has a rich and significant history. The creation of the PQ in 1967 was partly promoted by the success of Czech scenographers, such as Vichodyl and Svoboda, who won several prizes in the Biennial of Theatrical Plastic Arts in Brazil. The international scenography exhibition took place biennially in Brazil, from 1957 to 1965, and later intercalated with the PQ, until 1973, as part of the Bienal de São Paulo.
This connection between Brazil and the PQ highlights the importance of Brazilian participation in that event. The country has always been present at the Prague Quadrennials, except in the 1983 edition. Brazilian representatives twice won the highest award in the event, the Golden Triga, in 1995 and 2011, proving the recognition and excellence of Brazilian theatrical design.
The Brazilian government recognizes the importance of the Prague Quadrennial as one of the main international events dedicated to theatrical design and performance, and, in order to make possible Brazilian participation in the Quadrennial, offers financial and logistic support to the Brazilian representatives in the event, including the transportation of sceneries, costumes, and necessary materials for exhibitions and performances.
It is at this moment that Fink Mobility appears, having for many decades cooperated so that all this material, rich in creativity and representativeness, is carefully packed, transported and delivered in Prague. Renata Vinhas, general manager of the Fink division of fine arts, fairs, and events declares:
““It’s a great joy to be able to participate in this very important event for scenic arts, to which Fink has, for decades, dedicated all its expertise in the logistics of such special and unique cargos, so they can be appreciated by thousands of people every four years.”
At Fink since 2007, Renata remembers she participated that year in her first shipment to the Prague Quadrennial, and that, since then, the task is repeated every four years.
This year, Fink prepared special boxes to transport the more delicate scenographic pieces, and liftvans for the cruder, structural pieces, such as the scenographic roof structure for the Student Exhibition and for the Exhibition of Countries and Regions.
The Student Exhibition is an opportunity for young and recently graduated students of scenography and related areas to present their work. The Brazilian curatorial nucleus selected several projects to represent the Brazilian emergent talent. In the Exhibition of Countries and Regions, the theme proposed by the 15th edition of PQ was “RARE”. In this context, performance designers, scenographers and all performance practitioners play a very special part in society, and present works showing all their capacity for imagining, visualizing, and even creating unique and uncommon visions of the future.
For those who wish to appreciate the rich and surprising work of Brazilian artists, the event will be on view until the 18th of June, 2023, in the Prague Market, or can be accessed on the Brazilian catalogue of the PQ23 below!
