In Zlín, the reconstruction of Čiper's villa has begun, a cultural and creative center will be established

Zlín - Today, the reconstruction of Čipera Villa started in Zlín. A cultural and creative center for the Zlín Region will be established there. There will also be an exhibition dedicated to Dominik Čipera, the former director of the Baťa company, the mayor of Zlín, and a Czechoslovak minister. The work will cost 205 million crowns, of which 100 million will be covered by a grant from the National Recovery Plan, and it should be completed by autumn next year, said regional councilor Zuzana Fišerová (Pirates) to ČTK today.

The architecturally valuable villa of Dominik Čipera was built in 1942 according to the design by architect Vladimír Karfík. Since 1947, the building has served as a children's home, and until recently, it housed a facility for children in immediate need of help. In 2002, the villa and its garden were registered on the List of Immovable Cultural Monuments.

"The project addresses not only the reconstruction of the villa itself but also the modification of its surroundings, specifically the extensive historic garden, the repair of access roads, the creation of parking spaces, the reconstruction of the wooden terrace and the gardener's house, the reconstruction of outdoor storage facilities, and the infrastructure for the area. We want to breathe new life into the villa and believe it will become a popular meeting place for people with a creative spirit," said governor Radim Holiš (ANO).

The building will become a cultural and creative center where artists, representatives of cultural organizations, and students from art and design schools will meet. There will be classrooms for educational workshops in cooperation with regional specialized schools. There will be a ceramic kiln and tools for glass engraving. Spaces for photographic creation and computer graphics will also be created. The region also wants to make the villa and the park accessible to the public. The renovation of the gardener's house will create accommodation space.

"There is currently no place in our region that allows the concentration of activities focused on education in areas important for creative industries, such as applied arts, design, audiovisuals, glassmaking, or woodworking. This will change with the establishment of a new cultural and creative center in Čipera Villa. It will serve to connect partners from the cultural, artistic, and educational fields with the creators themselves – designers, artists, and cultural organizers," stated Fišerová. Filmmakers are also interested in the villa.

The villa will feature an exhibition dedicated to Čipera, created by the Regional Gallery of Fine Arts in Zlín. "We are trying to preserve the original state of the office and entrance spaces as much as possible, so it looks like they just left. We will strive to adapt it as much as possible to the spirit of the wartime and interwar era of the Baťa company and, above all, to commemorate the personality of Dominik Čipera in all aspects, not only as a brilliant economist, a sort of gray eminence of the company, but also as a supporter of art and artists," said curator Ladislava Horňáková to ČTK today. The second part of the exhibition will focus on villa construction in Zlín. According to Horňáková, Čipera Villa is unique for its size, being a dominant feature of Zlín, as well as for the number of preserved original elements. The operation and sustainability of the cultural and creative center will be managed by 14I15 Baťa Institute, a contributory organization of the region.