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Screening: Jasco Viefhues – Rescue the Fire | Biennale Matter of Art 2026
Event by: Goethe-Institut Prag, Biennale Ve věci umění / Matter of Art, tranzit.cz
Location: Goethe Cafe - Café im Goethe-Institut, Masarykovo nábřeží 32, Praha 1
Films, Art Exhibitions
About event
[Scroll down for English] We invite you to a screening of the biographical film Rettet das Fuerer (Save the Fire) about German photographer Jürgen Baldig, who documented the queer subcultures of West Berlin in the 1980s and 1990s, including the HIV/AIDS crisis. The screening will be followed by a lecture by Ben Miller on Jürgen Baldig and the dangers of a one-sided view of art dedicated to the topic of HIV/AIDS ▷ https://fb.me/e/81oYgt6mp
The event will take place at the Göthe-Institut in Prague as part of the 2026 Biennial In the Matter of Art.
A selection of Jürgen's photographs Baldigy (1959-1993) is on display at the Biennale in the Exhibition Palace until September 13, 2026. In close dialogue with the exhibited works, we also present the series "Heat that only fire can give - a series of portraits" by Aron Neubert, his friend who photographed him in the last period of his life.
Language accessibility: English, German
Free entry
ℹ️ https://matterof.art/cz/udalosti/promitani-jasco-viefhues-rettet-das-feuer-zachrante-ohen
🎬 Annotation:
Berlin, 1993. Photographer and artist Jürgen Baldiga is fighting HIV. In the 1990s, the AIDS epidemic reached its peak for which no one was prepared. The bodies of the infected and their stories disappear and their existence fades away. Through the death of his friends and subsequently his own, Baldiga becomes a chronicler of his time: "I photograph. I photograph the world. I exist." Identity and history fade without the persistence of memory. Until the last days of his life, Jürgen documents the exodus that engulfed him. Rettet das Feuer (Rescue the Fire) takes a look at a piece of West Berlin's history and the voices of collective memory.
—
We invite you to a screening of the biographical film Rettet das Fuerer (Rescue the Fire) about the German photographer Jürgen Baldiga, whose work documented West Berlin's queer subcultures in the 1980s and early 1990s, including the impact of the HIV/AIDS crisis. The screening will be followed by Ben Miller's lecture on Jürgen Baldiga and the danger of a single story of HIV/AIDS art ▷ https://fb.me/e/81oYgt6mp
The event will take place in the Goethe-Institut in Prague as part of the Biennial Matter of Art 2026.
A selection of photographs by Jürgen Baldiga (1959–1993) is on display at the Biennale at the Trade Fair Palace through September 13, 2026. In a close dialogue with the exhibited works we also present the series "Warmth That Only Fire Can Give – A Portrait Series" by his friend Aron Neubert, who photographed Baldiga in the final years of his life. In fact, Baldiga asked him personally to document his struggle with AIDS.
Language accessibility: English, German
Free entry
ℹ️ https://matterof.art/events/film-screening-jasco-viefhues-rettet-das-feuer-rescue-the-fire
🎬 Synopsis: Berlin, 1993. The photographer and artist Jürgen Baldiga is battling HIV. In the 1990s the AIDS epidemic reached its climax, for which no one was prepared. Infected bodies and their stories are diminished, erasing their existence. Through the death of his friends and subsequently his own, Baldiga became the chronicler of his time: "I am taking a picture. I photograph the world. I exist." Identity and history disappear without the persistence of memory. Until the final days of his life, Jürgen documented the exodus that seized him. Rettet das Feuer (Rescue the Fire) directs the gaze to a piece of West Berlin history and the voices of collective memory. 6 - 13 September 2026
www.instagram.com/biennale.matterof.art
www.matterof.art
ART / ARTISTS
AntiGonna, Noor Abed, Szymon Adamczak, Željka Aleksić, Gleb Amankulov, David Apakidze, Yana Bachynska / Jan Bačynsjkyj, Jürgen Baldiga, Leila Basma & Zaher Jureidini, Rufina Bazlova / Stitch It Collective, Ștefan Bertalan, Cezary Bodzianowski, Tina Bxtq, Michal Durda / Room temperature, Jan Durina, Fůd, GALAS (Галас), Hana Garová, Ladislava Gažiová, Davyd Chychkan, Nosrat Karimi, Seba Kayan, Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven, Adrián Kriška, Běla Kolářová, circle of intersection, Isadora Neves Marques, Nadia Markiewicz, Zoi Michailova, Shabu Mwangi, Aron Neubert, Aliza Orlan, Bronislava Orlická & Zuzana Smrkovská, Taring Padi, Cezary Poniatowski, Publik Universal Frxnd, Margaret Raspé, Nour Shantout, Shella Radio, Alex Sihelsk*, Felipe Steinberg, StonyTellers, Alina Sokolova, Fedir Tetyanych, Huda Takriti, Liliana Zeic, Jiří Žák
—
The biennale is organized by the non-profit initiative for contemporary art tranzit.cz in cooperation with the National Gallery Prague, the City Gallery Pardubice (GAMPA) and Petrohradská kolektiv. tranzit.cz is part of the tranzit.org network, whose main partner is the ERSTE foundation. Biennale In the Matter of Art 2026 takes place under the auspices of the first lady of the Czech Republic, Eva Pavlova, and the mayor of the Prague 7 district, Jan Čižínský. / The biennale is organized by the nonprofit initiative for contemporary art tranzit.cz in cooperation with the National Gallery Prague, the City Gallery Pardubice (GAMPA), and Petrohradská kolektiv. tranzit.cz is part of the tranzit.org network. The main partner of tranzit.org is ERSTE Foundation.
