Land of the Wild Horses exhibition helps out in Mongolia

“We have put together a total of 39 photographs by 12 authors for the Land of the Wild Horses exhibition,” said Miroslav Bobek, the Director of Prague Zoo, adding, “We have tried to avoid pictures of the Przewalski’s horse; everybody knows about them now. To be honest, the idea of organizing this exhibition reminded me of how all the top photographers jumped at the opportunity, and each time they took photos of the colourful outdoor loos at the Takhin base. Part of the proceeds from the exhibition will also go towards replacing them with modern hygienic facilities. I must emphasize, however, that of the 39 photographs on show, only about four shots capture the loos.”

The exhibition will have photos by Filip Singer, who holds a total of 12 awards from various categories of the Czech Press Photo competition, and his snap from 2014 won Photo of the Year. Another author is Petr Jan Juračka, whose pictures have won prizes in the USA, France and the Czech Republic, where he can boast 20 awards. The exhibition will also feature photographs by Václav Šilha, the winner of several Czech Press Photo awards, and photographers from leading world agencies - David W. Černý from Reuters, Petr David Josek and Petr Josek from AP.

Thursday’s opening will be inaugurated by the director of Prague zoo, Miroslav Bobek, together with the legend of news photography Karel Cudlín, the photographs’ authors will also be present. On Wednesday, October 25 there will be an auction of twelve of the photos directly in the Czech Photo Centre gallery and the opening price is set at CZK 5,000 for a 841x594 mm photo. The remaining 27 photos will be on sale during the exhibition. Those interested can buy them through Prague Zoo’s e-shop. The Land of the Wild Horses exhibition will run until December 3, 2017.

Prague Zoo has contributed significantly to the conservation of the Przewalski’s horse, which became extinct in the wild. Every year since 2011, in cooperation with the Czech Army and conservation organisation International Takhi Group, it has organized the return of the Przewalski’s horses to their homeland. To date, Prague Zoo has transported twenty-seven horses to Mongolia and four more were transported by a special domestic flight in 2016.