Arts | All stories

The Rožmberks, a lavish new exhibition, opened on Thursday at the Waldstein (Wallenstein) Riding School, looking back at one of the most prominent and influential Bohemian noble families. The Rožmberk dynasty dates back to the 13th to 16th centuries, with its members holding key positions in the royal and later imperial courts. The castle at Český Krumlov, admired by countless visitors in South Bohemia today, was the family seat for three hundred years.

The 54th Venice Biennale is less than a month away and the installation representing the Czech and Slovak arts scenes at the national pavilion is now en route. Created by Czech artist Dominik Lang and entitled The Sleeping City, the instalation aims to challenge international viewers to experience, assess, or revisit on an intuitive and emotional level recent Czechoslovak and European history, from the Cold War to today.

American jazz trumpet player Laco Deczi - born in Czechoslovakia – needs little introduction, especially for anyone familiar with the world of jazz. At 73, Deczi hasn’t let up one bit – most recently playing a month-long tour in his homeland. Despite a busy schedule, Laco took time off to come to Radio Prague’ studio; in this week’s Arts he discusses everything from life in New York to his spring tour.

Last week saw the awarding of the annual Magnesia Litera awards for 2010 recognising excellence in Czech literature. The main award for book of the year went to the Jan Balabán for Zeptej se táty, who died only a few months after its completion at the age of just 49. Other winners included Martin Ryšavý and Josef Hrubý in prose and poetry while the literary discovery of the year went to artist and debuting author Markéta Baňková for a beautiful little book called Straka v Říši Entropie. We look at that debut in this week’s Arts.

Last week saw the opening of a new exhibition at Prague Castle, Růžena: The Story of a Painter, focusing on the life and work of the remarkable early 20th century Czech artist Růžena Zátková, forgotten for years in her homeland. Born to a well-to-do south Bohemian family in 1885, she along with her sister, most unusually for the period was encouraged by her parents to develop talents in the arts, and she pursued these in earnest in both music and painting after the family moved to Prague.

It’s Wednesday night and Kino Aero in Prague’s Žižkov district is swarming with people. Despite it’s slightly run down interior and uncomfortable creaky chairs this small cinema has become a legendary venue here in Prague and people don’t mind spending the extra twenty minutes or so that it takes to get here from the city centre. Kino Aero has just recently celebrated ten years of its existence and I went to meet its manager Ivo Andrle to find out what exactly it is that makes the place so special:

In this week’s Arts, we have a round-up of recent stories from the Czech arts scene. In this edition: how a new project called Artbanka is helping emerging young artists in the Czech Republic and Slovakia; the highly-respected Prague theatre Dejvické divadlo launches a new play based on the life of early 20th Czech adventurer Jan “Eskimo” Welzl; and a precious B&W photograph by František Drtikol – stolen two weeks ago – is returned to Prague’s Museum of Decorative Arts.

In today’s Arts my guest is Brian Callaghan, a Prague-based author of a new action/adventure thriller called The Seeds of Cain. Inspired by biblical themes and medieval legend, the novel throws together an unlikely group of adventurers – including the hero John McFadden – to fight an ancient evil. The story takes them from a quiet corner of Prague to an archaeological dig in the Middle East and beyond, and it doesn’t let-up for 400 pages. Brian Callaghan came into the studio earlier this week and the first thing I asked him about was the threat

In this week’s Arts I talk to Irena Murray-Žantovská of the Royal Institute of British Architects in London about a successful new show there examining work in the Czech lands by famous Functionalist architect Adolf Loos. The show picks up from a similar exhibition held in the Czech capital in 2008 and presents to British audiences some of Loos’ best known buildings in the Czech Republic and Prague, most notably the Müller Villa.

In this week’s Arts I talk to Czech-Canadian documentary filmmaker Katerina Cizek – the director of Out My Window, a fascinating and highly-innovative project that looks at lives behind the walls of highrise buildings in 13 cities around the world, from Prague to Beirut. The non-linear feature film – called the first 360 degree internet documentary in the world – is up for an international Emmy next month and can be viewed on the website of the National Film Board of Canada. Kat Cizek told me more about the idea behind her project and how it all