Fajt: The appearance of the space under Stalin will be determined by an architectural competition

photo: National Gallery in Prague

Prague - By the end of September, the National Gallery in Prague wants to sign a memorandum with the city of Prague on collaboration to create a new form of the space under the former Stalin monument in Letná. The director of the National Gallery, Jiří Fajt, told ČTK that the NG commits to preparing a program for it. The space will remain in the ownership of the city, which should cover the reconstruction costs for the center of contemporary art. However, its form must arise from a public architectural competition. "I will not allow anything else," says the director of the NG.

On Tuesday, Prague announced that it would issue a public tender for the use of the underground space of the former monument, stating that the price of the contract should not exceed 50 million crowns. The prices of such studies usually amount to approximately ten percent of the total cost of the work, so the adjustments of the space could cost about half a billion, Fajt believes. The final price cannot be determined at this time; before starting work, it will be necessary to conduct a historical building survey, which may bring unexpected findings.

The presentation of the plans by the city and the NG for the establishment of the art center has sparked negative reactions from some local politicians and the Czech Chamber of Architects. They pointed out that the form of the space should be determined by an architectural competition. Fajt also wants that. According to him, the misunderstanding may have arisen because the city used a feasibility study from 2012 as a basis for the council's deliberations.

Six years ago, architect Jiří Javůrek was tasked by the then city leadership to verify whether the Slav Epic could fit into the space under the monument. "The feasibility study addressed the technical condition of the site, the statics, and alternative transport options," Fajt describes. The construction investment has several phases of preparation and begins with an architectural study that will arise from the architectural competition. The material from 2012 is not that, and it was likely misunderstood in the documents for the city council meeting, Fajt believes.

He also reminds that the cooperation between the city and the NG is not new; he claims to have discussed the use of the space with the city hall and other partners for several years. He recalls a discussion about the future of the site at the mayor's residence three years ago with the participation of local politicians, investors, representatives of the Institute for Planning and Development, and conservators. "It was based on the premise that the site needs to be repaired; it is structurally compromised, there is water leaking, and if it is not repaired, the place will have to be closed and will be inaccessible," says Fajt. The mayor is reportedly now reaching out to him again to see if he would like to revive the project.

"Based on the memorandum that we will sign with the mayor, the NG will prepare a feasibility study focused on content and will also propose program carriers," he said. The organization Memory of the Nation will take care of a part of the program that recalls the totalitarian background of the entire space's creation. "The underground space will belong to art, but we will certainly leave room for street culture and create conditions for it. The conflict of totalitarianism with street culture is fresh, experimental, and contrasts with what the place was created for," he says.

According to him, there should be the most contemporary art in all its expressions under Stalin, extending to performance, theater, and music. "It would be a step towards institutionalized support for contemporary visual art, which, unlike film, is lacking. That was clear even years ago," he concluded.