Is there an object lying around your house, on a shelf, collecting dust in a vitrine, hiding in the back of a wardrobe or in your basement? Perhaps it is a tripe, which you collected at a flea market, street-larking, or it mysteriously found its way to you and now you have no idea what to do with it. A piece of material, a torn off piece of fabric, a thing that reminds you of something but you could never find a meaning or a purpose that would justify owning it? Or perhaps something that makes you laugh?

Bring your thing to our new square At the Palm and share your story with us. Our Pawnshop of Tales will take place on September 5 from 11 AM until 6 PM and we are inviting you to become a part of it. Bring your things, memories, and come tell us your tales!

The Pawnshop is a collaborative project of artists Nikola Šmeralová and Savka Marenić.

The artistic practice of Nikola Šmeralová is defined by her experiences with activism, looking for various definitions of ‘doing art’ and sustainable collaborations. In addition to art, she is an avid gardener and focuses on environmental protection. She is a shepherd and a member of Jestřábník, where she, alongside two colleagues, cares for a flock of sheep using the method of targeted grazing. She perceives her work as a shepherd as a meaningful activity, but, moreover, as an inspiration for themes, which she explores in her own practice, enmeshing documentary approaches with performative and imaginative situations. Her undergraduate thesis at UMPRUM Bylo to spatřeno? Zní to tak… views things, objects, and junk as bearers of stories and actors participating in the continuity of telling tales. She examines the ways stories of things are read and told, as well as the relations between human and non-human actors.