Gabriela Benish-Kalná explores the romanticization of rural life and the modern dream of community-based and self-sufficient farming. She highlights the urgency of the situation in agriculture and seeks hope in traditional farming methods that allow for adaptation to a new, life-threatening climate. 

In her work, she examines the representation and depiction of the countryside in the art world, which is increasingly turning to themes of agriculture, community, and self-sufficiency. Stories of harsh winters, rising hay prices, dying birch trees, and pig slaughtering ceremonies sketch out the reality of coexisting with non-human species, caring for a dying ecosystem, and building community through trial and error.

Benish-Kalná runs ArtMill Center for Regenerative Art in a remote location in the Pošumaví region, which serves as the headquarters of the cultural and environmental nonprofit organization ArtDialog, where she is converting an old mill into a working farm.

Gabriela Benish-Kalná is a Czech-American multimedia artist. In her work, she has long focused on themes of ecology, climate adaptation, and visions of a more just future. For more than a decade, she has collaborated with nonprofit and grassroots organizations in the field of social and environmental justice. She is currently the director of the nonprofit organization ArtDialog and leads ArtMill, where she works on transdisciplinary projects such as “Interspecies Sanctuary” and “KlimaHouse,” as well as regenerative agriculture and building resilient communities as strategies for adapting to a changing climate.

Venue: Tyršův dům – TYRŠ the human lab