Topic Archive Culture
Iva Prochazkova - respected author of children's books & books for young adults
Iva Prochazkova is one of the Czech Republic's most respected authors of
children's books and novels for young adults, a writer who spent much of
her career in Austria and Germany before returning to the Czech Republic in
the 1990s. The author, recognised both in the Czech Republic as well as
abroad, learned last month she would receive this year's Friedrich
Gerstacker Award, Germany's oldest prize for youth literature. She receives
the prize for her book Tanec Trosecniku (translatable as Dance of the
Castaways or Castaways' Dance), a fantastical story of a young Roma boy who
survives an usual and deadly pandemic spread by the media. That book as
well as key moments in Iva Prochazkova's career are the subject of this
edition of Czechs Today.
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Pioneering environmental film festival celebrates its 33rd year
The Ekofilm festival is less about red carpets - and more about green
politics than anything else. It was the first environment-focused film
festival in Europe when it was set up back in 1974. This Monday, it got
underway for the 33rd time, in the Southern Bohemian towns of Ceske
Budejovice and Cesky Krumlov. And this year it's bigger than ever before -
on the programme are concerts, seminars and an international film
competition, all with a decidedly green twist. One of the institutions
behind the festival is the Czech Environment Ministry. Jakub Kaspar is a
ministry spokesperson, he explains a bit about the history of Ekofilm: More
Kupka painting sets new auction record
In May of this year "Abstract composition" - an oil on canvas by
the Czech-born abstract artist Frantisek Kupka - fetched a record price at
auction 13.4 million crowns (over 642,000 US dollars). That record has now
been broken - not surprisingly by another of Kupka's works.
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Once again a month has passed and it's time to reveal the identity of our
September mystery Czech and announce the names of four of you who will
receive small prizes from Radio Prague. Listeners quoted: Teodor
Shepertycki, Keith A. Simmonds, Pier Carlo Acchino, Harold Yeglin, Helmut
Matt, Colin Law, Charles Konecny, David Eldridge, Christine
Takaguchi-Coates.
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Arnost Lustig: Love in the proximity of death
Czech Books comes today from the Cafe Union in Prague's Nusle district,
where I'm joined by one of the Czech Republic's most honoured and widely
read novelists. Arnost Lustig, born in 1926, was sixteen when he was sent
to the Terezin ghetto during the war, and went on to survive Auschwitz.
After the war he worked as a journalist, and went on to become a novelist
of international reputation. He is still very active as a writer, with all
his work strongly influenced by his experiences of the Second World War.
His recent novels, "Lovely Green Eyes", "Waiting for
Leah" and "Fire on Water" have all been received with
critical acclaim, especially in the United States and Britain. They will be
the focus of our discussion today.
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'Extinct churches - living music': exhibition brings to life Prague'sreligious past
Prague is full of old and beautiful churches, often crouching between
hubbubs of modern social activity. Many regularly play host to concerts,
maintaining through music a sense of continuity of past and present. But
what about the city's many once significant churches that now are disused,
or whose foundations lie beneath the trappings of the modern era? Well now
a new exhibition at the Czech Museum of Music in Prague is using the same
musical medium to resurrect the atmosphere of the city's bygone centres of
worship. And the location couldn't be more fitting.
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The converted warehouse offering Prague's artists a home
A galaxy of stars from the Czech art world met this week to open 'Ztracena
nevinnost' ('Lost Innocence') - an exhibition showcasing three generations
of Czech artists side by side. But it wasn't held at the National Gallery -
the event took place in a somewhat less refined setting. 'Ztracena
nevinnost' marks the opening of the Meet Factory, an old warehouse skirting
the railway in Prague's rough and ready Lihovar district. As well as
providing a space for exhibitions, the Meet Factory serves as a concert
venue, cinema, and artists' residence.
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7th annual Mind Sports Olympiad sees introduction of new Czech titles
It has become something of a tradition every autumn for game lovers in
Prague to match wits in at the annual Mind Sports Olympiad. The event,
which draws hundreds of players, is held at Tyrsuv Dum, a stately
palace in the city's Mala Strana (Lesser Quarter). This year
visitors will even have the chance to try a number of new Czech releases. More
Discord at the Prague Autumn Music Festival
Prague is very much a centre of culture and proud of the fact that its
classical music festivals attract music lovers from around the world. The
Prague Spring Music Festival is a highly prestigious international music
event and the more recently established Prague Autumn Festival has likewise
gained an excellent reputation. Usually concert goers leave with lasting
impressions - and come back for more. But occasionally a note of discord
creeps in.
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First Chinese cultural centre in Czech Republic opens in Olomouc
As China's economy goes from strength to strength, the country is also
making great efforts to promote its language and culture across the world.
In just three years, China has opened branches of its Confucius Institute
in over 70 countries around the world. The first Confucius Institute in the
Czech Republic was opened on Wednesday at Palacky University in Olomouc. I
spoke to the head of the centre David Uher and started by asking him
whether it was the university's own initiative or whether it was the
Chinese who approached them.
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