The World Rowing Championships Will Be Accompanied by an International Exhibition of Contemporary Art ROW ROW ROW RAČICE

The visitors can look forward to artworks by more than twenty Czech and international artists. You will be able to admire paintings by Michael Rittstein, Karel Štědrý, Alena Anderlová, Roman Franta, Julius Reichel, Fritha Strand, Susan Wood, David Mazanec, Jitka Petrášová, Sarah Emily Porter, Pavel Šmíd, Jiří Hauschka, Karel Jerie, Barbora Šlapetová, Lukáš Havrda or Marek Číhal. The exhibit will also include sculptures by Jakub Flejšar, Paulina Skavová and Milan Cais, graphics by Michal Cihlář and video-art by Zuzana Bahulová. 

The curator is none other than art theoretician and critic Petr Volf, who also took part in the last Sport in Art exhibition dedicated to the cult rowing race Primátorky. He describes the exhibition: “We perceive the aim to capture the atmosphere of the races as well as the calm, meditative rowing where the contact between human and the element of water is key. We witness passion, determination as well as ironic distancing. The authors, in their own way, follow the 19th-century masters like Gustave Caillebotte, Alfred Sisley or Thomas Eakins.”

Once again, Sport in Art collaborates with the exhibition architect Mariana Hanková who is not only one of the designers from the Olgoj Chorchoj studio but is also a passionate rower herself. Another person in the exhibit who is very close to rowing is photographer and painter Susan Wood who will introduce Račice not only to her acrylic paintings at the ROW ROW ROW exhibition but also to the American rowing team which she coaches. „I have been rowing professionally since 1979. Thanks to this sport I managed to find not only my inner artist but also the purest form of beauty…one that connects pure adrenaline with modest grace”, Susan describes her greatest passions. 

The lovers of both sport and art can broaden their collections thanks to the exhibition, ROW ROW ROW RAČICE will be open for sale. The exhibition will be accessible daily from the 18th till the 25th of September to all the Championship visitors for free. The exhibition opening will take place on the 23rd of September at 16:30. 

The event was initiated by the Sport in Art platform which focuses on connecting sport and art and collecting the most interesting works from the local and international art scene which are then introduced to the public. „Thanks to the ROW ROW ROW RAČICE exhibition we had the chance to verify how inspiring for artists rowing can be. The exhibited works are a great example of the intersection between the worlds of sports and art which is the primary aim of Sport in Art.”, adds Jan Dvořák, the co-founder and executive director of the project. 

The exhibition was created thanks to the collaboration between Sport in Art, The National Olympic Centre of Water Sports in Račice and the Czech Rowing Association. „We have decided to enrich this year’s Championships with a supporting programme that would bring art culture into the sporting environment. The value of art is extremely important in these uncertain times”, explains Dušan macháček, the Chief of the Organising Committee. 

The event is going to be grand, up to 1600 athletes from 64 countries are expected to attend. The last time the World Rowing Championships took place in the Czech Republic was in 1993. Now they return after twenty-nine years. The Championships are being hosted in the unique Labe Arena in Račice which is also the only official rowing course that meets the criteria of the World Rowing Federation. Thanks to its position a mere 60 kilometres from Prague, modern equipment and channel length of 2350 metres, it is the ideal venue for the race. The visitors may also look forward to the exhibition race celebrating the retirement of Ondřej Synek, a five-time World Champion and winner of three Olympic medals.