Praha 10 will announce a competition for an artwork, it will be paid for by the city hall

Prague - In August, Prague 10 will announce an international competition for a work of art commemorating the legacy of artists and theorists Jindřich Chalupecký and Jiřina Hauková in the park by the Vršovice train station, which is named after them. CTK was informed about this by the spokesperson of the city district, Jan Hamrník. The work is expected to be completed in 2022, and its creation will be funded by the city council through the Art for the City program.

"This is the first international competition for the design of an artwork in the Czech Republic, where the commissioning party is the city district and the investor is the City of Prague. Until now, artworks have been created ad hoc on political orders," said Igor Kovačević from CCEA MOBA, the company organizing the competition for the city council.

Artists will be able to submit their proposals from August to October, including through video. The winner will be determined by a jury composed of art experts and representatives from the city district by the end of the year. The city council will be represented by Mayor Renata Chmelová (Vlasta) and Deputy Mayors Jana Komrsková (Pirates) and Martin Valovič (ODS), while the academic community will be represented by Director of the Jindřich Chalupecký Society Karina Kottová, Rector of the Academy of Fine Arts Tomáš Vaněk, and art historian Otto M. Urban.

The Art for the City program of the Prague city council is intended to support the placement of artworks in public places. It was approved by the previous leadership of Prague, while the current one has allowed its conditions to be modified. According to earlier information, 1.8 million crowns have been allocated from the program for the sculpture in the Vršovice park. Another project financed from the program is set to be a large painting on the wall, known as a mural, on the wall of the Jablonecká community center in Prague 9. The artworks will be owned by the City of Prague, and the gallery of the city is the guarantor of the program.

Chalupecký and Hauková were a married couple and significant figures in 20th-century art. Chalupecký was particularly known as a visual and literary theorist and a critic and art historian. He also translated, just like the poet Hauková. The park in Prague 10 has been named after the couple since 2014.