Approval of the grant for SEFO is a shift, the museum is preparing a competition

Olomouc – The leadership of the Museum of Art has labeled the approval of nearly 600 million crowns for the construction of the long-planned Central European Forum (SEFO) in Olomouc as a huge advancement. The government decided on this on Monday, including the construction among 17 funded renovations and new buildings for public cultural institutions over the next nine years. The museum is now preparing an architectural competition. The project has been developed by architect Jan Šépka for several years, but the ministry insists on an architectural competition.

The new building will offer, in addition to exhibition spaces for artworks from across Central Europe, the necessary facilities for the museum's operations. This primarily includes larger storage areas for the ever-expanding collections, as well as a new library and study room. "For us, this is a huge advancement, a fulfillment, and a great task for the coming years. We have waited a long time for this and will do everything to ensure that SEFO is built. We urgently need the extension," stated the director of the Museum of Art Olomouc, Michal Soukup.

According to Minister of Culture and former Olomouc Mayor Antonín Staněk (ČSSD), the government's decision definitively opens the way for the construction to begin. The government has released a total of 7.873 billion crowns in the National Cultural Heritage Care program, a national grant program for the period from 2019 to 2028. Of this, 593 million crowns will go towards the construction of SEFO. "Since 2007, when the idea of establishing a gallery of modern Central European art emerged, this is the first time that there are truly guaranteed financial resources," noted museum spokesperson Tomáš Kasal.

The Museum of Art Olomouc is now preparing a new architectural competition for the design of the SEFO building in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture. "We are preparing a selection procedure for the administrator, working on the composition of the competition jury, and especially on preparing the tender conditions," added Kasal.

The construction of SEFO has been planned for over ten years. The project was initially developed in 2009 by architect Jan Šépka. At that time, he proposed to fill the gap in Denisova Street with a building of futuristic appearance. However, Minister of Culture Staněk decided to issue a tender for the construction project, and several experts who supported Šépka's proposal recently objected to his intention. Nevertheless, the museum continues to prepare the competition, and according to Soukup, it should be ready in April.

The SEFO project was confirmed by representatives of the Visegrád Group countries with their signatures in 2008 in Olomouc. The architecturally ambitious building was intended to showcase modern works from across Central Europe, with a garden featuring sculptures and archaeological finds planned for the back. The museum was also to include an international research center. The new central storage facility is designed to accommodate up to 200,000 artworks; the museum currently owns 90,860 collection items with a market value of approximately two billion crowns.