The exhibition’s title hints at a few things, but it leaves even more unsaid. Despite the fact that it is taking place in the 31st and 2nd years of the Bludný kámen association’s existence, it is neither a look back, a celebration, nor a sentimental reminiscence. Although it occasionally glances back at the past, celebrates a little, and sometimes even reminisces, it is above all a fluid, surprising, and contemporary exhibition. It subtly subverts established rules and entrenched notions of what an exhibition should look like and how it should unfold.

Visitors find themselves at the heart of a reflection on exhibition-making, at a performance showcase, in an archive, or in a tea room—which served as the Bludný kámen association’s base for several years. They observe how drawings, paintings, objects, installations, and videos interconnect in a chain of individual curatorial decisions; they listen to sounds, watch for unexpected movements, and experience public space in a new way. The exhibition takes place throughout the House of Art, in St. Wenceslas Church, at the Cella Gallery, and in the adjacent streets of Opava.

In addition to more than forty contemporary Czech and international visual artists, performers, and creators working with sound and video, some thirty affiliated curators are also actively participating in the exhibition. They are not merely involved in the exhibition through the selection of works, but also help shape the program of concerts, performances, literary readings, and other events that will take place during the exhibition.

The exhibition Bludný kámen: Kickback is not merely a commemoration of the association’s long history. It seeks to demonstrate that conceptual and experimental approaches—which often arise from humor and with humor— but also collaboration and the crossing of established boundaries, have lost none of their relevance and can still offer thought-provoking ways to reflect on contemporary art and the world around us.

Accompanying the exhibition is the publication XXXBK: Moréna, which traces Bludný kámen’s 30 years of activity to date. Through several texts by art historians, members of the association, and its long-time collaborators, the book offers various perspectives on its history, transformations, and modes of operation—from exhibitions and sound projects to the creation of informal networks and collaborations, and on to the period of wandering and settling into various locations in Opava and elsewhere. The book, supplemented by original illustrations by Marian Palla, presents an ongoing account of the association’s activities, comprising memories, reflections, interpretations, and a critical assessment of its work to date. 

Collaborating curators: Jakub Adamec, Nela Bártová, Lenka Bergerová, Anežka Chalupová, Jennifer DeFelice, Lenka Dolanová, Jakub Frank, Lucia Gregorová Stach, Jitka Hlaváčková, Alexandr Jančík, Michal Kindernay, Martin Klimeš, Katarina Qi Klusová, Tomáš Knoflíček, Tomáš Kolich, Barbora Kundračíková, Magdaléna Manderlová, Jaroslav Michna, Jana Písaříková, Tomáš Pospěch, Jiří Ptáček, Martin Režný, Jasmin Schaitl-Frank, Matěj Schaitl-Frank, Jiří Siostrzonek, Tomáš Skalík, Ladislav Szpyrc, Paweł Szroniak, Kateřina Štroblová Rathouská, Jiří Valoch, Miloš Vojtěchovský