Events: May 2013
April 2013
June 2013
KW: Personal Apocalypse
30/04/13 – 26/05/13 Exhibitions
Igor Korpaczewski (born Prague, 1959), who studied at Prague’s Academy of Fine Arts between 1983 and 1989, ranks among the most unmistakable solitary artists of the ‘80s generation. He focuses systematically on the different options offered by figural depiction, which occasionally results in work that is even conceptual. Operating under the pseudonyms KW and Q, he has taken part in many projects, both at home and abroad, since the 1980s. For two decades he has been an assistant at Jiří Sopek’s studio at the Academy of Fine Arts, where his marked influence on a younger generation of artists can be seen. More
PLUH Prepares the Ground
May 7, 2013, 19:00
The PLUH (Plough) agency, which represents Czech writers abroad, is celebrating 10 years of existence. In that period it has succeeded in publishing around 100 books in over 25 countries. How to get ahead on the market? And does Czech literature have a chance in the world? Answers to these and similar questions will be provided during his lecture by the head of PLUH, Edgar de Bruin, who is a translator into Dutch and laureate of the Premia Bohemica Prize (2008). More
An Evening with Andrei Sannikov
May 9, 2013, 19:00
Andrei Sannikov is a Belarusian dissident, former political prisoner and 2010 opposition presidential candidate. He has been granted political asylum in the UK and now lives in London. Sannikov is coming to the Czech Republic for the premiere of his play Flying Over the Rainbow. He and another nine imprisoned Belarusian dissidents were the addressees of a letter from Václav Havel in December 2011 that was the very last text Mr. Havel wrote before his death. More
Presenting Censored and Dear Radim
May 14, 2013, 19:00
Ceremonial evening presenting two collections from the Václav Havel Library Notebooks series. Cenzurováno (Censored) comprises letters Zdeněk Neubauer sent to Václav Benda during his 1980–1983 imprisonment. Milý Radime (Dear Radim) is the first publicly accessible edition of a collection originally published on the occasion of Radim Palouš’s 70th birthday. Several members of the Kampademie, a revived Platonic academy located on Prague’s Kampa, have promised to attend. Ivan M. Havel will host the evening.
The Solidarity of the Shaken
15/05/13 – 16/05/13 Conferences
A two-day international seminar in English on the spiritual legacy of Václav Havel and Jan Patočka, in cooperation with the Centre for Phenomenological Research / the Jan Patočka Archive. More
Role of the Czech Republic’s presidential office in the country’s foreign policy as it pertains to d
May 15, 2013, 16:00 Participation on local events
Panel and follow up discussion will focus on questions such as: What is president’s role in articulating of foreign policy? What impact do the vague competencies between the president and the Ministry of Foreign affairs have on perception of Czech Republic abroad? How does the current situation differ from the past? What does the constitution say about responsibility for foreign policy making? What role do presidents play in foreign policy in other countries? Can the president interpret foreign policy on his own? Chair: Jan Machacek- Respekt weekly Entry is free of charge. The debate will be simultaneously translated into English. More
Ludvík Němec – Love on a Stranger’s Grave
May 16, 2013, 19:00
After 19 long years, prose writer Ludvík Němec returns to literature with these masterful short stories in which the heroes of unusual events often careen from edgy erotica to impending death…exciting reading! Igor Bareš will read from the book.
An Inspired Performance…live!
May 18, 2013, 14:00 Participation on local events
The Václav Havel library presents the voices, faces, poems and songs of the underground: Vít Kremlička, Beatrice Landovská, J. H. Krchovský, Pavel Zajíček, Dáša Vokatá and others. The event is taking place as part of the 19th Book World Prague international book festival.
Krystyna Krauze: Tatar Aspirations
May 20, 2013, 19:00
Screening of a film by the documentary maker Krystyna Krauz on the fate of the Crimean Tatars… Like all magical stories, it began in an ordinary way. A dream holiday in the Crimean, where we went to see the magical sea, beaches and vineyards and to enjoy the sun. Accommodation right by the sea seemed expensive to us, while the owners, Russians, weren’t likable. Somebody advised us to find accommodation in the interior, with Tatars…
VHL Film Marathon V: Václav Havel and the Czechoslovak New Wave
May 21, 2013, 18:00
Generational connections and shared starting points in terms of inspiration link Václav Havel to the Czechoslovak New Wave, and it is not widely known that he played a small role in one feature film. This VHL Film Marathon will present the young Václav Havel’s tiny acting performance as well as two pictures that represent the political and metaphorical currents present in Czech film in the 1960s. Screenings: Každý mladý muž (Every Young Man) (directed by P. Juráček, 1965, 83 min.) Zahrada (The Garden) (directed by J. Švankmajer, 1968, 17 min.) O slavnosti a hostech (A Report on the Party and the Guests) (directed by J. Němec, 1966, 68 min.)
The 1970s and 1980s in Czechoslovakia
May 21, 2013, 18:00 Participation on local events
Totalitarianism, post-totalitarianism or an authoritarian regime. A debate hosted by journalist and analyst Jan Macháček with Jiří Peňás, Ladislav Snopek, Anna Šabatová and Petruška Šustrová. This Václav Havel Library discussion evening is being held in cooperation with the Slovak Institute in Prague.
Patrik Ouředník – Free Space of Language
May 22, 2013, 19:00
A very special literary evening with Patrick Ouředník, the most translated contemporary Czech author, on the occasion of the publication of his new book by the Torst publishing house. “Do you take part in festivals, presentations, readings?” “Sporadically.” “Why’s that?” “Because I think that ideally they shouldn’t exist at all.” From an interview with Patrik Ouředník by Matěj Petrů (Souvislosti 1/2012).
PLAV – More Visegrád Language
May 23, 2013, 19:00
PLAV, a monthly dedicated to world literature, has been coming out for eight years now. This time it presents the mutually connected or completely unconnected literatures of the “Visegrád Four”. Texts by Ladislav Ballek, Péter Hunčík, Renata Putzlacher an Ádám Bodor will therefore be read in the course of the evening… The evening’s hosts, PLAV editors Alexej Sevruk and Vratislav Kadlec, will pull back the veil over Visegrád.
Europe and the Czech Republic 2113
May 24, 2013, 19:00 Conferences
Conference on the present state and future of European civilisation. The discussion panel will comprise Miroslav Bárta, Jeroným Klimeš, Jan Macháček and Václav Cílek. The conference is taking place in cooperation with Ace Academy. More
Michal Cihlář: From the Life of Sewers
May 28, 2013, 19:00
Opening of an exhibition by Michal Cihlář.
Michal Cihlář: From the Life of Sewers
28/05/13 – 30/06/13 Exhibitions
Michal Cihlář, an artist mainly known to the Czech public for his colour linocuts and photographs of a series of manhole covers, is showing his work at Galerie Montmartre. The exhibition is taking place on the occasion of the publication of the monograph Ze života kanálů (From the Life of Sewers), the first title in the authorial series Detail v designu, design v detailu (Detail in Design, Design in Detail). The series, prepared by Michal Cihlář and Veronika Richterová, maps the subjects of their joint photography collections over the years and is issued by the Novela bohemica publishing house. More
Don’t Forget Jaromír Šavrda!
May 30, 2013, 18:00 Participation on local events
Early evening dedicated to the creative and moral legacy of the poet, author and political prisoner Jaromír Šavrda (1933–1988), including discussions, recollections, readings and screenings. The event is being held by Ostrava’s PANT association, which operates the Moderní-Dějiny.cz (modern history) educational website, in cooperation with the Václav Havel Library.