17.–22. September 2020

Kampus Hybernská, Prague

The seventh annual Lustr festival presented a new exhibition concept to visitors. In addition to a free showcase of young talent in the field of illustration and comics, it also featured two other exhibitions exploring the history and present state of illustration. From September 17 to 22, the Hybernská Campus in Prague was transformed into a place where young people with pencils in their hands ran from one workshop to another. There were also two lecture evenings and live comic book readings. The overarching theme of the seventh edition of the festival was group collaboration. In addition to contemporary authors, the festival also presented the illustrative work of the Devětsil art group, which celebrated its 100th anniversary on October 5, 2020. Visitors had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the lesser-known illustrative work of Devětsil members Toyen, Jindřich Štyrský, Otakar Mrkvička, Josef Šíma, and above all Adolf Hoffmeister. The exhibition honoring Devětsil was accompanied by a series of screen-printed posters by young illustrators who relate to the legacy of the Czech modern avant-garde. Among them were established stars of the young Czech illustration scene, such as Nikola Logosová, winner of the 2019 Illustrator of the Year award, Linda Retterová, who also creates under the ROE brand, Maria Makeeva, Barbora Idesová, David Černý, and the creative duo Veronika Vlková and Jan Šrámek. The joint exhibition of works by the younger generation and members of Devětsil offered a comparison highlighting the timelessness and relevance of the Czech modern avant-garde.

Another exhibition entitled Manifest 2020 followed on from the previous exhibition and focused on contemporary illustration groups and creative collectives from the Czech Republic and abroad. The exhibition attempted to answer the question of what ideas and purposes illustrators today unite around and what opinions connect them, in direct contrast to the clearly socially and politically oriented Devětsil group. The exhibitors included established illustration groups as well as looser, spontaneously formed creative collectives selected by the exhibition curators to represent today’s highly diverse illustration scene as colorfully as possible. The Czech scene was represented by Laydeez Do Comics Praha, a group supporting female comic book creators, a group of authors associated with the DIY comic magazine XRX, illustrators from the metal music scene performing under the name Z pekla se kouří (Smoke Rises from Hell), a trio of mainly book illustrators from Ateliér Žitomír, a circle of authors around the Prague bookstore and publishing house Xao, and the group Nýbrž from Ústí nad Labem. Foreign guests included the cult Latvian comic book publisher Kuš!, the Slovenian comic magazine Stripburger, the German groups of young illustrators Fan Art and Squash, and the trio of illustrators

The final part of the festival’s exhibition program was a free showcase of young illustrators, this time focusing only on artists who had not yet exhibited at Lustr and on their work from the past year. The Showcase was newly divided into two separate genre sections: comics and free illustration. Each of these sections presented around twenty artists from the Czech Republic and abroad, who were given complete freedom within the exhibition. In addition to original drawings and prints, the exhibition dedicated to free illustration also featured, for example, an object installation by Aleksandra Šliková working with glass engraving and textile materials, or poetic drawings of balcony houses, which their author Kateřina Coufalová supplemented with wooden miniatures of houses. Coufalová also won the festival’s main audience award for her work. Another award winner, Alexej Šachov, also worked with objects in his installation, presenting freely spray-painted portraits, while Michaela Hoffová accompanied her drawings with a soundtrack. Among the foreign guests, Jorge Margarido presented his small poetic graphics in the free illustration section, Marie Muravski captivated with her dreamlike atmosphere, and Igor Kubik brought his futurism-inspired version of tarot to Prague. The audience award for the comics section went to Martina Fischmeister, who presented her new comic book at Lustr. Visitors were also interested in Tomáš Zahrádka’s site-specific installation, which consisted of a small triptych on the theme of fatherhood drawn directly on the wall and complemented by an expressive sculpture by the artist. Also of interest were large-format samples from Ján Lastomirský’s comics, Matyáš Namaia’s installation revealing the work process of a comic book artist, and Jana Jarošová’s new comic book, which stands out for its generous and fresh stylization.

The festival’s exhibition program was further complemented by an interactive installation by Vividbooks publishing house dedicated to young visitors. With the help of a tablet, they could try out augmented reality to animate illustrated posters explaining the laws of physics to children. This year’s festival also included workshops where visitors of all ages could try their hand at manual typography, learn the basics of animation, or improve their comic book storytelling skills.

During the Lustr Talks lecture evenings, it was possible to learn more about the work of Czech and foreign guests of the festival and also to meet many of them in person. One of the most popular items on the program was the live comic book readings, during which members of the German groups Fan Art and Squash presented their work. Czech alternative comics were represented by Lucie Lučanská, who presented her graphic novel Alma má problém (Alma Has a Problem). As part of the festival’s accompanying program, the magazine Fůd, which focuses on contemporary illustration, launched its new issue, and established comic artists Toybox and Štěpánka Jislová shared their know-how from the creative industry. On Tuesday evening, the entire program culminated in an informal meeting with illustrators called Czech Illustrators Beer, during which the audience awards were announced and presented to the exhibitors.

In 2020, the Lustr festival not only had a very busy and varied program, but also presented the highest number of exhibitors in its history to the audience. Interest in being part of the exhibition program was so high this year that the festival easily filled all the spaces available at the Hybernská Campus—both galleries, the attic above the bar, and even the vaulted spaces of the local cellar. This was despite the fact that this year’s program gave preference to new names and artists who had not yet been seen at Lustr.

A total of 1,845 visitors attended the festival, which is about a third less than usual, but in times of health risks, this indicates the importance of the event and the interest in it.

Festival Director:

Naděžda Bilinová

Curator:

Bára Müllerová

Visual:

Illustrations & animation: SULC kolektiv