The Old Masters II exhibition a follow-up to the Old Masters permanent exhibition located in the opposite Schwarzenberg palace. Both exhibitions complement each other to form a coherent whole, while presenting magnificent artwork in different contexts. The new exhibition in the Sternberg palace follows the historical tradition of exhibiting masterpieces in this building, which was used in 1811⁠–⁠1871 as a seat of the Society of Patriotic Friends of the Arts, the predecessor of today’s National Gallery Prague. This time, artwork will be exhibited in the context of centres of art and their mutual connections. Old Masters II represent the best of the unique collections of NGP and its partners ⁠–⁠ e.g. a rare collection of Russian Christian icons preserved in Prague, presenting an extraordinary personality of their collector, Nikodim P. Kondakov. The exhibition also shows a unique collection of Italian paintings of the 14th and 15th centuries gathered mostly by Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. It is the largest collection of the co-called Italian primitive school preserved outside of Italy and it explores artistic creations in Italian cities of Siena, Florence, Venice or Padua. The collection of early Italian art is complemented by Renaissance and Baroque paintings (Alessandro Allori, Jacopo Bassano, Luca Giordano). There are also extraordinary collections of Dutch and Flemish painting of the 15th to 18th centuries with the main focus on the art of Antwerp, Amsterdam, Utrecht and Leyden (Herri met de Bles, Pieter II. Brueghel, Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, Rachel Ruysch, Gerard Ter Borch, Nicolaes Eliasz. Pickenoy). The altar with The Crucifixion by Hans Raphon is a rare piece. It is the only fully preserved retable of the Passion of the Christ in public collections in the Czech Republic. Central European works of art are represented by the collection of Nuremberg art and selected solitary works from the territory of today’s Germany, in particular from the important trading and artistic region of Rhineland dating back to the 15th to 18th centuries (Hans Baldung Grien, Hans Dürer). The exhibition also displays works of art of German and Austrian lands created in the 17th and 18th centuries (Georg Flegel, Paul Troger, Johann Carl Loth, Johann Michael Rottmayr). A smaller collection of French and Spanish art of the 17th and 18th centuries is remarkable for the significance and quality of exhibited solitary pieces (Charles Mellin, Pierre Mignard, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo). Curators: Martina Jandlová Sošková, Olga Kotková, Lucie Němečková

The exhibition 1796⁠–⁠1918: Art of the Long Century purposefully and naturally connects Czech and international art. Unlike the preceding permanent exhibitions at the National Gallery Prague, the artworks on display do not include any loans from other museums and galleries filling the gaps in the collections. The project does not seek to present another art historical review and re-codify key artworks produced in the Czech Lands in the 19th century. Such approach necessarily neglects the works, which were purchased for or donated to the National Gallery Prague from other European regions and also had a major influence on the local situation and development on the art scene. Instead, the exhibition shows what the National Gallery Prague has amassed in the course of its more than 220-year-long history in the broad context. Therefore, the artists are naturally represented in an uneven manner ⁠–⁠ with compact and representative sets on one hand, and more or less haphazardly acquired or occasional acquisitions on the other. The resulting selection shows more than 450 artworks by 150 artists in three major chapters: Man, The World and Ideas. The exhibition presents painting as well as sculpture. Free sculpture is accompanied by paintings. Public sculpture forms a separate section paraphrasing three basic themes in the sections of Architecture, Monument and Tombstone with respect to a selected approach and availability of the exhibits. Therefore, the artists of different art opinions and very different generations can be seen at the exhibition side by side, such as Josef Mánes next to Pablo Picasso, Josef Navrátil next to Bohumil Kubišta or Antonio Canova next to Franz von Stuck. The exhibition’s thematic division made it possible to subdivide it into many small subgroups of artworks representing independent sections ranging from self-portraits, family and official portraits to paintings of cafés, lively city boulevards, spring landscapes, mountain lakes or artworks with religious or mythological themes. There are two exhibitions creatively working with the 19th-century visual media, which depart from the plan to present only the artworks from the NGP collections. While the exhibition architect Jiří Příhoda used the film material supplied by the National Gallery Prague in his three-channel projection, the designers’ team of the graphic Studio Najbrt created an impressive collage of posters loaned by the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, the National Theatre Archives and the Military History Institute Prague. The two genuinely contemporary interventions are