The event will take place at the Göthe-Institut in Prague as part of the 2026 Biennial In the Matter of Art.
A selection of Jürgen's photographs Baldigy (1959-1993) is on display at the Biennale in the Exhibition Palace until September 13, 2026. In close dialogue with the exhibited works, we also present the series "Heat that only fire can give - a series of portraits" by Aron Neubert, his friend who photographed him in the last period of his life.
Language accessibility: English, German
Free entry
ℹ️ https://matterof.art/cz/udalosti/promitani-jasco-viefhues-rettet-das-feuer-zachrante-ohen
🎬 Annotation:
Berlin, 1993. Photographer and artist Jürgen Baldiga is fighting HIV. In the 1990s, the AIDS epidemic reached its peak for which no one was prepared. The bodies of the infected and their stories disappear and their existence fades away. Through the death of his friends and subsequently his own, Baldiga becomes a chronicler of his time: "I photograph. I photograph the world. I exist." Identity and history fade without the persistence of memory. Until the last days of his life, Jürgen documents the exodus that engulfed him. Rettet das Feuer (Rescue the Fire) takes a look at a piece of West Berlin's history and the voices of collective memory.
—
We invite you to a screening of the biographical film Rettet das Fuerer (Rescue the Fire) about the German photographer Jürgen Baldiga, whose work documented West Berlin's queer subcultures in the 1980s and early 1990s, including the impact of the HIV/AIDS crisis. The screening will be followed by Ben Miller's lecture on Jürgen Baldiga and the danger of a single story of HIV/AIDS art ▷ https://fb.me/e/81oYgt6mp
The event will take place in the Goethe-Institut in Prague as part of the Biennial Matter of Art 2026.
A selection of photographs by Jürgen Baldiga (1959–1993) is on display at the Biennale at the Trade Fair Palace through September 13, 2026. In a close dialogue with the exhibited works we also present the series "Warmth That Only Fire Can Give – A Portrait Series" by his friend Aron Neubert, who photographed Baldiga in the final years of his life. In fact, Baldiga asked him personally to document his struggle with AIDS.
Language accessibility: English, German
Free entry
ℹ️ https://matterof.art/events/film-screening-jasco-viefhues-rettet-das-feuer-rescue-the-fire
🎬 Synopsis: Berlin, 1993. The photographer and artist Jürgen Baldiga is battling HIV. In the 1990s the AIDS epidemic reached its climax, for which no one was prepared. Infected bodies and their stories are diminished, erasing their existence. Through the death of his friends and subsequently his own, Baldiga became the chronicler of his time: "I am taking a picture. I photograph the world. I exist." Identity and history disappear without the persistence of memory. Until the final days of his life, Jürgen documented the exodus that seized him. Rettet das Feuer (Rescue the Fire) directs the gaze to a piece of West Berlin history and the voices of collective memory. 6 - 13 September 2026
www.instagram.com/biennale.matterof.art
www.matterof.art
ART / ARTISTS
AntiGonna, Noor Abed, Szymon Adamczak, Željka Aleksić, Gleb Amankulov, David Apakidze, Yana Bachynska / Jan Bačynsjkyj, Jürgen Baldiga, Leila Basma & Zaher Jureidini, Rufina Bazlova / Stitch It Collective, Ștefan Bertalan, Cezary Bodzianowski, Tina Bxtq, Michal Durda / Room temperature, Jan Durina, Fůd, GALAS (Галас), Hana Garová, Ladislava Gažiová, Davyd Chychkan, Nosrat Karimi, Seba Kayan, Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven, Adrián Kriška, Běla Kolářová, circle of intersection, Isadora Neves Marques, Nadia Markiewicz, Zoi Michailova, Shabu Mwangi, Aron Neubert, Aliza Orlan, Bronislava Orlická & Zuzana Smrkovská, Taring Padi, Cezary Poniatowski, Publik Universal Frxnd, Margaret Raspé, Nour Shantout, Shella Radio, Alex Sihelsk*, Felipe Steinberg, StonyTellers, Alina Sokolova, Fedir Tetyanych, Huda Takriti, Liliana Zeic, Jiří Žák
—
The biennale is organized by the non-profit initiative for contemporary art tranzit.cz in cooperation with the National Gallery Prague, the City Gallery Pardubice (GAMPA) and Petrohradská kolektiv. tranzit.cz is part of the tranzit.org network, whose main partner is the ERSTE foundation. Biennale In the Matter of Art 2026 takes place under the auspices of the first lady of the Czech Republic, Eva Pavlova, and the mayor of the Prague 7 district, Jan Čižínský. / The biennale is organized by the nonprofit initiative for contemporary art tranzit.cz in cooperation with the National Gallery Prague, the City Gallery Pardubice (GAMPA), and Petrohradská kolektiv. tranzit.cz is part of the tranzit.org network. The main partner of tranzit.org is ERSTE Foundation.