Arts | All stories

In the shadow of the church of the St. Germain de Pres on the Rue Bonaparte, the staff of the Czech Cultural Center waved visitors in to the closing celebration of a unique exhibition of the work of 10 contemporary Czech artists. The hands-on experience of Orbis Pictus comprised three floors of fantastical, whimsical instruments and machines, all of which could be touched and many of which could be used to create sounds and music.

Some of the best things come about by chance, and that is certainly the case with an exhibition that opens on 27th September in the beautiful Baroque Clam-Gallas Palace in Prague's Husova Street. The show includes dozens of photographs from the turn of the century, by a photographer who for nearly 90 years has been almost completely forgotten. Over nearly four decades Karel Kruis (1851-1917) took thousands of photographs. Some are portraits of public figures, others depict country people going about their lives, and many record a rural Czech landscape

In this week's edition of the Arts, a festival of Iranian culture in Prague, at a difficult time for relations between Iran and the West. And an exhibition of photos from the Broumov region - once home to a large German community - is launched at Prague's Goethe Institute.

Just when you thought Prague couldn't support another special film event, think again. In roughly two weeks' time the Kino Svetozor in the city centre will host the Manhattan Short film festival, known previously only in the US for allowing up-and-coming filmmakers to get their work seen by wider audiences than they were used to before. The festival selects twelve international film shorts, awarding the best director a chance to make a feature film of his or her own. Not bad. The festival's founder, Nicholas Mason, started it all on a street in

This week's Arts focuses on Czech film. Jan Velinger looks at "Beauty in Trouble" - a new feature by director Jan Hrebejk - while Jarka Halkova talks to the creator of a new animated movie currently in production.

The Jewish Museum in Prague is one of the oldest of its kind in Europe - this year it's celebrating it's centennial. Behind its foundation was the inspiration to preserve and present Judaism in all its past glory, as well as to prevent important works and unique artefacts from disappearing forever. Now, in line with the year-long celebration of Jewish culture in Prague, the museum has opened a new exhibition focused on the its original pre-war collection: the first four decades from 1906 to 1940.

Karel Gott is by far the most successful Czech singer. He has won the Golden Nightingale, a prestigious annual music award, 31 times and is, at 67, a living legend. And he is the very first Czech living legend to have his own museum - Gottland.

The photographer Miroslav Tichy became known in the Czech Republic only recently, after he achieved major success abroad. His unusual photographs have been exhibited in galleries in London, New York, Zurich and although they are of very poor technical quality visitors and critics are impressed. The photographs are now sold for up to ten thousand euros.

In this week's Arts, a look at the music of the Altai Republic in Siberia and attempts by one man to bring it here to the Czech Republic. He is Prague-born Ludek Broz, who's currently doing a PhD in social anthropology at Cambridge University and who also runs a company which encourages tourism and business opportunities in the Altai region.

Czech-born jazz guitarist Rudy Linka is a performer who needs no introduction to international audiences. Long based in New York, he returns often to the Czech Republic and has now organised a new festival bringing world-class musicians to Prague as well as other parts of the country. The festival takes place over three days and performances are free to the public - a great opportunity to hear great jazz. Jan Velinger spoke with Rudy Linka earlier on Friday to discuss the festival and also asked him about his own past: why it was that he chose