Jan Rousek Decolonizes Bedřich Machulka's African Legacy in New Exhibition
Opening 10/09/2026 at 19.00, Jan Rousek's exhibition 'In Africa, on the Game Trail' is curated by Sára Märc. Rousek critically re-examines Czechoslovak traveller, hunter, filmmaker and trader Bedřich Machulka's legacy through a decolonial lens, pairing contemporary artistic interventions with archival materials. The project challenges Czechoslovakia's colonial heritage and its shaping of African imagery, focusing on film, photography, and animal subjects from Machulka's expeditions and recordings. Rousek holds a history degree from the University of South Bohemia and studied documentary filmmaking at FAMU; his films 'Empty Places / What About You, Mireček?' (2022) and 'How to Film in Africa' (2024) — selected for the 2025 Marienbad Film Festival — have been shown in galleries and cinemas. The title references Machulka's book 'In Africa on the Trails of Game.'
Key facts
- Exhibition opens 10/09/2026 at 19.00.
- Curated by Sára Märc.
- Jan Rousek examines Bedřich Machulka's work through a critical decolonial lens.
- The project combines contemporary artistic intervention with archival materials.
- Rousek studied History at University of South Bohemia and Documentary Filmmaking at FAMU.
- His doctoral dissertation addressed the ideology of colonialism in Czechoslovak cinema.
- His film 'How to Film in Africa' (2024) was selected for the main competition of Marienbad Film Festival 2025 in Mariánské Lázně.
- The exhibition title paraphrases Machulka's book 'In Africa on the Trails of Game.'
Entities
Artists
- Jan Rousek
- Sára Märc
- Bedřich Machulka
Institutions
- FAMU
- University of South Bohemia
- Marienbad Film Festival
Locations
- Africa
- Czechoslovakia
- Mariánské Lázně
- Czech Republic