To Shift the Course

"The world as we knew it is ending."

These words, which appear in both introductory texts of the publication Vychýlit směr (Changing Course), foreshadow the direction of the theoretical and curatorial work of the book's authors, Tomáš Knoflíček and Kateřina Štroblová.

And while Knoflíček, with characteristic directness, asks himself and us how we, as individuals and as a civilization, approach the idea of the end of the world, how we face it, how we reject it, unconsciously accelerate it, adapt to it, or how we... welcome it, Štroblová simply states: Yes, the world is ending; our world ends every morning, with every decision we make, every second.

From the intersection of these two perspectives arose a quartet of exhibitions, which Štroblová and Knoflíček presented during their curatorial residency at the Kurzor Gallery under the titles Walking Through the Forest, This World as We See It Is Disappearing, Wasteland, and Ordinary Life. As a whole, this exhibition series formed an indirect path, roughly marked by themes of wandering, decay, emptiness, and finally, ordinary everyday life. In this multi-layered space, each visitor had to find their own way.

Like the exhibition series, the publication that symbolically concludes the year does not provide readers with answers on how to navigate a world of constant and inevitable change. However, it offers a profound reflection on this situation and thus the opportunity to view it from a new perspective, to take a new stance... perhaps to find a new path.

On more than two hundred pages, the Czech-English exhibition catalog Vychýlit směr (Changing Course) features extensive essays by art historian and curator Tomáš Knoflíček and curator, art historian, and critic Kateřina Štroblová, as well as photographic documentation of their year-long exhibition cycle and author profiles of more than thirty artists who participated in the project in 2025.

An integral part of the publication is its graphic design, which is based on completely original typography designed and created by graphic designer Jozef Ondrík.

To Shift the Course catalog contains author profiles of the following artists:

Daniela Baráčková, Nela Britaňáková, Comunite Fresca, Jakub Černý, David Čumalo, Petr Dub, Matěj Frank, Martin Froulík, Ján Gašparovič, Matej Gavula, Dominika Goralska, Juliana Höschlová, Pavel Jestřáb, Michal Kalhous, Martin Kochan, Martin Kubica, Marek Kvetan, Stano Masár, David Možný, Libor Novotný, Janis Rafa, Rafani, Tereza Samková, Ivo Sumec, Jiří Šigut, Roman Štětina, Šárka Zahálková, Martin Zetová