JAMA – 76th year of Milan Adamčiak
Aftermovie by Jakub Kratochvíl
When we founded JAMA in 2019, its idea sprang from the desire to remember Milan Adamčiak and keep alive the ethos of inner freedom that was natural to him. Perhaps it was also his personal escape, who knows, but his hallmarks were the ability not to limit himself by material, media, or life situation, an inclination to spontaneous action, and a penchant for play. In this spirit, we conceived JAMA – 76th Year of Milan Adamčiak, not only as an exhibition of contemporary art but also as a comprehensive object with its own rules, internal dynamics, and the form of a two-day game. For the first time, we also prepared a non-linear program for JAMA, from which visitors only saw the part they experienced themselves. No one saw everything, and during the game, no one knew what they had missed. Participants found themselves in JAMA 76 as players. They had all the rights, freedoms, and responsibilities that came with this status, including the option to decide not to play. They were always given a choice of where to go next, but the decisions were their own, and the quality of their experience was in their hands. It was up to each individual whether to follow the game plan we had drawn up for this occasion or get lost in the playing field. All options are correct. It’s your game, after all.
JAMA – 75th year of Milan Adamčiak
Aftermovie by Tomáša Prištiak
JAMA – 75th Year of Milan Adamčiak captured the second pandemic autumn in terms of its date and also its content: It was marked by uncertainty about the future, artistic statements touching on climateand social distress, but also on the search for utopian futures and positive endings. As part of the 3rd edition of JAMA a collective international exhibition Lost Human took place in the curatorial concept of Lucia G. Stach. The exibition presented the works of 40 artists from different countries and generations and offered a substantial accompanying program of interventions and performances to the JAMA event. The whole JAMA event took place in the form of a collective wandering through the hills surrounding Banská Štiavnica, and its unifying principle was the graphic score by Fero Király and Eva Vozárová, on the basis of which the third edition of JAMA can be “enacted” according to the authors' instructions, anywhere and at any time.
JAMA – 74th year of Milan Adamčiak
Aftermovie by Tomáša Prištiak
The second – originally unplanned – edition of JAMA took place at the height of the covid season in the fall of 2020. Due to pandemic measures, it was conducted online only. The site-specific program was streamed from Parter BSC, Banská Štiavnica and the surrounding forests and meadows in the presence of artists, but without the participation of a live audience.
JAMA – 73th year of Milan Adamčiak
Aftermovie by Tomáša Prištiak
We wish Milan Adamčiak’s legacy will continue to live beyond monographs and galleries. His work was created on the periphery – artistic as well as geographical and social in his last couple of years. The local environment shaped him, it is here he can be best understood and followed up upon. At JAMA, we commemorated Milan Adamčiak’s 73rd birthday in the places where he felt most at home in his latter years, and this way we try to continue Adamčiak’s legacy.