<p>Prague 7 wants to be a creative district; culture is said to attract investments.</p>

Prague - The city hall in Prague 7 wants to build a cultural district in cooperation with local institutions. The project, named Art District 7, aims to improve the lives of people in this district, attract new visitors, and utilize the area's potential for new investments and the connection between business and culture. This was stated by the mayor of Prague 7, Jan Čižinský, during the signing of the memorandum for the creation of the creative district with the Institute of Planning and Development.

The memorandum is, according to the councilor for culture in Prague 7, Hana Třeštíková, primarily a strategy for further development in this district. This year, for example, the city hall plans to publish cultural guides and establish new signposts. According to her, Prague 7 is the place with the highest concentration of cultural institutions in the whole Czech Republic, but people allegedly do not orient themselves well in the district. The signposts will be in Czech and English - in this case, they would be the first of their kind in Prague, as those in the city center have only been in Czech for years. The city hall's intention is to keep visitors in the district for as long as possible and to offer places that people did not primarily come for.

The memorandum was signed in the space of Jatka 78, which is the center of new circus and is located in one of the halls of the Holešovice market. The founder of the Cirqueon project, David Kašpar, reminded that cultural and creative clusters are a significant tool for sustainability.

"In a specific location, urban district, or even region, cultural entities connect with the academic world, institutions, as well as with business and public administration, forming a kind of cluster based on sharing and collaboration, which will reflect on the quality of life and attract investments," he said. An example for the people from the city hall is, for instance, the Vienna Museum Quarter or Berlin's Kreuzberg.

Třeštíková added that the city hall wants to kick-start something that will not depend on political will later on. "Those who are involved in the project should be the bearers of the idea even after the political representation changes," she said. According to her, there are about one hundred entities already participating in the cultural life of Prague 7. "We closely collaborate with 50 of them, including not only the leadership of the National Gallery or the DOX Center but also smaller actors, such as smaller galleries or non-profit organizations," she listed.

"We are not just talking about the Holešovice market; we have the ambition to create a creative district throughout Prague 7," she said, referring to Jatka78, which is an example of how new uses can be found for spaces that previously served different purposes. In many European cities, markets are examples of how new centers emerge that connect culture with gastronomy, other urban entertainment, and quality office spaces.

The Holešovice market, which is a cultural monument, is owned by the city hall. The city hall probably has other plans for the area than to turn it into a creative center for now.