Unframed Collection partners with NUMIX Lab, an itinerant European event that brings together immersive creation professionals in dialogue with cultural institutions across the continent. The 6th edition in 2025 brought together 459 participants from around the world across 16 venues in Budapest, Veszprém, Vienna, and Linz, fostering exchanges between Europe and North America around immersive cultural practices.
On this occasion, we met Christelle Havranek, Chief Curator of Kunsthalle Praha, a modern and contemporary art center that opened in 2022 in the heart of Prague, housed in a former power station. Informed by this architectural heritage and by a curatorial approach attentive to technological and artistic transformations, Kunsthalle Praha has developed an innovative museological vision while maintaining a close dialogue with more traditional contemporary art practices.
In this interview, Christelle Havranek reflects on the founding orientations of the institution, the role of digital tools in mediation strategies, and the curatorial challenges raised today by immersive projects.
“The fundamental question remains: what story are we telling? Immersion is a narrative tool, not a playful object that delivers a fleeting emotion. These projects must offer something meaningful, both emotionally and intellectually. The balance between form and content is therefore essential. And in all cases, the artist remains the starting point of any immersive approach.”
— Christelle Havranek
Kunsthalle Praha is known for its immersive installations, XR exhibitions, and innovative museological approaches. Could you present these different formats and explain how they align with the institution’s vision for contemporary art?
Christelle Havranek – This institution was inspired by a visionary figure from the 1920s, a kinetic artist named Zdeněk Pešánek. In shaping the dramaturgy of Kunsthalle Praha, we were partly inspired by the spirit of a visionary artist. This is not the only axis we follow, but it has had a strong influence on us. As early as the 1920s–1930s, he anticipated the future of art in relation to electricity. He imagined art in motion, animated by real motors, and already reflected on the emotional impact that artificial light would have on viewers.
He theorized these issues very early on, and this has become an important guiding thread in the construction of our programming. Even though we do not exclusively focus on new technologies or future-oriented practices, this dimension remains a central aspect of our curatorial vision.
Could you cite a few recent projects or exhibitions that illustrate how Kunsthalle Praha explores issues of immersion, digital creativity, or interactivity?
C. H. – As a relatively new institution, we began with a manifesto exhibition entitled KINETISMUS: 100 Years of Electricity in Art. The aim was to present the evolution of new technologies in art from the 1920s to the 2020s—one full century of creation.
The first kinetic object was created in 1920 in Moscow by Naum Gabo. We presented a replica of this small kinetic sculpture and traced this history through artists from around the world. We sought to move beyond a narrative centered solely on Western Europe and the United States, highlighting instead Central and Eastern Europe—often absent from art history textbooks—as well as Asia and South America.
The intention was to show that technology has been an essential component of contemporary art for one hundred years. Museums sometimes tend to overlook these practices for technical or logistical reasons, as they are more complex to implement. Yet this is an art form deeply rooted in our daily lives and one that cannot be ignored.
This approach does not exclude more classical practices. We are committed to presenting exhibitions that look toward the future while continuing to give space to traditional disciplines such as painting, sculpture, and drawing, which remain essential.
The institution also offers innovative educational programs. Could you present them? In your view, how can digital and immersive tools transform mediation and the understanding of contemporary art?
C. H. – Opening up to diverse audiences is a priority at every stage of exhibition development. We aim to present projects that are rigorous in terms of research and art history, while also making them accessible to a wide range of audiences. Digital tools help us greatly in this respect.
We recently developed an audio guide in collaboration with a Czech start-up called Cabinet of Wonders. This allows us to offer content in a more accessible language than that used on wall labels, while continuing to value written interpretation within the exhibition space. Being open to everyone is essential for us.
Available in around ten languages, the audio guide provides alternative content that is sometimes more interactive or more accessible linguistically. This is an important aspect of mediation. In parallel, the education department makes extensive use of digital tools, notably through a permanent augmented reality application that presents the history of the building, a former industrial site that has been transformed.
My colleagues also organize workshops, often linked to artificial intelligence, allowing visitors to create their own visual interpretations of an artwork or an exhibition, or to let these works evolve within imaginary worlds.
Before Kunsthalle Praha, you worked at the Institut français in Prague, where you strengthened cultural ties between France and Central Europe. How does this experience influence your current approach to immersive projects and artistic collaborations?
C. H. – I was fortunate to work at the Institut français in Prague in the 1990s, an exceptional period marked by the reopening of Eastern Europe to the rest of the world. There was tremendous energy and enthusiasm around rebuilding connections between the two Europes.
The Institut français was a deeply multidisciplinary place, bringing together a cinema, a gallery, a library, and a café—forming a true cultural ecosystem. When I began working at Kunsthalle Praha, it felt natural to think in terms of interdisciplinarity.
Having worked both as a cinema programmer and a gallery curator allowed me to constantly navigate between moving images and objects. I am often surprised by how little the worlds of cinema and contemporary art engage with each other, even though there is a real bridge to be built between them. Digital tools and immersive environments now offer the opportunity to create that connection between cinema and the visual arts.
In your view, what are the main challenges when a contemporary art center develops XR or immersive projects, whether technological, curatorial, or related to audience expectations?
C. H. – The challenges are numerous, which is probably why traditional museums are sometimes reluctant to present immersive or augmented reality works. The first challenge is technical: these projects require specialized teams and continuous maintenance, often around the clock. Technical issues occur far more frequently than with static, non-electronic works.
There is also a major curatorial challenge. It is essential not to fall into the trap of mere entertainment. An immersive work must always be grounded in strong content and genuine research. The fundamental question remains: what story are we telling? Immersion is a narrative tool, not a playful object that delivers a fleeting emotion. These projects must offer something meaningful, both emotionally and intellectually.
The balance between form and content is therefore crucial. And in all cases, the artist remains the starting point of any immersive approach.
What directions or collaborations would you like to develop in the coming years to further advance Kunsthalle Praha’s engagement with digital and immersive practices?
C. H. – Given the presence of this visionary figure that hovers over our institution, we want to continue presenting artists whose work hints at what the art of the future might be. This requires intuition and sustained attention to emerging practices.
We aim to continue supporting these visionary artists of the present, both by accompanying them and by actively contributing to the production of their works.