Festival of Light and Historical Weekend in the Style of the First Republic, exhibition One Hundred Years of the Republic through the eyes of five Pilsen generations, the 100th anniversary of the birth of actor Miroslav Horníček or photographer Vilém Heckel, who were both born in Pilsen, open-air performance of the opera The Bartered Bride in the Square of the Republic. These are some of the events of the year-round project called Pilsen 2018, which culminates in spectacular three-day celebrations of the foundation of the republic in October. They will not be limited to the city of Pilsen but will spread around the whole Pilsen Region. On this occasion, the original script of the play Fidlovačka, written by Josef Kajetán Tyl and containing the text of the Czech national anthem, will be displayed. The initial words of the anthem "Where Is My Home" have become the key motto of the whole project, which will be held jointly by Pilsen and the Pilsen Region.
The Pilsen 2018 project includes the city’s traditional events as well as some entirely new ones. The first of the dozens of events will be the city ball held in the Měšťanská beseda on January 19th in the spirit of the First Republic. Throughout the year there will be exhibitions, festivals, concerts and other events reflecting the rise of the Czechoslovak state. The nostalgic return to the times of the First Republic and the period atmosphere will be enjoyed on various occasions by Pilsen citizens and visitors of all generations.
"The events of October 1918 still present a crucial moment for the formation of the modern Czech state. Therefore, the aim of our project is to strengthen the sense of pride and citizenship of the city of Pilsen. We have prepared the program in order to remind all age groups that October 28 is the major national holiday and should never be outdated. I dare to say that the scope and number of involved entities will make this project one of the republic’s largest events commemorating such a significant anniversary," said Mayor of Pilsen Martin Zrzavecký.
The celebrations of the establishment of independent Czechoslovakia have a strong tradition in Pilsen; a special one-day event in 2006 having been the first one. It offered people the opportunity to see museums, galleries, cultural facilities and historical monuments for symbolic admission or free of charge, and culminated in
a memorial meeting at the National Liberation Monument and the T. G. Masaryk’s statue, followed by
a lampion parade in the Square of the Republic. "This form of the annual Pilsen celebrations of the Czech Republic has become a popular event, which was visited by 40,000 people this year. Three dozen local subjects helped the city organize the event," said Martin Baxa, Deputy Mayor.
It is the cooperation between cultural institutions, associations and other bodies that is the backbone of the whole program. Pilsen gained rich experience in this respect in 2015, when it was the European Capital of Culture. Pilsen and the Pilsen Region, which annually commemorates the October celebrations through its established cultural organizations by offering a symbolic entrance fee of 28 Czech crowns, closely collaborate on the Pilsen 2018 project.
"The mutual cooperation of the City of Pilsen and the Pilsen Region is crucial for the development of the whole region in all spheres of life. In the field of culture, the city and the region joined forces for the next year even more intensively in order to create a big project to celebrate the “years of eights” both for the inhabitants of the region and its visitors. The celebrations will not only concentrate in Pilsen itself, but will spread to the whole region," said Josef Bernard, President of the Pilsen Region.
A number of institutions will participate in the culmination of the project - Pilsen celebrations of the foundation of the republic. For the first time, the celebrations in 2018 will last for three days, from 26th to 28th October. Up to three dozen cultural institutions, sights, interesting places or even gardens or selected sports facilities will open gates for either a symbolic entry fee of 28 crowns, or free of charge. The original of the manuscript of Tyl's play Fidlovačka with the song Where Is My Home will be displayed at Pilsen Town Hall, an original concert dedicated to the music of the First Republic or a concert of a popular Czech group will be organized by the Pilsen Region. The program will furthermore be complemented by a 28-Pilsen-kilometre march held by the Czech Tourist Club, by rides in historic public transport cars, common singing of the anthem in the Square of the Republic, festive fireworks and other attractions.
The public has already been involved in the preparation of the project. People have been invited to cooperate in the unique exhibition One hundred years of the republic through the eyes of five generations. It will focus on lifestyle and design in five periods in confrontation with the presentation of everyday life of the city's inhabitants through authentic memories and on the background of great historical and social events. The exhibition will take place at DEPO2015 from May to October 2018.
PILSEN 2018 – PROGRAM OUTLINE
16-17 March: Festival of Light
The BLIK BLIK Festival of Light has illuminated Pilsen streets three times. The 2018 route will lead from Masaryk's School across Slovany to DEPO2015. There will also be separate installations in the premises of Pilsner Urquell Brewery. The festival includes 8 screenings, 7 light installations and creative workshops for children. The program of the festival is being prepared jointly by Pilsen 2015, z. ú., Prague Signal Festival, the White Night Festival in Košice and Bratislava, the Kronach Leuchtet Festival in Germany, the Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art, as well as artists from Bohemia, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary and Serbia.
17 May – 31 October: ‘One hundred years of the republic through the eyes of five generations’ Exhibition
The exhibition will focus on lifestyle and design in five selected periods in confrontation with the presentation of everyday life of the city's inhabitants through authentic memories and on the background of major historical and social events. The exhibition will show e.g. family photographs of the day or items of everyday life (furniture, clothes, toys, bicycles, cars ...). The exhibition will be conceived not only as a display of objects, but will also have a playful and interactive form, as is typical of exhibitions at DEPO2015.
8 – 10 June: A historic weekend in the First Republic style
The historic weekend has been organized by Nadace 700 města Plzně since 1995. The city centre revives by ancient and recent history of (not only) Pilsen. In 2018, a discovered ancient chronicle will materialize in the shadow of St. Bartholomew’s Cathedral and will give insight into many mysteries of the history of the West Bohemian metropolis. There will be a varied program on several scenes for three days, and also some of the historic buildings will come to life. The phenomenal March of Pilsen Ghosts will be held, too, and Pilsen can boast a record in the number of ghosts in one place. It was set in 2009 and there were 4,402 spooks.