based on the exhibition’s fundamental idea ⁠–⁠ to outline the world of 19th-century man. They became the project’s integral part and evidence of the inspirational character of the artistic legacy of the long century for the 21st-century society. The exhibition 1796⁠–⁠1918: Art of the Long Century from the NGP collections understands the so-called “long century” in a different way than usual. The difference lies in the dates ⁠–⁠ its beginning is not linked with the events of the French Revolution, but with the birth of the Society of the Patriotic Friends of the Arts on February 5, 1796 in Prague, whose activities were of major importance for the development of fine arts in the Czech Lands. It was the year when the first public premises acquainting the visitors with major artworks of local and European art were opened. The Society of the Patriotic Friends of the Arts’ another significant undertaking was the establishment of the Academy of Fine Arts three years later. Prague thus became a place, which could appear on the art map more often in the following decades as a city that responded in an increasingly dynamic way to new stimuli from abroad. The central European region acquired another major cultural centre. It was the collection of the Picture Gallery of the Society of the Patriotic Friends of the Arts that became a core of the collections of today’s National Gallery Prague. In 1902, Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria founded the Modern Gallery, whose acquisitions were of key importance for the rich and variegated character of the art collection in the first half of the 20th century. The purchase of the French art collection by the Czechoslovak state in 1923 was also a major undertaking. The period under examination actually covers three centuries, including the last one. The contemporary relationship to the 19th-century history, however, is often ambivalent ⁠–⁠ close as well as detached. The society and culture, including art, of that time went through significant changes, which often have a major impact on the present, too. On the other hand, 19th-century man would not understand today’s compelling and pointed debates on gender or environmental problems. Yet, there are questions that the long century society has come up with. That is why there are attempts today to see art history or “read” the art of the past in a different way. All of this is characterized by a certain departure from the traditional national artistic and art historical schools. In this respect, we find ourselves in the midst of an unusually fruitful and inspirational debate facilitating a radical change in the telling of the “story of arts”. The exhibition includes two small graphic cabinets presenting the rich exhibits of the Collection of Prints and Drawings from the period under examination.

The permanent exhibition on the third floor of the Trade Fair Palace was created on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia. Based on the collections of the National Gallery Prague, complemented with loans from institutions and private collections, the exhibition introduces the rich and cosmopolitan art scene in the young independent Czechoslovakia between 1918 and 1938. The new exhibition of the National Gallery’s collections presents rich artistic activities of the young state in 1918⁠–⁠1938. Besides the paintings by prominent Czech, Slovak, Czech-German and Carpathian-Russian artists (Václav Špála, Josef Čapek, Jindřich Štyrský, Toyen etc.), are also shown the artworks from the National Gallery’s French collection (by Claude Monet, Paul Gauguin, Henri Rousseau, Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh and others). The exhibition is interdisciplinary, presenting not only visual artworks but also other cultural forms that flourished during the first republic, such as book illustrations, design, graphic design, etc. Using art topography, it shows the diversity of the art production and the lively cultural scene of the period. The exhibition presents the art of the first republic through the eyes of a 1920s and 1930s art goer and introduces prominent galleries, art clubs and institutions, as well as the important cultural centres of the young state. It primarily concentrates on Prague as an art centre with lively exhibition activity that focused not only on local artists but also on the most progressive names from all around Europe. However, the exhibition also addresses other centres such as Brno, Zlín, Bratislava, Košice and Uzhgorod. The curators partly reconstruct important exhibitions that were held in these centres during the first republic period (the exhibition of the Tvrdošíjní group, the Exhibition of Contemporary Culture in Brno, Poesie 32, the First Exhibition of Surrealists in Czechoslovakia). The exhibition introduces important cultural events of the period and emphasizes the first republic's cosmopolitan and multinational character. This approach aims not only to show with historical accuracy how wealthy and diverse the culture of the young state was but also offer inspiration for the present where the lack of historical knowledge often results in xenophobic attitudes. The permanent exhibition is accompanied by an extensive educational program.

