Artists created a petition for the preservation of the area at Kraví hora

Senator for ANO 2021 and director of the observatory Mgr. Jiří Dušek presents a proposal for the expansion of Kraví hora park (Rudiš-Rudiš architects, s. r. o.). photo: kult.cz

Brno – Artists utilizing buildings in the former military area at Kraví hora in Brno have written a petition against the proposed expansion of the park for ten million crowns, suggested by the leadership of the observatory and planetarium. The petition has over 700 signatures. The city council will decide on the demolition of five buildings in the area, referred to as likusáks, on Wednesday, said one of the petition authors, architect Radovan Přikryl, to ČTK. This was confirmed by the spokesperson of the magistrate, Filip Poňuchálek. According to senator and observatory director Jiří Dušek, the buildings are 80 years old and in poor condition.

Studios and rehearsal rooms in the former military area at Kraví hora serve as an artistic base for both emerging and renowned visual artists, musicians, and architects. Most of the land in the area is owned by the Brno University of Technology (VUT), with a smaller part owned by the city. The petition demands that the city now preserve the buildings, engage in discussion with the artists, and jointly decide with VUT on the future of the area.

"By demolishing part of the area, the city would tear the area out of the context of Kraví hora and break up the community that collaborates within it. As artists, we need service facilities, rehearsal rooms, and training workplaces that are financially accessible and preferably located in the center of the city, so we can showcase our works to the public,” said co-author of the petition, architect Alice Šimečková. Přikryl added that the area is regularly opened to the public through the festival event Open Studios and other thematic workshops.

Part of the five buildings that the city owns, according to Dušek, does not serve any cultural or artistic purposes. "They are used as storage, and there is asbestos in the buildings, plus some tenants have debts to the city,” Dušek said. Artists deny debts for part of their rentals, so it is possible that they are only for the storage part. According to Poňuchálek, the city records a debt of about 700,000 crowns. "However, the city is currently communicating with individual interested parties, and it is expected that considering the successful reduction of the debt amount recently, the vast majority of the remaining debts or even all of them will soon be settled,” Poňuchálek stated. He added that the transformation of the area is not related to the paid invoices. "The condition of the buildings is inadequate. Due to their age, they are energy-intensive,” the spokesperson emphasized.

Artists acknowledge that the area does not look very appealing. "But it is an environment where we can create. With minimal investment in maintenance, the buildings could stand for another decade," Přikryl said. According to him, artists could also use the buildings that are currently used for storage. He added that an open and unfenced park could be created from the area, where artists could also create.

> https://e-petice.cz/petitions/vyjadreni-k-zameru-rozsireni-parku-kravi-hory-.html