Founded in 1967, the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space (PQ) began as an international scenographic exhibition showcasing the best of the world’s design for live performance. In the years since, as delineations of design and performance have expanded and exploded, it has become a unique platform connecting artists, institutions, professionals, researchers, students and the general public via a variety of platforms and projects.
Once every four years, PQ culminates in an eleven-day long festival in Prague, capital city of the Czech Republic. Attendees to the festival participate in laboratories, exhibitions, workshops, installations, keynotes, discussions and performances – all revealing current practice and emerging trends in global design and production. It marks an opportunity for countries and communities, too, to celebrate their creative practice; both The Exhibition of Countries and Regions and The Student Exhibition are curated events wherein strong, daring, cogent representation is key.
The most recent festival PQ23 drew tens of thousands of attendees to both the ticketed and the free events in three main locations: the Holešovice Market, the Theatre Faculty of the Academy Performing Arts in Prague and the Trade Fair Palace of the National Gallery Prague.
The Prague Quadrennial has recently announced that its 16th edition will take place from 8 to 17 June 2027 at the newly renovated Prague Exhibition Grounds. The program structure builds on that of previous editions and its core will once again include two major exhibitions curated by participating countries and regions: the Exhibition of Countries and Regions and the Student Exhibition. As with other editions the two major exhibitions will be accompanied by program sections prepared by the Curatorial team of PQ, presenting contemporary scenography and performance design in various ways.
The theme of the 16th Edition was also announced:-
Absences and Silences as spaces of potential for new scenographic futures.
“Prague Quadrennial will explore the theme of Absences and Silences—not as voids, but as spaces of potential: As forms of historical and artistic reflection, or aesthetic and dramaturgical tool, and as testing grounds for thinking about new scenographic possibilities. Special focus will be placed on what has not been seen or heard—perhaps because it usually happens outside the spotlight, offstage, or beyond traditional canons, centers, and textbooks. The theme highlights scenographic moments, methods, and projects that work with absences and silences or center them in their approach, directing attention, shaping rhythm and spatial dynamics, engaging the body, and deepening meaning”.
The process of appointing a Curator for Australia’s presence at PQ 2027 will be facilitated by APDG. APDG invites you to consider these themes in relation to current Australian trends and propose a program for PQAU27.
The Australian Context
Australia has been represented at every PQ since its inception, and routinely has a powerful presence in talks, forums and events alongside The Exhibition of Countries and Regions and The Student Exhibition. Every Quadrennial, hundreds of Australian artists gather, and over the years, most Tertiary Educational Institutions involving design and performance have played a role. Crowning moments include receiving the 2019 Award for Excellence in Performance Design for Latai Tampoepeau’s work ‘Repatriate’, but more than anything, the lifelong bonds formed between Australian designers, makers, directors, dramaturgs and our international colleagues are the perpetual highlight.
In August 2024, interested parties met to discuss PQ27 and Australia’s contribution (PQAU). It was a lively discussion and apparent that a strong and engaged community has evolved around PQAU. Yet we still lack an ‘official’ central hub which can be a touch point between curators, which can facilitate the process of appointing a curator and coordinating – at an early stage – the involvement of Tertiary Educational Institutions.
That meeting room affirmed the need to establish a more solid foundation for PQAU, ensuring that any information and learning gained from one PQ does not dissipate over the intervening four years. Following that discussion, the APDG Live Performance Committee met to consider a way they could support the facilitation of PQAU into the future.
As a conduit between hundreds of designers, as the key body responsible for raising the profile of live performance design in Australia and as a bold, robust national network, APDG is well placed to take on the responsibility of, every four years, facilitating the process of appointing a curator for both The Exhibition of Countries and Regions and The Student Exhibition at the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space. Such stewardship by the APDG would enable the transfer of knowledge and experience over iterations. The APDG National Executive has now also considered this approach and agreed, via the Live Performance Committee, to take on this responsibility.
Towards 2027
Working towards PQ27 presents us with a first run at this process, and while we are sure it will evolve with time, the plan for now is as follows:
The APDG call-out for Expressions of Interest for a Curator for Australia, enveloping both The Exhibition of Countries and Regions and The Student Exhibition at PQ27 will open on the 7th of July and close on the 16th of September. Individuals, groups, institutions (or collaborations between) will be encouraged to self nominate and put forward a brief project description.
A small, nationally-representative group from within APDG Live Performance membership will then assess the proposals based on a declared criteria, instigate conversations with nominees and finalise the appointment of the Curator for 2027.
In November 2025, APDG members and our PQAU community will be notified of the appointed curator via special announcement.
It is important even at this early stage to note that PQAU is a large undertaking in terms of time and resources. This new process does not mean that APDG will be able to take any responsibility for the final development or delivery of the project. What it does allow is a clearer process for those wanting to be involved, plus a central hub with which to connect designers before, at, around and throughout the event.
In this process we want to uphold the collegial spirit which is so central to both PQ and APDG, and we are always open to questions and discussion along the way. It is also an exciting evolution in PQAU and we look forward to working together with the design community towards PQ27.
~ Anna Tregloan APDG & Anna Cordingley APDG for PQAU & the APDG Live Performance Committee.
Image: PQ23 Australian Student exhibition,
photo: Vojtech Brtnicky