When the first teaching materials and instructional films for teaching in driving schools began to appear in the early 1960s, they often did not reach the teachers, but remained locked away in closets. Jiří Pour, an employee of the then Driving School Directorate, tried to change this unfortunate trend. He initiated the “National Parades of Teaching Materials”, the first of which took place in 1964 in Vyškov. A total of three parades took place. Since then, that is, during the last almost 60 years, only five similar exhibitions have taken place, mostly on a local level, under the care of regional museums. The exhibition at the National Memorial in Vítkov describes the history and development of the Czechoslovak driver education system, not only in the field of teaching aids, but also in the method of drivers’ training, methods, international cooperation, testing. It offers a look into the whole spectrum of this field, often from perspectives hidden from the average driver. In addition, the exhibition is dedicated to the life and work of the aforementioned Jiří Pour, who was undoubtedly one of the greatest figures of the Czechoslovak driver education system and who passed away at a ripe age only recently. Many of the exhibits were his property. The aim of the authors of the exhibition is to bring the experience to both the general public, coming from a general interest in motoring, and driving instructors with professional interest. And then to bring a little nostalgia to everybody. The central installation of the entire exhibition is a “driving school room” with three simulators, which will be available to visitors as part of guided tours. It is also possible to see instructional models of engines, driving school textbooks and driving licences from the entire 20th century here.

Uměleckořemeslné techniky zlatnictví a příbuzných kovozpracujících oborů od minulosti do současnosti představí od 24. května 2022 v Technickém muzeu v Brně (TMB) nová výstava Zlaté řemeslo. Vznikla v rámci výzkumného projektu specialistů z Oddělení dokumentace vědy a techniky a Metodického centra konzervace TMB pod vedením Ing. Aleny Selucké, náměstkyně ředitele, a ve spolupráci s akad. soch. Andrejem Šumberou. Na výstavě se podílely partnerské instituce, zejména Uměleckoprůmyslové museum v Praze, Moravská galerie v Brně, Moravské zemské muzeum a Národní památkový ústav. Zlato, stříbro a měď se řadí mezi nejstarší kovy, které se člověk naučil zpracovávat. Vyráběl z nich předměty určené k ozdobě těla či oděvu, k vykonávání magických a náboženských rituálů nebo k reprezentaci svého majitele. Poznával jejich výjmečné vlastnosti, následně i postupy získávání dalších kovů z rud a jejich vzájemné slévání pro získání slitin zcela nových možností. Kovy se staly základem technologického i kulturního rozkvětu civilizací a ovlivnily rozvoj nejrůznějších řemesel a oborů lidské činnosti. Právě zlatnictví patří mezi starověká řemesla založená na zručnosti a tvůrčí invenci řemeslníků přeměňujících beztvarou hmotu v unikátní dílo pomocí rozmanitých postupů a úkonů, ale i nástrojů či nářadí, které se mnohdy používají dodnes. Zlatnickými technikami v širších souvislostech se v posledních letech intenzivně zabývají odborníci v Technickém muzeu v Brně. Jejich záměrem je vyzdvihnout do popředí význam uměleckořemeslné praxe využívající manuální