The preparation and the exposition

Concept of the CGO

Concept of the Czech Republic's participation at the 2005 World Exposition, Aichi 25 March - 25 September 2005

1. Introduction

Czech culture generally gets a lot of attention in Japan and is much enjoyed. Therefore, the Czech Republic was invited by the Japanese Association for EXPO 2005 to present its cultural and social background in particular.

The Czech Exposition wants to offer an original artistic solution, in the context of the theme and concept of the whole exposition, which would pick up on the traditional achievements of the Czech Republic in the world expositions. In Japan, they still remember the contribution made by Czechoslovakia to the world exposition in Osaka - in a recent interview, the Japanese Empress Michiko mentioned the Czechoslovak exposition in connection with Czech literature, which traditionally has many fans in Japan.

The concept of the Czech contribution will be shaped considerably by cultural and social events, by means of which it will be possible to represent the Czech Republic with dignity and success.

The events being prepared (Czech National Day, Week of Czech Music, Week of Czech Art and Literature, Week of Czech Glass, Presentation of Czech Regions and Prague, and Presentation of Czech Environmental Projects) not only offer a connection to the wealth of history and long-standing healthy relations between the Czech Republic and Japan, but we are also confident that they will become commercially successful activities in the scope of the Czech contribution to EXPO 2005 and that in their scope they will extend beyond the borders of the exposition itself. We want to present the history and traditions of the Czech Republic in a European context, while setting aside space for the young generation.

2. Pavilion (Module) and Exposition

For the Czech exposition, we are contemplating two basic modules with dimensions of 18x18x9 m and a total area of 648 m². This area covers the exposition space, an admin section, and a lobby, and will be spread over two floors, thus increasing the exposition space by 50%. In all we estimate that there will be about 972 m² of exposition space.

The exhibitors will be encouraged to use the main theme and sub-themes as their basis. The Japanese Association for the World Exposition 2005 Aichi will monitor observance of the theme - the construction work will be able to start once the project has been approved by the Japanese. The Japanese organizers are offering land for the pavilion over the period of the exposition, the skeleton of the modules (pavilions), power and water supply equipment, and one telephone line, all free of charge. Exhibitors must fund all other costs themselves.

Visitors to the Czech pavilion will be presented with Czech culture, but not only in its traditional and well-known form - the aim is to introduce a world audience to the younger Czech generation too. There will be cooperation with young architects and artists in the production of the pavilion, exposition, and cultural projects. As is mentioned above, EXPO 2005 will combine the past and present, traditions and cutting-edge technology, i.e. a form of self-expression which often appears in the work of young artists.

The Commissioner General's advisory committee has agreed that the tender for the Czech pavilion should be a two-stage process. The first stage will focus on the idea and scenario (synopsis), the second on the script, libretto, and pavilion, whereby a condition will be the presentation of a specific team of artists and associates. This decision was reached after a detailed analysis of the Czech Republic's participation in Hannover, where the scenario, libretto, and pavilion were created by two different teams, which spawned disputes and misunderstandings. These circumstances reflected negatively on the overall equilibrium of the Czech pavilion.

3. Accompanying Events

Special attention will be paid to accompanying programmes and special events during the exposition which will be designed to present contemporary Czech culture in detail. These events will be conceived with the Japanese visitor and our traditional arts in mind. It should be emphasized that the artists, ensembles, and works mentioned in the individual parts of this section are only given for the sake of example and that the final selection will by made by objective means (professional panels of judges and tenders).

a) Week of Czech Music

The Czech Republic has been invited by the organizers of EXPO 2005 to prepare an integrated block of conferences, symposia, and workshops with the theme of Czech music, which traditionally has a broad base of support in Japan and enjoys unprecedented interest. A number of musicians and artists will appear in the music performances, and special CDs, information, and art publications are planned. In this respect, we would like to team up with Supraphon, which has specialized in recordings of Czech classical music for 50 years.

A dignified prelude to the Czech presentation at EXPO 2005 could be the Czech Philharmonic's tour of Japan in autumn 2004. During the exposition, we would like to involve reputable music ensembles (e.g. the Prague Symphonic Orchestra, the Czech Radio Orchestra, the PKO, the Pardubice Chamber Orchestra, the Vihan Quartet, the Škamp Quartet) and soloists (Magdalena Kožená, Jan Simon, and others).

b) Week of Czech Film

During the Week of Czech Film, we plan to present to the visitors of EXPO 2005 the best work produced by the Czech film industry since 1989, as well as internationally acclaimed films from the period before 1989. A common theme might be Czech films which have received or been nominated for an Academy Award (Oscar) - The Shop on Main Street (Kadár, Klos), Closely Observed Trains (Menzel), Kolya (Svěrák), My Sweet Little Village (Menzel), Elementary School (Svěrák) and Divided We Fall (Hřebejk). We are also planning on visits by directors, talks at universities, and other accompanying events. We also want to present Czech animated film by traditionally well-known artists (Jiří Trnka, Břetislav Pojar) and by the new generation, headed by Aurel Klimt. There will be a publication on the new generation of Czech film protagonists and the Czech film industry. We want to screen selected films at the administrative centres of Osaka and Nagoya, and in other parts of Japan.

c) Week of Czech Glass

Czech glass is internationally acknowledged by experts and collectors because of its artistic quality, creativeness, and uniqueness of shape, colour, and processing. Czech glass is traditionally rated very highly in the Japanese market and is very popular. The Week of Czech Glass should be conceived as a cross section of work by Czech glassmakers past and present, involving applied and artistic artefacts.

