This year’s meeting of the ‘Cooperation Start’ group of the Czech Cultural Network Nová síť took place on 19-20 May in Brno. This time we welcomed the organizations directly in our Brno office of the Nová síť, which is located in the premises of the Memory of Nations Institute. During two intensive days there was sharing of experiences, discussion of practical challenges and inspiring visits to local cultural centres.
Sharing practices and current challenges from the regions
The meeting was opened by the director of the Nová síť Adriana Světlíková together with Lucie Cimburková, coordinator of the Czech Cultural Network. The introduction included practical information about the functioning of the ‘Cooperation Start’ group as well as planned events and news of the Nová síť.
This was followed by the introduction of the individual organisations that came to Brno to share their experiences and current topics.
Pavel Kubaník presented the current activities of the Kulturák association, operating in Bystřice pod Hostýnem and Chvalčov. Among their new activities are the reconstruction of a summer cinema, the organisation of art courses and the establishment of a debate reading club ‘Valašský Klabúk’, which is also linked to their community support model ‘Kultura za pade’.
Kateřina Šobáňová and David Kulhánek came from the Plum Yard in Malovice, where they run artist residencies and a year-round theatre programme for the public. They place great emphasis on creative education for children and seniors alike. For the summer, they are planning the Manéž ve Dvoře, summer camps, the theatre programmes Švestkohraní and Picnic for Three, and they are also focusing on the SEN-I-UM project.
Jana Tománková and Tereza Čevorová from Taje visited us from Pardubice. They regularly present interesting theatre and dance projects at Theatre 29 and also organise art and dance-movement workshops.
Tereza Rybová and Aleš Němec, who are behind the cultural space Třeboň 105, also shared their current topics with us. This was created by the reconstruction of a house on the main square and they organize exhibitions, film screenings, concerts and theatres. In the future, they want to strengthen the area of residences while developing the technical facilities. They also invited us to their Vidiny festival, focusing on visual arts and multimedia creation, which will take place on 20-24 August 2025.
Finally, Dita Votavová and Adam Krátký presented the activities of the Roztoč Association, which include mainly clubs for children and art projects. They invited us to the autumn theatre festival ‘Tichý jelen’ and ‘Festival of Light’ and we can also look forward to the publication of a book about the Roztoč Carnival.
Monday’s program concluded with a tour of the Tichá hrdinství exhibit at the Memory of Nations Institute and an evening gathering that gave way to informal networking.
Human sustainability in culture
Tuesday morning was in the spirit of human and financial sustainability in cultural projects. In the seminar with Adris Světlíková we focused on how to take care of the people who create culture. We focused on how to set up healthy and viable models of functioning in culture, how to protect one’s motivation while acting with respect for oneself and others.
A walk around Brno’s cultural centres
In the afternoon, the participants went on a tour of three cultural centres in Brno. The first stop was Káznice – a former prison now transformed into a dynamic cultural venue that hosts exhibitions, concerts, residencies and community programmes. We then visited Kumst, a creative hub focused on connecting the cultural and creative industries. The last stop was CO.LABS, a cultural centre supporting independent creativity, which is currently undergoing renovations to create a fully equipped space for residencies, production and public programming.
The meeting of the ‘Cooperation Start’ group in Brno once again confirmed that sharing experiences and open discussion across regions is crucial for strengthening the Czech independent cultural scene. We are very happy to be able to create a safe space for these meetings.
Thank you all for your participation and desire to develop!
Participants and Attendees of the Meeting:
Tereza Čevorová, Jana Tománková – Taje; Tereza Rybová, Aleš Němec – Třeboň 105; Pavel Kubaník – Kulturák; Adam Krátký, Dita Votavová – Roztoč; Kateřina Šobáňová, David Kulhánek – Švestkový dvůr
Organisers / Nová síť
Lucie Cimburková, Eliška Burdová, Adriana Světlíková, Victoria Gabašová
The meeting of the members of the group Cooperation Start of the Czech Cultural Network Nová síť was realized with the financial participation of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.
