Hundreds of people celebrated today in Prague the 100th birthday of Meda Mládková

Prague – Participants in the celebration of Meda Mládková's hundredth birthday spoke today of their host as a strict and foresighted curator of collections, an animal lover, and a patroness who, in the second half of the last century, supported Czech art historians' studies abroad. Hundreds gathered throughout the day in the courtyard of the Kampa Museum. The museum's founder did not attend the celebration in person, as she has been moving more slowly after a hip fracture. However, as Chairman of the Board of the Jan and Meda Mládek Foundation, MEP Jiří Pospíšil stated, she followed the events from one of the windows of the building.

As at several previous birthday celebrations, Meda was greeted with bagpipe music by Daniel Hřímal from Domažlice, and musicians from Southern Moravia came to play for the folklore lover. In the afternoon, in the main part of the celebration on the museum's courtyard stage, artists Vladimír Kopecký and Stanislav Kolíbal shared their memories. Sociologist Jiřina Šiklová recalled how Mládková managed the rescue of collections from New York during the flood from afar, and Countess Mathilda Nostitz spoke about their shared passion for animal protection.

Hundreds came to toast Meda's health, which Pospíšil appreciated, but he admitted that as the organizer of the event, he had to improvise due to the unexpected level of interest. Dozens to hundreds of well-wishers brought bouquets, and some brought chocolate or smaller gifts.

On the occasion of the art patron's birthday, both Kampa Museum and the nearby Werich Villa and Portheimka Glass Museum in Smíchov were open for free. Children could create jewelry for Mrs. Meda or complete a coloring page featuring her outline. Part of the celebrations included the exhibition "Meda, Ambassador of Art," which presents the collector through photographic and film documents, the objects she surrounded herself with, and artistic items from her extensive collection.

Mládková was born on September 8, 1919, in Zákupy in northern Bohemia. In her youth, she danced in cabarets in Klaipėda, Lithuania, and in Vienna. Immediately after the war, she reportedly left for Switzerland due to traumatic experiences related to the expulsion of Germans. In Geneva, she studied economics and contributed to the publication of the magazine Současnost. In Paris, she studied art history and founded the first Czechoslovak exile publishing house, Editions Sokolova. This work led her to meet her future husband, Jan Mládek, who contributed modestly to the publishing house's activities as a young economist in Paris. Ms. Meda then personally visited him and asked for larger contributions. She later married him, and with Mládek, who spent most of his life working at the International Monetary Fund, she traveled the world.

In the 1960s, she began visiting Czechoslovakia. She discovered modern art behind the iron curtain and decided to help local artists – she convinced the Ford Foundation to establish a six-month fellowship for them. She also purchased several paintings from these artists.

After her husband's death in August 1989, Mládková donated the entire collection to Prague at his wish. After the revolution, she chose the dilapidated building of the Sovovy mlýny and established a foundation. However, the significance of the gift gradually became overshadowed by a protracted dispute with the authorities over the final form of the building. The museum was opened in 2003.