<html>Director of the Trade Fair Palace: We need repairs for 250 million</html>
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The gallery has been negotiating with the Ministry of Culture for several years about a subsidy for this project, but has not yet received a promise of funding. A complete overhaul of the technology in the Veletržní palace is also necessary, which should also lead to energy savings. An investment of 80 million crowns is planned for this project, and NG is also discussing it with the ministry.
Due to a declining budget, specifically the operational contribution to the organization, which is approximately 224 million crowns for this year, NG temporarily closed the permanent exhibition in the Kinský Palace this spring. The former director of the gallery, economist Vladimír Rösel, indicated that most of the state subsidy is consumed by the operation of the facilities (141 million crowns) managed by NG, and the gallery has to find money for exhibitions itself. Current forecasts for next year unofficially speak of another approximately ten percent reduction in the state subsidy for NG.
This spring, Rösel stated that last year NG could effectively use 193 million crowns from the state subsidy. According to him, to fully fulfill its mission, it would need around 350 million crowns. Previously, the subsidy approached that amount. Nearly 77 million crowns last year went to salaries, and 141 million was the operating cost of the buildings.
The most expensive in terms of operation is the Veletržní palace, which is also the most visited NG facility. Musilová recently mentioned that she would like to make the Veletržní palace one of the main themes of the collection's activities next year. This marks the 40th anniversary of the palace fire. Although it was devastating for the building and is among the largest fires that have ever affected Prague, in the search for further use of the building, it was transferred to the National Gallery.
"We are preparing three exhibition projects, we want to discuss the renovation, the current use of the building, as well as its possibilities and limitations. We are preparing a symposium for 2015," said Helena Musilová. She also presented a plan for SMSU exhibitions until 2018 and expressed interest in giving the architecture collection, of which the Veletržní palace is a central exhibit, more space in NG.
The Veletržní palace was built according to the design of Josef Fuchs and Oldřich Tyl for the company of Prague Sample Fairs. It was one of the first and largest functionalist buildings in Prague. It was appreciated, for example, by the famous modern architect Le Corbusier during his visit to Prague in 1928. In August 1974, however, a devastating fire struck the palace, which was then serving foreign trade enterprises. For a time, the building was actually condemned to demolition. After many disputes, however, NG acquired it in the late 1970s. The nearly decade-long reconstruction cost one billion crowns. The establishment of a new permanent exhibition for NG was marked by numerous managerial changes, controversial statements, speculations, and financial discrepancies. The palace finally reopened in 1995.
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