obratnosti, znalosti tradičních materiálů a technik, které jsou předávány napříč generacemi. Idea, že tajemství zlatých pokladů spočívá ve znalosti a umění jejich tvorby, je mottem vepsaným do celého konceptu výstavy. „Naší snahou je zachytit překotně mizející podstatu uměleckořemeslných postupů a uchovat ji pro budoucí generace”, říká úvodem Alena Selucká, spoluautorka výstavy. Její tým konzervátorů a restaurátorů pečuje o to, aby se díla našich předků co nejdéle zachovala a nepodléhala zubu času. K tomu je potřeba znalosti původních historických technik, které musí být během restaurování správně popsány a veškeré zásahy musí být s nimi kompatibilní. S výrobními a výzdobnými technikami seznámíme návštěvníky výstavy formou videozáznamů (lití, tepání a cizelování, fasování drahých kamenů, různé zdobné techniky tauzování), ale i širokého spektra nářadí, pomůcek i strojů, kovových materiálů a samotných replik historických artefaktů. Do prostředí historické zlatnické dílny se přeneseme díky autentickému mobiliáři a vybavení, které Technické muzeum v Brně získalo do svých sbírek od významného brněnského zlatnického mistra Jiřího Drlíka. Ten stál u zrodu uměleckého šperkařství v Československu od první poloviny 60. let a výrazně ovlivnil jeho podobu. Díla Jiřího Drlíka jsou zastoupena v českých i světových muzejních sbírkách. Výstava Zlaté řemeslo prezentuje Drlíkovu zlatnickou práci prostřednictvím šperků zapůjčených z Moravské galerie v Brně. Rozmanitost zlatnické produkce a její proměny za posledních více než dva tisíce let mohou návštěvníci obdivovat na celé řadě jedinečných předmětů zapůjčených z fondů pražského Uměleckoprůmyslového musea, Moravské galerie a Moravského zemského muzea, jakou jsou například filigránem a granulací zdobené zlaté šperky z doby Velké Moravy, unikáty z Karlštejnského pokladu, zlatá bohatě zdobená výbava z hrobového nálezu germánského velmože z lokality Cézavy-Blučina či přenosný relikviářový oltářík z karlovského období. Výstava zahrnuje široké spektrum zlatnické práce: ozdoby těla a oděvu, luxusní předměty osobní potřeby jako neceséry, hodinky i rozměrnější díla pro reprezentativní účely. Své místo zde mají i šperky považované za typicky „české“, tedy s českým granátem, vltavíny a perličkami z českých řek, ale i díla z litiny nebo moderních materiálů. Pro školy všech typů včetně odborných či specializovaných na oblast kulturního dědictví, konzervování a restaurování jsou připraveny komentované prohlídky a programy navazující na expozice Ulička řemesel a Kultura nevidomých v TMB. Mimo školní programy si mohou díky aktivitám v interaktivním koutku malí i velcí návštěvníci přímo ve výstavě kdykoliv vyzkoušet, jak si navrhnout a vyrobit jednoduchý šperk. Nevidomí návštěvníci prozkoumají relikviář sv. Maura prostřednictvím interaktivního haptického modelu v měřítku 1 : 1 zapůjčeného z bečovského edukačního pracoviště. Seznámí se hmatem nejen s detaily povrchu relikviáře, ale také zjistí, jaké relikvie se skrývají v jeho útrobách, stejně jako tomu je u jeho originálu. Výstavu Zlaté řemeslo nabídne Technické muzeum v Brně do 18. září 2022. Výstava Zlaté řemeslo je výstupem výzkumného projektu Technického muzea v Brně „Uměleckořemeslné techniky zlatnictví – identifikace, ochrana a zpřístupnění“ podpořeného z programu Ministerstva kultury ČR NAKI II (id. kód DG20P02OVV023).

