<Muzeum Kampa> has been showcasing modern and contemporary art for 10 years

Prague - The vision of the museum's founder, Meda Mládková, was to primarily present Czech authors who are represented in the collections of the Kampa Museum and whose work was not supported by the regime during communism. The current leadership of the institution, which opened to the public just ten years ago, aims to continue this vision.
    "In the past, we have presented the works of Adriena Šimotová, Stanislav Kolíbal, and Věra Janoušková in this manner, and in the near future, we will showcase an exhibition of Jiří John and Vladimír Kopecký. We are also striving to present the works of prominent foreign authors, and I believe that visitors will not be disappointed next year," said Jiří Lammel, director of the Jan and Meda Mládek Foundation, to ČTK.
    According to him, the ideas that the founders of the museum once had have been fulfilled. "The main mission of the Jan and Meda Mládek Foundation is to support the development of visual arts in the Czech Republic and to familiarize the general public with it. The concept of the museum is to continue presenting art," he added.
    New works are being added to the museum's foundational collection, which the Mládek couple assembled. "In 2011, the collections were enriched with works by František Kupka through the purchase of a collection from Lilli Lonngren Anders in the USA. Recently, we have acquired works by Adriena Šimotová, Karel Malich, Zdeněk Sýkora, Milan Grygar, or Jiří Hilmar," Lammel lists the additions, noting that the foundation has been successful in acquiring works primarily thanks to the support of patrons.

Meda Mládková (photo: Honza Ježdík)

    The foundation has been trying for years to acquire the nearby Werich Villa at the Sovovy Mlýny complex. This month, Prague 1 representatives will discuss a proposed cooperation agreement with the foundation - according to this, a cultural and social center and the museum of Jan Werich and Jiří Voskovec, or an archive and library of Jan and Meda Mládek, should be established in the villa. "In our view, the Werich Villa should primarily be a place for meeting and dialogue," says Lammel.
    A significant portion of Kampa Museum's visitors consists of tourists, but the museum also wants to attract a domestic audience that would visit the institution and exhibitions repeatedly throughout the year. "Most of the accompanying programs for exhibitions and workshops for families with children are therefore aimed primarily at Czech visitors. They regularly meet at our museum on the first Saturday of the month."
    The attractive location of the museum on the Vltava island has already been affected twice by flooding of the Sovovy Mlýny, once shortly before the opening of the gallery, and again this June. In both instances, the art was spared destruction; only the technology was damaged, with losses of around 20 million crowns each time. However, at the end of June this year, the museum opened the exhibition Judita na Kampě: Klimt-Mucha-Kupka from Czech Collections, which will last until September 22. The museum worked on its preparation with the Gallery of Fine Arts in Ostrava; Lammel reminds that the museum collaborates with all significant domestic institutions in the field.
   "I would say that the agreement with the National Gallery on reciprocal cooperation, which began last year with the exhibition František Kupka: Cesta k Amorfě, was a turning point. As part of this agreement, the exhibition of Francisco Goya took place at our Kampa as well," he stated. The NG is preparing a project for 2017, marking the 60th anniversary of Kupka's death, which will culminate in an international exhibition. It is likely that collections from the Kampa Museum will also be involved in this project. Both institutions own key works by the Czech native, who is a pioneer of abstract painting.