The Gallery of Fine Arts in Ostrava (GVUO), a contributory organization of the Moravian-Silesian Region, is preparing to reconstruct the visitor facilities in the heritage-protected House of Art from 1926. The exhibition building will close on July 21, and the work will last until the end of the year.

The House of Art was last reconstructed in 2019, when the roof over the entire building was renovated. The Moravian-Silesian Region paid 20 million Czech crowns for the complete renovations at that time. This year, 5 million crowns from the regional budget has been allocated for the reconstruction of the interior spaces of the House of Art, supervised by the National Heritage Institute in Ostrava, said the councilor for culture and heritage care, Peter Harvánek.

A Return to the Era of Circular Lights
The Ostrava House of Art will commemorate the centenary of its opening in 2026. In this context, the Gallery of Fine Arts in Ostrava plans modifications to the publicly accessible parts of the interior. A new entrance area with a ticket office, a sales corner, and a cloakroom connected to the children's zone will be created. In the vestibule and adjacent areas on the ground floor, the equipment, including furniture, will be renewed after more than fifteen years, based on a design by designer Tomáš Svoboda. New suspended circular lighting fixtures will also be installed, bringing the interiors closer to their original form from 1926.

As soon as the current exhibitions end, we will begin clearing out the building. We will start partial construction work in August. If everything goes according to plan, we would like to kick off our anniversary year in January next year with an exhibition of Czech modernism from the GVUO collections, which curator Karel Srp is already working on, stated the gallery director, Jiří Jůza.

From the Shop to the Children's Zone via a Tunnel
After the reconstruction, a shop will replace the former café, where it will be possible to purchase publications and catalogs focused on fine arts, architecture, and design, not only from GVUO's production. Newly, books will also be available for browsing, with the option of sitting down at the bar counter by the window. In smaller sales boxes, visitors will find a small assortment with the visual identity of GVUO. In the future, we are also considering the option of having coffee here, added Jůza.

A tunnel for children will lead from the shop to the adjacent children's zone connected to the cloakroom. This area for young visitors will offer artistic and play elements, such as creative tasks, books, and construction sets. A cascading stage with storage space will become the dominant feature, providing additional possibilities for games and exploration. The cloakroom area will be equipped with lockable lockers.

Part of the modifications to the House of Art also includes the renovation of toilets on both floors and a complete repainting of the interior. We will return the rear staircase to use, on whose walls we will install large-format artworks from the GVUO collection. The entire building's security system will also be modernized. In 2026, while still in operation, we will continue with the renovation of the terrace and garden furniture, which will match the interior solutions. This year, the entrance to the terrace will already be complemented by a previously bricked-up window that will return daylight to the interior. Our goal is to bring the House of Art closer to its original form while also addressing the needs of our visitors, concluded Jůza.