What did the war mean for its participants and for those affected indirectly? The exhibition “Faces of War” explains how people from different parts of the world legitimised their participation in wars and war related activities with religious ideology and how they clarified their relationship with Gods and other people through battle and bloodshed, how leaders and monarchs secured their positions using the archetype of a warrior. It also draws attention to the economic aspect of war campaigns. The exhibition dedicates a large space to fighting and its “tools”: weapons and armours. It shows how weapons adapted to the specific natural environment as well as to the techniques and tactics of combat. It also presents weapons that are literally works of art, as well as artistic representations of war. Art is not about cruelty and suffering, it mainly celebrates magnificence, strength and martial arts. The last part of the exhibition is focused on the persistent desire of human societies for peace, the efforts to break free from the cycle of violence, attacks and retaliation. The exhibition features a number of unique objects. There is also a collection of tin soldiers borrowed from the funds of the Army Museum, which demonstrates how the clash of European civilisation and “primitive” war practices fascinated our ancestors – and their children – at the beginning of the 20th century. It also emphasises the fact that a preparation for war remains an important part of children’s games in modern society. Among the most beautiful and most conspicuous exhibited objects is the mask of the Mongolian God of war, which combines the charm of artistic craftsmanship and the reflection of the cruelty of conflicts, pointing out the importance of war in religious ceremonies and its impact on everyday life. A six-part Japanese screen from the 17th century shows scenes from the riots of Hōgen, which took place in 1156 in Kyoto as an attempt to change the order of succession to the imperial throne. The screen shows the liberation of the rebel-controlled imperial palace, the breakthrough of a poorly guarded gate and the panicked escape of the rebellion leaders. Headbands, tomahawks and peace pipes (calumets) of the North American Dakotas come from the collections of Vojta Náprstek, i.e. from the museum's oldest collections. EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMES FOR SCHOOLS War. Glorified and hated Target group: Lectured programme to the Faces of War exhibition for Primary schools War: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow Target group: Lectured programme to the Faces of War exhibition for Secondary schools

The permanent exhibition Old Masters in the Schwarzenberg Palace presents selected key artworks from the Collection of Old Masters (Hans von Aachen, Petr Brandl, Matthias Bernard Braun, Lucas Cranach, Adriaen de Vries, Albrecht Dürer, El Greco, Francisco José Goya, Hans Holbein, Jan Gossaert, also known as Jan Mabuse, Rembrandt van Rijn, Jusepe de Ribera, Peter Paul Rubens, Bartholomaeus Spranger, Karel Škréta, Simon Vouet, Michael Leopold Willmann and others). The display concentrates on the period between the 16th and 18th centuries and the pre-Renaissance tendencies in Gothic and Antiquity art as inspirational stimuli for Renaissance and Baroque art. The exhibition is conceived as a dialogue of the national and international impulses, influences and changes in the spirit of the dialectic of forms, styles and motifs. In dramaturgical terms, the display reflects the narrative aspects of European art from the Antiquity to the Enlightenment, as well as the historical context and timelessness of the masterpieces in an innovative installation. The original entrance to the Schwarzenberg Palace from Hradčanské Square via the courtyard is restored. Three rooms on the ground floor are reserved for occasional exhibitions of artefacts from the National Gallery’s collections and two will serve for the Graphic Cabinets. Author and Curator: Marius Winzeler Collaborators: Tomáš Hladík, Martina Jandlová Sošková, Olga Kotková, Lucie Němečková, Andrea Steckerová, Marcela Vondráčková Architects: AP Atelier ⁠–⁠ Josef Pleskot, Norbert Schmidt, Eva Vopátková Graphic Designers: Studio Najbrt ⁠–⁠ Zuzana Lednická, Jakub Spurný The permanent exhibition Old Masters is held under the auspices of the Minister of Culture Lubomír Zaorálek.

Step into the light room and enter the music of the four big names. Thanks to the unique synergy of light and music, you will feel even the smallest sound details of Smetana’s Vltava, Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 “From the New World”, Janáček’s Sinfonietta and Bohuslav Martinů’s Double Concerto for Two String Orchestras, Piano and Timpani. The unique stories of the four composers will be brought to you in an attractive large-format novella in pictures, which will allow you to experience the most important moments of the artists’ lives together with them. The original exhibits presented at the exhibition have been selected with utmost care. They include personal items that the composers wore and touched, but also objects of rare value, such as awards for their music. Some of them are on display for the very first time. Among the real gems of incalculable value are the authors’ manuscripts of four remarkable pieces. The road takes you through the acoustic landscape of the four composers. You will dive into an intimate mosaic of exceptional as well as everyday motifs and a diverse selection of composition. Listening to them will allow you to better understand the environment in which the composers lived, the inspirations and experiences that had a major impact on their thinking and creative process. We will also show you various approaches to the staging of four famous operas: Smetana’s The Bartered Bride, Dvořák’s Rusalka, Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen and Martinů’s Juliette. You will also see original costumes from productions of these operas. The walk through the world of music will end in the light room where it all started and where you will have a chance to revisit the unique beauty of the music authored by these extraordinary composers with the newly acquired knowledge.