Not only did Czechs initiate the development of modern glass, most of them have also been keeping step with the most progressive trends for dozens of years and as such have contributed considerably to the development of this branch of art. The Japanese cultural public still remembers the immense creative potential of Czech glassmakers as introduced to them comprehensively at EXPO '70 in Osaka (where the work of Jaroslava Brychtová, Stanislav Libenský, and René and Miluše Roubíček was presented).

However, the Czech school of glassmaking is also represented by other artists well known to the Japanese cultural public, not only because of their presentations in Japanese galleries (Tokyo, Kanazawa, Toyama - Vladimír Kopecký, Václav Cígler, Marian Karel, Dana Zámečníková, Jiřina Žertová, Dana Vachtová, Jiří Šuhájek, Anna Matoušková, Lenka Čermáková, Eva Vlčková, Richard Čermák, Petr Vlček, Ivan Mareš, Zdeněk Lhotský, Bořek Šípek, and others), but also thanks to their teaching activities at the Toyama Institute of Glass Art - T.I.G.A. (Josef Marek, Pavel Mrkus). About ten years ago, the city of Toyama launched an ambitious project aimed at gradually setting up a glassmaking centre, complete with school, smelting-house, studios, and a museum; it approached Czech glassmakers to supply the main cooperation, and they have led the school right from the beginning.

Expositions of Czech glass will not be restricted to the Czech pavilion. The very best of Czech glass will be presented outside the scope of EXPO 2005 too (in Osaka and Nagoya) in conjunction with the T.I.G.A.

d) Week of Czech Art and Literature

Art

Visitors to this event will be presented with Czech art in all its forms, and in particular they will be able to trace the development of Czech art from the 1930s to the present. The exposition should offer visitors a fresh view of Czech art.

The installation of the exposition should be well arranged, with an emphasis on the various trends in the different concepts of modern art (surrealism - Jindřich Štyrský, Toyen, Josef Šíma, Jan Zrzavý, František Janoušek, etc., lyrically tainted realism of the 1930s and 1940s - in particular members of Group 42, art informel - Mikuláš Medek, Vladimír Boudník, through to a final appraisal of developments up to the end of the 1980s - Karel Nepraš, Jitka Válová, Květa Válová, Jiří Načeradský, Adriena Šimotová, Jiří Kolář, Michael Rittstein, members of Tvrdohlaví, etc.).

Another part of the exposition should present experiments in painting and sculpture, plus works transferring to the means of expression offered by new communications technology, i.e. mainly presentations of the work by winners of the Jindřich Chalupecký Prize, the prestigious domestic competition for Czech artists up to the age of 35 awarded for exceptional works of art, especially in painting and sculpture (past winners: 1990 - Vladimír Kokolia; 1991 - František Skála; 1992 - Michal Nesázal; 1993 - Martin Mainer; 1994 - Michal Gabriel; 1995 - Petr Nikl; 1996 - Kateřina Vincourová; 1997 - Jiří Příhoda; 1998 - Jiří Černický; 1999 - Lukáš Rittstein; 2000 - David Černý; 2001 - Tomáš Vaněk; 2002 - Markéta Othová).

This event will also extend beyond the borders of EXPO - we are planning a number of expositions at top Japanese galleries. A key element will be cooperation with significant galleries in the Czech Republic, especially the National Gallery and Prague City Gallery.

Czech literature

The presentation of Czech literature should be represented by Czech would-be Nobel Prize Winners for Literature (Otokar Březina, Antonín Sova, and Karel Čapek), contemporary authors, and authors whose work has been published in Japanese. Special attention will be paid to Jaroslav Seifert, the only Czech Nobel Prize Winner. Czech literature of the latter half of the 20th century will be represented by the works of Václav Havel, Jiří Kolář, Josef Škvorecký, Ludvík Vaculík, Bohumil Hrabal, Ota Pavel, and others. Younger authors will include Michal Viewegh and Tereza Boučková. Special attention will be paid to the illustration of children's books.

e) Presentation of Regions and Prague

In the scope of this one-week presentation, visitors will be introduced to all the regions of the Czech Republic and to Prague. The individual regions will prepare their own programme, which should fit in with the general concept of the Czech Republic's EXPO contribution. Informative publications and other promotional materials and souvenirs will be produced. For this presentation, the Commissioner General Office will work closely with the Ministry for Local Development, the Czech Tourism Centre, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and regional commissioners. The set themes and similar expositions, such as the current 'Wonders and Secrets of the Czech Republic', as well as the eleven UNESCO sites in the Czech Republic should be used.

f) Czech National Day

Each country at the world exposition will be able to introduce itself to visitors on its 'National Day'. The organization of extensive events is planned for this day, which will present a cross section of Czech culture.

Czech National Day will take place in a large concert hall for 3,500 spectators, attended by Czech politicians. Negotiations are currently under way with the Prague Symphony Orchestra, the conductor Petr Altrichtr, Magdalena Kožená, Jiří Bárta, and others, although the final form of Czech National Day will depend on an objective selection with the assistance of expert advisers and tenders. The gala evening will be preceded by a full-day cultural presentation, where folklore and other elements typical for the Czech Republic will be represented.

4. Concept of the Management of the Commissioner General Office

The aim is to ensure the quality representation of the Czech Republic and to attract the interest of as many visitors as possible. Another very significant criterion, which the Commissioner General Office will stress, is the uniqueness of the pavilion and exposition.