15 June - 14 October: The Svéráz Exhibition of Peculiarities or In Search of National Style
The exhibition at the Museum of West Bohemia in Pilsen will introduce the process of establishing the so-called "Czech national style" using selected objects from the field of art, history or everyday life.
20 June - 16 September: ‘To Hiss a Snake’ exhibition. The year 1968 and art in Czechoslovakia
The exhibition in the Masné krámy exhibition hall will focus on the years 1966 to 1973 which show how our art was emancipated and began to engage confidently in the international structures of the arts scene. Presented authors: Jiří Kolář, Jitka Válová, Květa Válová, Rudolf Volráb, Václav Boštík, Věra Janoušková, Jiří Načeradský, Eduard Ovčáček, Jan Zrzavý, František Janoušek, Alena Koenigsmarková, Stanislav Bukovský, Stanislav Kolíbal, Eva Kmentová, Ivan Steiger, Vladimír Jiránek and others. The accompanying program will include projections of period films, concerts, meetings with witnesses and others.
7 September: The Bartered Bride Open Air
The performance of Bedřich Smetana's Bartered Bride in the Square of the Republic is organized by the Pilsen Region in cooperation with the JK Tyl Theatre in Pilsen. Smetana wrote The Bartered Bride as an entertaining spectacle that takes place in the Pilsen Region at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The production of the opera in the backdrop of Pilsen's historical square offers the opportunity to create The Bartered Bride as the author may have imagined it. The opera will be featured in the 1870 version, which includes musical recitatives and dances. It should be performed with the utmost respect for tradition and in a completely classical way, using the latest technology. It is intended for all age groups. The audience will be offered dance scenes, one great parade of comedians and large choir performances in which local folklore ensembles may participate.
7 September - 4 November: ‘Year 1918 and Art in Pilsen’ Exhibition. Czechoslovak independence in the history of Pilsen art life 1914-1928
The exhibition in the exhibition hall "13" will attempt to capture the impact of large historical events on cultural and artistic life in Pilsen in the period 1914-1928. The situation of regional artistic life in the context of the foundation of an independent Czechoslovak state will be brought to light by works of art, Pilsen cultural journals, documents and photographs related to national culture and the emergence of the republic. Represented artists: Antonín Doležal, F. V. Eisenreich, Emil Filla, Josef Hodek, Jan Konopek, J. D. Krajíček, Bohumil Krs, Adolf Liebscher, Josef Mánes, Josef Mandl, Alois Moravec, Jaroslav Krátký, František Muzika, Václav Špála, František Šutty, Otokar Walter.
5 October - January 2019: ‘Vilém Heckel 1918-1970’ Exhibition
A retrospective exhibition at the Museum of West Bohemia in Pilsen, held on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his birth, will present a distinct personality of Vilém Heckel. Feeling, technical excellence and conscientiousness, diligence, courage and exclusivity placed him among the prominent Czech and world photographers.
26 - 28 October: Pilsen celebrations of the foundation of the Republic
The three-day celebrations will include: A memorial act at the T. G. Masaryk Monument with reference to the crucial moments of the establishment of independent Czechoslovak state with the participation of prominent Pilsen personalities including the representatives of the Czech Sokol Movement, Czechoslovak Legionnaire Community, Scouts, Police and army units, and other representatives of cultural and social organizations. / The commemorative act will be followed by the Procession of Lights across the city centre with special tricolour lampions. The procession will be accompanied, both on foot and in historical means of transport, by historical figures who were Pilsen significant personalities of political, cultural and social life in the times of the First Republic. / The festive meeting in the Square of the Republic will culminate in the joint singing of the Czechoslovak national anthem and fireworks in national colours. / A display of JK Tyl's manuscript of the song Where is My Home in Pilsen City Hall.
2 - 23 November: ‘Miroslav Horníček - 100th Anniversary of Birth’ Exhibition
The exhibition in the maashaus of Pilsen City Hall will introduce the life and work of Miroslav Horníček, an important Pilsen native, an actor, writer, dramatist, director, artist, and theatre theorist. JK Tyl Theatre will contribute to Miroslav Horníček's birthday celebration on his birthday on November 10, by revealing his bust and naming the foyer of the Small Stage of the New Theatre, as well as by a commemorative evening at the Great Theatre.
16 – 18 November: Pilsen Design! - A show of contemporary design
The third year of the Pilsen show of contemporary design in DEPO2015, next to the expositions of the prominent Czech studios, will again give space to young beginner designers from the Pilsen Region and the whole Czech Republic. Due to the significant anniversaries of 2018, the show will display regional nostalgia in the objects, products and design.
21 November, 2018 – 24 February, 2019: A workroom of the Republic. The Architecture of Pilsen in the years 1918-1938
The exhibition in the exhibition hall "13" offers a comprehensive view of the contemporary Pilsen architecture in context. Among other things, it will present important personalities that had a creative relationship with Pilsen and at the same time their importance reaches beyond the region (Loos and his circle, Jan Gillar, Josef Špalek, Karel Honzík, Jan Víšek). At the same time, the period situation which made Pilsen a focus of modern architecture will be outlined as, thanks to the city’s building authority and the teaching staff of the industrial school, there lived and worked several competent architects. Private designers - Leo Meisl, Václav Neckář, František Němec and others will also be commemorated.