The Romani Culture Museum is preparing a center for Romani and Sinti people in Prague

Brno - The Museum of Romani Culture in Brno is preparing to establish a new specialized facility, which will be the Center for Roma and Sinti in Prague. It will be located in a reconstructed villa in the Prague district of Dejvice, spokesperson Lucie Horáková announced today in a press release. Costs of nearly 45 million crowns will be covered by so-called Norwegian funds. Work is expected to begin this fall and will last two years. The opening of the center is planned for March 2023.

The center will focus on the period of the Holocaust of the Roma and Sinti, as well as their material and spiritual culture, both past and present. "The goal is to create a space for exhibitions, concerts, discussions, lectures, educational programs for school children and youth, but also a space for community gatherings," said Horáková. According to her, the center aims to open a debate on coexistence and help improve the position of Roma in society.

The Museum of Romani Culture has been the administrator of a First Republic villa in Dejvice since last year. "The exhibition family house was designed for the Jewish textile entrepreneur Leo František Perutz by architects Arnošt Mühlstein and Victor Fürth. The villa at Velvarská Street 1 was built in 1937 in a romantic style with elements of functionalism," Horáková described. According to her, the villa has not been permanently inhabited in recent years but has often served as a film set, appearing in the film Women in Temptation, for example.

Despite its age, the building is in good technical condition, Horáková stated. "The appearance of the villa will remain almost unchanged. A significant new element will be the addition of a multifunctional hall with a meeting room and café. A gallery space will be created in the attic. An important alteration will be the installation of an elevator, which will ensure barrier-free access to the building," said Horáková.

Funding for the construction of the center is to come from so-called Norwegian funds. These refer to the Financial Mechanisms of the European Economic Area (EEA) and Norway, through which Norway, along with Iceland and Liechtenstein, contributes to reducing economic and social disparities in the EEA.