Kateřina Šedá is a Czech artist whose work is close to social architecture. In 1999–2005, she studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague with Professor Vladimír Kokolia.
In her work, Kateřina Šedá focuses on socially-conceived events, often employing dozens or hundreds of people who have nothing to do with art. The events mostly take place right in villages or city streets. The purpose of experimenting with interpersonal relationships is to bring those involved out of their stereotypes or social isolation. She tries to induce a lasting change in their behaviour by means of their own (provoked) activity and a new usage of everyday resources.
She is the author of a number of socially conceived projects that she realised in the Czech Republic and abroad – from SF Moma in San Francisco and Tate Modern in London to Documenta in Kassel and the Venice Biennale. She is the recipient of the 2017 Architect of the Year award, the Magnesia Litera award for journalism, the Most Beautiful Czech Book award, the Jindřich Chalupecký Award, and the Contemporary Art Society Award. She has published more than thirty books and publications, mapping her individual projects in detail. She lectures about her work at schools, in cultural centres and galleries, but also in villages and small towns, trying to give an idea about her work to large audiences, and thus prompt them to their own activity.
