In Plzeň, the use of industrial buildings for culture will be addressed

Plzeň - The use of former industrial buildings for cultural purposes will be the focus of a project called the Week of Cultural Factories starting Monday in Plzeň. Representatives from the famous Madrid Matadero will also share their experiences, which evolved from an abandoned municipal slaughterhouse area into a new cultural center of Madrid. In Plzeň, the former Světovar brewery area is expected to be utilized in a similar way. Adriana Krásová from the team of the European Capital of Culture, which Plzeň will hold in 2015, told ČTK about this.
    "There is not much experience with creative factories in the Czech Republic; it is not just about culture, but also about social life and how to breathe life into abandoned structures, how to integrate them into urban infrastructure," she stated. This topic is receiving significant attention globally, and experiences from abroad are expected to benefit Plzeň.
    "It has incredible potential; it reflects the culture of a city and a nation, whether it is capable of reviving such a space. Sometimes developers seize these spaces and transform them into something that lacks organic life," Krásová added.
    Selected examples of how Europe utilizes industrial heritage for cultural, artistic, and community purposes will also be showcased in an outdoor exhibition. It will open on September 19 in Smetanovy sady in the center of Plzeň. The program also includes an exhibition of alternative projects for utilizing the Pardubice Winternitz Mills, presentations of student projects, and more. Cultural centers have already emerged around the world from cotton factories, transportation depots, and other buildings.
    The main part of the Week of Cultural Factories will be an international conference, featuring participants from the Czech Republic and Spain, as well as representatives from the Swiss Kaserne and Lokremise, or Baumwollspinnerei in Leipzig. Workshops are also planned, primarily aimed at operators of cultural factories or those interested in projects utilizing abandoned structures of industrial heritage. Two of the workshops will be led by Swiss partners from the renowned Zurich Rote Fabrik.