Leonardo da Vinci se ve svém životě věnoval umění, vědě i technice. Nebylo výjimkou, že jedno podmiňovalo druhé. Výstava v Technickém muzeu v Brně se zaměřuje zejména na jeho technické vynálezy. Je známo například to, že Leonardo na základě pozorování ptáků vytvořil jejich podrobné studie a podle nich pak navrhl plány na sestrojení létajících strojů. Jeho deníky obsahují taktéž vynálezy vojenského charakteru, předměty denní potřeby (kalkulačka, vrtačka) a mnoho dalšího. Výstava s názvem Stroje Leonarda da Vinci nabízí výběr více než padesáti modelů da Vinciho strojů, které vytvořili italští řemeslníci přesně podle jeho plánů a návrhů. Funkčnost některých z nich si mohou návštěvníci vyzkoušet (např. zvedák, kuličkové ložisko, setrvačník, zrcadlová komora), ostatní stroje si zájemci mohou zblízka prohlédnout. Sem patří třeba otočný jeřáb, parní dělo, samohybný vozík (automobil). Kromě uvedených modelů výstava nabízí i reprodukce slavných da Vinciho obrazů, jako je Mona Lisa, Poslední večeře, Dáma s hranostajem a další. To vše doplní informační panely a audiovizuální projekce. K výstavě je připravena i online interaktivní hra, která je přístupná široké veřejnosti a nabízí cestu za poznáním mnoha rozmanitých profesí a tváří mistra Leonarda da Vinci. Hru spustíte přímo ve výstavě, kde si načtete do mobilu označený QR kód. Hra je zdarma, hesla ani registrace nejsou potřeba. Výstavu pořádá Technické muzeum v Brně ve spolupráci s produkční společností ARANEUS. Foto z výstavy, ©Technické muzeum v Brně

FacebookTwitter Všechno jde, i když trochu jinak Komorní výstava „Všechno jde, i když trochu jinak“ přiblíží od 7. 6. 2022 historii i současnost Společnosti pro ranou péči, pobočka Brno. Tato společnost, původně pod názvem Tyflopedická poradna při České unii nevidomých a slabozrakých, si letos připomíná 45. výročí svého založení. Tak dlouho již pomáhá rodinám s dětmi se zrakovým a kombinovaným postižením. S historií společnosti návštěvníky podrobně seznamují tři informační panely i leták vydaný k této příležitosti. Komorní výstava provází návštěvníky i vývojem pomůcek pro děti se zrakovým postižením. „Před třiceti lety speciální hračky a pomůcky v zahraničí existovaly, ale nebyly dostupné na našem trhu. Hledali jsme proto náhrady, vyráběli vlastní verze na míru a pracovali s tím, co bylo dostupné, ať už to byla stará vojenská baterka, ručně pletený maňásek či třásně z kazetového magnetofonu,“ přibližuje práci tyflopedických poradkyň v počátcích péče o děti se zrakovým hendikepem Lucie Špuláková. Výstava ukazuje i pomůcky, které nestárnou a využívaly se dříve i v současnosti, ať už to jsou desky s korálky, hmatové knížky, míčky s rolničkou či bubínek. Mezi exponáty návštěvníci naleznou pomůcky vyrobené na míru (spinery, tvary a obrázky na suchý zip či magnet, pexesa, pomůcky na grafomotoriku, IQ kostka, stimulační kašpárek), ale i testy pro vyšetření zraku (Hiding Heidy test či LEA Symbols Test a další). Zájemci o tuto problematiku se rovněž seznámí s pomůckami pro zrakovou stimulaci jako je matoucí plocha s drahokamy, světelná deska s obrázky nebo kniha s nahloučením. Výstavu, která se nachází v expozici Kultura nevidomých TMB, připravilo Oddělení dokumentace slepecké historie Technického muzea v Brně pod vedením Mgr. Elišky Hluší ve spolupráci se Společností pro ranou péči, pobočka Brno.

