České Budějovice will start the reconstruction of the House of Art next year for 70 million CZK

České Budějovice - České Budějovice will begin the reconstruction of the House of Art next year. The project will last until 2027, and the city estimates costs of approximately 70 million crowns. The city hall initially postponed the planned reconstruction this year and will return to it next year. This was reported to ČTK by the deputy mayor Petr Maroš (Independents).

Originally, the city planned a reconstruction of the building for 150 million crowns. Maroš stated that it has now opted for a lighter form of modernization. "We are preparing the reconstruction with an architect who succeeded with a winning design in the competition. We have agreed with him on changes. We can call this the first phase or a soft version. The structural integrity of the building, utilities, electrical installations, and the roof will be completely redone. Then we would proceed to the first floor and the ground floor, where an information center will be created, which we desperately need here,” Maroš said.

The exhibitions of contemporary art and architecture in the House of Art, located in the city center on Přemysl Otakar II Square, are visited by over 10,000 people each year. This includes about 3,000 children from schools attending educational programs. The city of České Budějovice, as the operator of the House of Art, allocated 1.25 million CZK for the operation of the gallery last year, which is 60 percent more than the year before.

The postponement of the reconstruction was accompanied by protests from some supporters of the House of Art in the city. By December 31, curator Michal Škoda, who disagreed with the postponement of the reconstruction, will also be leaving the gallery. Kristýna Hájková has become the new curator for the next four years. Under her leadership, the gallery is preparing four exhibitions for next year on the theme of public space. Three of them will focus on contemporary artists, and one on an architectural studio. Half of the exhibitions will feature foreign authors.