By the end of February, a competition will be announced for the reconstruction of the Trade Fair Palace

Prague - The National Gallery Prague (NGP) will announce an international architectural competition for the reconstruction of the Veletržní Palace by the end of February. With this long-planned adjustment, which has been approved by heritage conservationists, NGP director Jiří Fajt aims to obtain better facilities for contemporary art, among other goals. The Ministry of Culture has allocated 15 million crowns for the competition; Fajt plans to invite 12 Czech and foreign architects with experience in similar projects. Fajt announced this today to ČTK. NGP is also preparing repairs, primarily of the interiors of the Schwarzenberg Palace and the reconstruction of the Sternberg Palace.

Fajt expects a half-year period for the preparation of proposals, and he would like to know the name of the competition winner by October. A five-member jury, which will include Fajt and architectural historian Zdeněk Lukeš, will make the selection. The jury will also include Wim Pijbes, the emeritus director of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, which underwent a decade-long reconstruction during his tenure. Another jury member will be former deputy director of the American museum MoMA James Snyder, who later worked at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem and was also involved in its expansion with new buildings. The fifth spot on the jury will be filled by one of the architects. The jury will have an advisory team consisting of twenty experts, ranging from technicians to museum professionals.

Fajt anticipates that project work and approvals could take two years, followed by another two years for the actual construction, and a year for the relocation of exhibits back to the Veletržní Palace. "In an ideal scenario, everything from the contract signing could take six years," he estimated.

During the time the Veletržní Palace is closed, three thematic exhibitions could be created from the collections of modern and contemporary art for partner exhibition institutions in Europe, such as in Dresden, Fajt previously stated. Simultaneously with the relocation of a large number of artworks from the Veletržní Palace, NGP is preparing the construction of a new depository in Butovice. The Veletržní Palace is not just exhibition halls, but also serves as a depository for non-exhibited works.

Fajt does not wish to estimate the funding needed for the palace's reconstruction. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš stated that the restoration of the functionalist monument is included in a new investment program being prepared by the government. During last year's visit of the Prime Minister to cultural state institutions planned for investments, discussions regarding the Veletržní Palace mentioned three billion crowns.

The approval of the Care for National Cultural Heritage I program, scheduled for 2019 to 2028, has been postponed by the government. "The financial balance of the program is set at 7.873 billion crowns and will be covered by the ministry of culture's expenditure frameworks," communicated to ČTK Ivana Awwadová from the press department of the Ministry of Culture. According to earlier information from the Ministry, the program is expected to continue with a similar volume of funds until 2033, covering repairs and new constructions of the headquarters of state cultural institutions. It considers the reconstruction of the Prague Invalidovna, the Náprstek Museum, the establishment of the Central European Forum SEFO at the Olomouc Museum of Art, or the revitalization of the New Stage of the National Theatre, alongside the Veletržní Palace.