Cultural organizations are writing to Vaňková about problems with the heritage conservators

Brno - A group of cultural organizations in Brno has sent an open letter to Mayor Markéta Vaňková (ODS) requesting assistance. Representatives of the organizations describe in the text the long-standing problems in communication with the heritage preservation department of the city hall. CTK has access to the letter. Among the signatories are representatives from the Moravian Gallery, the Moravian Museum, the Center for Experimental Theatre, and the Bolek Polívka Theatre, for example. According to them, the department radically regulates promotion on the buildings of cultural institutions, and difficulties also arise with the reconstruction of buildings.

Mayor Vaňková confirmed to CTK the receipt of the letter and stated that the city is addressing it and will respond to the cultural organizations. "We explain in it (in the response) that the heritage preservation department acts within its delegated authority, it is a performance of state law, and we as a local government cannot intervene. Furthermore, we state that all the actions that (the heritage department) takes are in accordance with the protection of heritage sites in Brno," said Vaňková.

The letter to the mayor was signed by the senior officials of the Moravian Gallery, the Moravian Museum, the Brno-Center district, the Tourist Information Center, the House of Art, the Center for Experimental Theatre, the Bolek Polívka Theatre, and the Faculty of Architecture as well as the Faculty of Fine Arts at VUT. According to them, the heritage preservation department of the city hall radically limits the placement of promotional displays for short-term events on the buildings of cultural institutions. "The standard is that the most significant art institutions in world capitals use prominent visible advertising on their buildings," the letter states. The organizations also encounter problems with investment projects, such as during reconstructions. According to them, heritage protectors question the expertise of cultural institutions and make it impossible for them to manage buildings economically, which leads to complications in obtaining funds, for example, from European funds.

According to Vaňková, the city will keep the letter in mind. "If we believe that cultural organizations are being curtailed in their rights, it will be a reason for us to address it more thoroughly," added Vaňková.