On the occasion of the day one of our greatest sports legends, Věra Čáslavská, would have been 80 years old, the National Museum has prepared an exhibition that will you to her life and sporting career. In addition to unique photographs, you will have the opportunity to see for the first time the most complete collection of her medals and awards, both the Olympic ones from Tokyo and Mexico, as well as a number of those from World and European Championships or national championships, and also many other awards she received during her lifetime, including the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun. You will also be able to see many other personal items, such as her wedding dress or the national team uniform from the Olympic Games in Mexico, or a censored edition of the book Cesta na Olymp with the author’s handwritten postscript. Most of the exhibits on display come from the estate of Věra Čáslavská and Věra Čáslavská Foundation. The photographs were borrowed from private collections and from the Czech Olympic Committee, which keeps a collection of photographs by photographer Karel Novák. The International Olympic Committee also lent film footage and several photographs.

The exhibition When the Stars Shine commemorates well-known and famous, but also almost forgotten stars of Czech theatre of the last two centuries. Through the best and most interesting items from the collections of the History of Theatre department of the National Museum, the exhibition shows the vicissitudes of the position of theatre creators in society over the course of more than two hundred years. The exhibition thus offers the opportunity to see objects from the personal estates of great actors (e.g. Ema Destinnová, Hana Kvapilová, Jindřich Mošna, Oldřich Nový, Adina Mandlová, Svatopluk Beneš, Karel Höger, Vlasta Chramostová, Radovan Lukavský and many others). On display are their jewellery, clothes and fashion accessories, personal and studio photographs, paintings and busts, small artefacts from everyday and artistic life, and remarkable documents. In particular, you can see, for example, Emma Destinnová's jewellery, Oldřich Nový's office, Adina Mandlová's dresses, furniture from Vlasta Chramostová’s living room theatre or Cinderella's magical dress and shoe from the fairy tale Three Gifts for Cinderella. You can also take a look at the Thalia Award given to Josef Abrhám in 2020 or the Czech Lion awarded to Ivan Trojan in the same year. The specific life and artistic stories of several dozen prominent personalities of the Czech Thalia offer a reflection on how great actors influence the life, fashion or aesthetic ideals of their time, what it meant to be famous and respected by the society in different times, and what creative and personal conflicts shaped their life paths. At the same time, the authors of the exhibition do not shy away from controversial topics, such as what the Czech saying that success is unforgivable often means in real life, how power and politics influenced the actors' life and work, and what creative and personal dramas many actors experienced. The exhibition also shows the lesser-known or even unknown facts about how these personalities lived their private lives or what they did outside their profession. The exhibition presents the fates of the stars of the Czech Thalia against the backdrop of their times, pays homage to the art of acting in all its forms and variants, genres and art forms, and above all wants to remind us that all these actors were still just human.

The exhibition Around the World in 80 Days revisits the work of the French writer Jules Verne (1828–1905). Jules Verne has been well known in the Czech cultural environment since the 19th century and his books are popular and published to this day. Although Jules Verne is regarded as one of the founders of the science fiction genre, novels with this theme form only part of his extensive oeuvre. In his time, he became famous mainly for his social novels. The 1873 novel Around the World in 80 Days, which also provided the name to the entire exhibition, is not a science fiction novel, either. Its main motif is the foolish wager of an English gentleman, invented as if in passing while debating over a newspaper in a London club. In the subsequent journey around the world, which must be accomplished in a specific time, technology, although historical, plays a key role. The visitor of the exhibition follows the fictional characters of Verne’s novel on their journey around the world and, through collection objects, photographic and graphic reproductions, infographics and texts, learns about the real places where the novel takes place, in a historical context. The opening section presents the society of the end of the 19th century in terms of geopolitical situation and technical development, which enabled the rapid development of international transport. This is followed by individual “stops” around the world – Egypt, India, Singapore, China, Japan and the United States. Each region is represented by typical traditional objects in contrast with the changes brought by modern times and the phenomena that have influenced the world since the 19th century: the development of railways and shipping, the importance of the Suez Canal, colonialism and the changing relationship with indigenous ethnic groups. A separate part of the exhibition is dedicated to the character of the writer Jules Verne and his work. There are also examples of French and Czech editions of Verne’s novels, including the oldest ones. The exhibition also presents some art inspired by Jules Verne's work, whether in the form of artistic sculptures by Jaroslav Róna or paper models by Ladislav Badalec. The exhibition also includes an escape room based on Verne’s novel.