Initiatives

Offcity

The Offcity association continues in the activities of the project of the same name which has been active since 2008, mostly around the region of Pardubice.

Přespolní

Přespolní is a non-profit organization which was created in 2017 and resides in the small village Lubná u Poličky.

Galerie Kabinet Chaos

You can find Planeta Chaos and Galerie Kabinet in Střítež near Polička, not far from the home of Veronika Šrek Bromová and her husband Ivan Šrek.

Promejto

The east Bohemian association Promejto was founded in 2014. Its activities aim to draw local people into a discussion about the creation and protection of a beneficial urban environment.

Les – Community for Cultivation, Theory and Art

The activities of the Woods Community for Cultivation, Theory and Art brings together art projects, research, agricultural work, activism and relaxation.

Další iniciativy

Eko iniciativy

Themes

Chvaletice

From Extraction to Mining

Karolína Žižková

On the train journey between Kolín and Pardubice, the Chvaletice power plant on the left bank of the Elbe cannot be overlooked, not only because its chimney is the highest structure of this type in the Czech Republic. The power plant was built in places devastated by former mining operations, and it has also become known to the general public in recent years thanks to severe air pollution and disputes over obtaining an exemption from emission limits.

Libor Krejcar - Krajina kolem Heřmanova Městce I (z cyklu Sypané obrazy), sklo, kov, dřevěný odpad, 80 x 120 cm, 1999

Libor Krejcar - Krajina kolem Heřmanova Městce I (z cyklu Sypané obrazy), sklo, kov, dřevěný odpad, 80 x 120 cm, 1999

Železné hory

The Landscape, Geology, Myths and Artists of the Iron Mountains

Lenka Dolanová

The territory of the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands largely consists of hills, uplands and forests. It is a region on the border between Bohemia and Moravia, between Prague and Brno, which has historically been fragmented into different administrative areas.

O převracení půdy

Šárka Zahálková

Rybitví is an independent village, it is very closely connected to nearby Pardubice. It was an agricultural village situated near the Elbe River, in the vicinity of which a dense network of ponds spread in the 16th-18th centuries, which were later drained. But it is still possible to enjoy the view of the lowland panorama of fields and meadows, even though village life has been significantly influenced by the chemical industry.

Region

Pardubice

Prepared in collaboration with
Kristýna Pozlerová

A geographically diverse landscape in eastern Bohemia with Poland to the north. Most of the area is constituted by hills and highlands, while it also includes the intensely farmed Polabí lowlands. The massif of the Králický Sněžník is also part of the region, and the central and mountainous parts have been proclaimed a natural reserve. Larger cities are mostly found in the region’s northern area. The northwest includes part of the Orlické mountains, while the south includes the geologically and geo-botanically unique Iron Mountains and Ždár Highlands. The region also overlaps with the Sudetenland and the Silesian borderlands.

Most inhabitants live in medium-sized cities. The Pardubice regional capital and the nearby Hradec Králové constitute one cultural area, sometimes called Hradubice. Pardubice are an important center for the chemical industry (the Synthesia chemical plant is part of Agrofert holdings, and Paramo part of Unipetrol), sports (the traditional Zlatá Přilba, the Velká Pardubická horse race, hockey) and aviation – Pardubice has an international airport as well as a museum of aviation – Letecké muzeum Ing. Jana Kašpara. This however takes its toll on the region’s ecological situation, and the Pardubice region also includes the Opatovice electrical plant, which is one of the biggest polluters in the country, or the long-criticized Chvaletice electrical plant which has been attempting to become exempt from emission limits. Around the regional capital, there are many waterworks dating to the Pernštejn era.

There is a great discrepancy between the education index in places like Pardubice and other, mostly south-eastern areas. The greatest cultural activity is in areas around Pardubice, Litomyšl and Polička.

Pardubice is the seat of the Východočeská galerie (one of the region’s contributory organizations), and the Centrum pro otevřenou kulturu, which includes the GAMPA gallery, as well as Divadlo 29. The Offcity non-governmental organization works with public space. There is a new project for a cultural center called Automatické mlýny, which is currently in its planning stages (planned to open in 2023). A number of smaller, private galleries are active in Pardubice (Art Space NOV, Galerie FONS). The Pardubice Museum is also a regional organization, as are the museums of Litomyšl, Vysoké Mýto and Chrudim, where we can also visit the Museum of Puppets.

Litomyšl is another cultural center (with its city gallery, the Smetanova Výtvarná Litomyšl festival, and a Faculty of Restoration) which has been promoting high-quality contemporary architecture. Other cultural centers include Hlinsko (a city gallery, a set of folk Nativity scenes), Polička (a city gallery, a Bohuslav Martinů exhibit), Heřmanův městec (the Dvojdomek city gallery).

Other private initiatives include Chaos gallery in Střítež near Polička, the activities in the Polom church near Trhová Kamenice, Kulturák Archa in Lubná working under the auspices of the Přespolní group, or the White Gallery in Osík u Litomyšle. As part of their project LES – společenství pro pěstování, teorii a umění, the Are group offer annual symposia in Písečná (the county of Ústí and Orlicí in the Eagle Mountains) where they have bought some forest and meadow plots.

Cartography of (Eco)systems: Black Edition

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