The construction of the NGP depot will cost more than two billion CZK.

Prague - The construction of the depot of the National Gallery in Prague (NGP) in Jinonice will cost over two billion crowns according to Minister of Culture Martin Baxa (ODS). The minister stated this during parliamentary interpellations today. Two years ago, the gallery estimated the cost at 1.3 billion crowns. However, it acknowledged that due to rising material and construction costs, an increase in expenses is to be expected.

"The construction of the National Gallery depot in Jinonice will be prioritized. This is a new building costing more than two billion crowns, which is absolutely necessary for the development of other activities and operations of the National Gallery," the minister said today. According to him, the construction is at the level of preparing documentation. Baxa believes it makes no sense to invest larger sums into the Veletržní Palace, which will undergo renovation after the depot is completed.

Baxa plans to change the status of the NGP's advisory council, which should become more flexible and "less advisory," but a tool for communication with the professional public. He intends to present the concept soon.

The depot area will be created according to the design by the studio JIKA-CZ, which was selected by the NGP in the architectural competition. The investor will be the state. According to earlier information, the area will also include a publicly accessible section—an open depot and public educational programs, in addition to space for caring for artworks.

The existing depots are already completely filled and do not allow for the suitable storage of additional collection items, according to the gallery. The complex will include restoration studios, laboratories, and a digitization center. Selected artworks will also be displayed outdoors, in a publicly accessible sculpture park.

The NGP has six buildings in the capital with permanent exhibitions or displays, and it also organizes exhibitions in the Valdštejn Riding Hall, which belongs to the Senate. The gallery manages the largest collection of works of art in the Czech Republic. It is an institution with a tradition of more than two hundred years, which collects, catalogs, studies, exhibits, publishes, and mediates works of art from all visual arts fields from antiquity to the present day.