Places Closer to the City
An evening symposium on the subject of revitalizing abandoned buildings and sites by representatives from cultural and creative industries
- Thursday Oct 8 / 17:00, Desfours Palace
In many European cities, the cultural and creative industries have become a catalyst for revitalizing industrial buildings, warehouses or complexes. Old factories are transformed into museums, galleries, exhibition venues, art studios, music clubs, creative hubs and more, thus stimulating the site’s cultural, social and economic development.
Prague is home to many such empty, unused and abandoned sites. It is also home to many different creative groups or individuals in search of just such locations for their own projects. The city has a great opportunity to make use of this grassroots creative potential by providing such spaces for noncommercial use and supporting art projects or creative endeavors, and thus contributing to the area’s development.
How can providing abandoned buildings or sites to the creative industry benefit a city?
How should the city and creative individuals (tenants, collectives) treat such buildings?
How do they deal with management, financing, contracts? What does communication/collaboration between the city, administrators, cultural representatives and the general public look like? Do these group work together?
Besides running the buildings, how do creative collectives manage programming?In this evening symposium, we will discuss practical experiences with transforming abandoned buildings in Prague and in other cities. The debate among users, owners and administrators will serve as a foundation for the future development of this subject, which is part of the planned strategic plan for Prague.
Presenting and discussing:
Michaela Pixová, social geographer, FSV, Charles University, PragueWatch
Šimon Caban, Karlín Barracks, Prague-Karlín
Igor Kovačević, CCEA, Karlín Viaduct, Prague-Karlín
Yvonna Kreuzmannová, Ponec Theatre, Halls Behind Ponec, Prague-Žižkov
Štěpán Kubišta, Jatka 78, Prague-Holešovice
Matěj Velek, Žižkov Freight Station, Prague-Žižkov
Michaela Mixová, Centrum pro kreativní podnikání, DEPO2015
Čestmír Suška, Studio Bubec, Praha-Řeporyje
Gábor Bindics, Aliancia Stará Tržnica, Stará Tržnica, Bratislava
Petr Hlaváček, Director, Prague Institute for Planning and DevelopmentModerators:
David Kašpar, Prague 14 kulturní
Milota Sidorová, Women Public Space. Prague, freelance consultant on urban projects
