In Ostrava, there will be a statue of the singer-songwriter Karel Kryl

Ostrava - A statue of the songwriter and poet Karel Kryl will be unveiled in front of the Czech Radio building in Ostrava on Wednesday. The statue was decided to be placed there by students as a symbol of freedom of speech and democracy. They obtained funding for their project from a city program focused on the improvement of public spaces. Kryl's brother Jan will also attend the unveiling ceremony, said Jaroslav Prokop, director of the Ostrava art school AVE ART, to ČTK today.

"Karel Kryl, through his personal example and songwriting, has influenced several generations and still has something to say to us, even 24 years after his death," Prokop said.

The author of the bronze statue of standing Kryl is sculptor David Moješčík. Last year on Christmas Eve, his bronze statue depicting the composer Leoš Janáček with the fox Bystrouška in his arms was unveiled in Jiráskovo Square in downtown Ostrava. Moješčík has already created works in Ostrava, such as the statue of Levitation; he is also a co-author of the monument Operation Anthropoid in Prague. Currently, he is working on a statue of the late singer Věra Špinarová for the central city district of Moravská Ostrava and Přívoz. The life-sized artwork is to be placed in Husova Park.

Due to the relatively small sidewalk space in front of the radio building, the statue will be placed on a base in the form of a column. Prokop reminded that Kryl spent a significant part of his creative life in the 1960s in the then Czechoslovak Radio Ostrava. "He recorded the songs for his debut album Bratříčku, zavírej vrátka here," Prokop added. According to him, this is the first statue of Kryl in the Czech Republic.

In the new grant program of Ostrava focused on the improvement of public spaces, 11 out of 16 projects were successful last year, with the city distributing over four million crowns. In this year's second round, 20 applicants have registered, and the city will ultimately support 14 projects, distributing 3.1 million crowns among the successful applicants.