The Ministry of Culture will contribute to the Kampa Museum for repairs of the artworks after the fire

photo: Firefighters of the Czech Republic

Prague - The Ministry of Culture will financially assist the Jan and Meda Mládek Foundation in restoring works of art affected by fire fumes. The foundation manages a collection located at the Kampa Museum, where a technical room caught fire last week. Culture Minister Lubomír Zaorálek (CSSD) told reporters today after visiting the museum that state assistance could amount to millions of crowns. Jiří Pospíšil, chairman of the foundation's board, previously stated that the damage to the building where the fire occurred exceeds ten million crowns, and the damage to the works affected by smoke is about two to three million crowns.

No artwork was destroyed in the fire, but about two-thirds of the pieces from the foundation's collection were affected by the toxic oily smoke produced by the burning air conditioning system, according to Pospíšil. He mentioned today that the museum is insured, so part of the damages will be covered by insurance. However, the loss of income from ticket sales, which is a significant source of revenue for the foundation, will last for many months. According to Pospíšil, the museum continues to prepare further exhibitions, which are financed from ticket sales, so state assistance is welcomed. However, it is neither the first nor the exceptional, as the museum obtains funds from grants and subsidies provided by the Ministry of Culture.

The Kampa Museum could partially reopen within 14 days after Wednesday's fire. However, the upper floors affected by the smoke will be closed for at least half a year. It will also be necessary to restore the smoke-damaged works; according to Pospíšil, analyses of the toxic smoke affecting them are currently being conducted.

The future museum building was acquired by Prague from the state in 1997, and the collector Meda Mládková rented the Sovovy Mlyn from the city for 99 years. The collection includes over 220 paintings and drawings by František Kupka, 16 sculptures by Otto Gutfreund, and over 1000 works by Czech and Slovak artists from 1965 to 1985. Before his death in 2002, the significant Czech poet, artist, and art collector Jiří Kolář donated his collection to the Mládek Foundation.