I am a fan of public art. It is also one of the pillars of my work as a councilor for culture. I am convinced that art should not only be “closed” in galleries or theaters.
Emotions go hand in hand with art in public space. Sometimes positive, sometimes negative. But what art should never provoke is aggression and vandalism. Art in the public space of Prague 3 became the target of vandals during April. The first case was the artwork Klenba by Zdeňko Hůla. My colleagues and I put a lot of effort into getting it for Kostnické náměstí. However, the six-ton colossus is repeatedly damaged. In April, someone tried to refute him. Successfully.
The second case is the statue of Jaroslav Hašek on Prokop Square. The equestrian statue by Karel Nepraš and Karolína Neprašová was scribbled. We cleaned the statue. With the help of a crane, we temporarily relocated the overturned sculpture, repaired it and fixed it again (and better) in its original place. All of this is challenging. In time and financially. The current repair of Klenba cost the district approximately 70 thousand crowns! This is money that we could have invested in new art installations on Trojka. And believe me, I have such plans.
I am proud that we manage to secure murals from leading Czech artists. Waterfall by Patrik Hábl, Pérák by Toy Box, murals by Tim. And we are looking for other surfaces and possibilities. In addition, this year we will once again bring the Landscape festival to Prague 3, which is based on art in public space.
That we have to count on vandalism? Probably yes. Nevertheless, I wanted to draw attention to what we are dealing with when expanding art in the public space of Prague 3.
