Kateřina Šedá

Kateřina Šedá studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague in the studio of Vladimír Kokolia. She has completed numerous foreign internships and residencies, including those at ISCP in New York, MACRO in Rome, and CNEAI in Paris. She is a recipient of the Finnish TAKU Production Prize and the Austrian Essl Art Award. For her book Brnox, she received the Magnesia Litera Award, and she was also awarded the Architect of the Year prize. She has held a solo exhibition at Tate Modern in London, among many others. She has also exhibited at the Biennale di Venezia, Manifesta 7, and Documenta 12 in Kassel.

When she became a laureate of the Jindřich Chalupecký Award in 2005, people debated whether what Kateřina Šedá does is even art. Today, she is one of the most well-known contemporary artists both in the Czech Republic and abroad. She has long topped rankings, holds international art awards, and exhibits at leading international institutions, prestigious biennials, and showcases. At the same time, she has not lost her sense of humor or the joy she finds in working with various communities – these are often people from excluded localities or those living in social isolation, but they can also include the artist's own family or the residents of her native Líšeň. Her works are based on communication, connection, and interpersonal relationships. They often aim to rouse individuals or entire communities from lethargy and social isolation. For example, a committee composed of members of Šedá's family evaluates diploma theses at the Academy of Fine Arts, or the entire population of a village synchronizes its activities – shopping, cooking, sweeping in front of their houses, or going for a beer at the same time. Her iconic exhibition at London's Tate Modern presented 80 residents of Bedřichovice along with their daily activities in the center of London, momentarily transforming the Moravian village into Bedřichovice-on-Thames.