Czech pavilion for the Frankfurt Book Fair will be created according to the design of the JinJan studio

Frankfurt am Main – The Czech pavilion at the renowned Frankfurt Book Fair, where the Czech Republic will be the guest of honor this October, will be created according to the design by the Prague studio JinJan, which promises to transport visitors into a land of fantasy and imagination. Today, the results of the selection competition were announced by a seven-member committee in Frankfurt am Main, which included, among others, the head of Designblok Jana Zielinski and the director of the International Book Fair and the World of Books Prague festival Radovan Auer. The pavilion's appearance will develop the theme of Czech hosting, which relies on imagination. Its motto is Czech Republic: a country on the coast, which refers to the play The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare, who placed Bohemia, i.e., Czech lands, on the seashore.

The Czech Republic has long based its participation in book festivals in Germany on a maritime theme with colorful flags or the slogan Ahoj. This greeting is associated with seafaring not only in German-speaking environments. The theme of the sea is then used by the Czech Republic as a parallel to broad literary waters, and this concept is also the basis for the design of the upcoming pavilion at the Frankfurt fair, the largest event of its kind in the world.

"For JinJan, a book is an interface of imagination, a means that can transport us to distant worlds, a place where even our country has its coast with a lighthouse. This coast is a place from where one can set sail into the vast sea of Czech literature," said Zielinski.

"The very idea of the Czech Republic as a country on the coast has intrigued our imagination since the beginning and has forced us to reflect on how to materialize this utopia in space while connecting with the world of literature,” stated Jindřich Ráftl from the JinJan studio.

The basic element of the pavilion's architecture will be rounded and soft inflatable objects. "They can represent, for example, pebbles in a Czech river, rocks, or anything else – it depends solely on the imagination of visitors," explained Jan Tůma from JinJan. "In the pavilion, just like when reading a book, you will be transported into an infinite world of imagination. This experience is supported by the inflatable objects used, which flow freely through the space and softly frame the views. As you walk through, you should not be sure where the space ends; you should feel a sense of boundlessness and infinity," he added.

The center of the pavilion will be a poetic Lighthouse as an interactive element transforming Czech literature with the help of the audience and AI into a playful installation. It will also include two stages for discussions, author readings, or presentations, and there will also be a café or relaxation area and an exhibition of Czech illustration from the last 30 years in the form of video mapping.

Czech literature in Frankfurt will be represented by 75 authors. During the event, which will take place from October 7 to 11, Czech organizers have prepared more than a hundred literary and cultural events.

The honorary hosting of the Czech Republic at the Frankfurt Book Fair, which was visited last year by 238,000 people from 131 countries, represents the largest presentation of Czech literature abroad in modern history. A study published in May by KROKEM (KREIA group) and EEIP states that participation may increase the turnover of the Czech economy by hundreds of millions of crowns, support book sales, and enhance the visibility of Czech literature worldwide.