Prague is considering whether to use funds for art to also cover the maintenance of works

Epos 257, "50m2 of public space", Palackého Square in Prague, 2010

Prague - Prague is considering whether to allocate funds reserved for investments in public art to also cover the maintenance of these works. This should involve two percent of the investments earmarked for culture. However, the draft strategy, which CTK has access to, does not account for this; the maintenance of the works should be financed from the budget of the Gallery of the Capital City of Prague. Councilors from TOP 09 criticize this.

The proposal includes the creation of an eleven-member committee of the council. It will propose which locations are suitable for supplementing with artistic works. It should be composed of representatives of the city and experts, but there is no consensus on who should prevail. Experts would be nominated to the committee by institutions in the field of visual arts and architecture, including, for example, art schools.

Specific designs for works will be put out to artistic competitions. The proposal anticipates that about half of the funds would go towards artistic works that will be part of buildings, or towards complete renovations carried out by the city. The rest would be distributed by the committee to applicants, for example, from among city districts.

The new works should be managed by the Gallery of the Capital City of Prague. According to Matěj Stropnický (Green Party/Trojkoalice), the gallery’s funding should be increased as new works are created. "If it is not clearly stated that the management and maintenance of the sculptures will be financed from those two percent, then it is systematically flawed," said the chair of the TOP 09 council club, Václav Novotný, at the committee meeting.

This week, the Culture Committee discussed the strategy draft prepared by the Institute for Planning and Development (IPR). If approved by the council of the capital city, a realization plan could be ready by autumn. For this year, 135 million crowns have been allocated in the budget for these investments.

The plan to allocate part of the budget for investment in artistic works was one of five points that the Trojkoalice (Green Party, STAN, and KDU-ČSL) set for the renewal of the coalition with ANO and ČSSD last April. In addition to two percent of the investments earmarked for culture, the Trojkoalice set conditions regarding the future of the Žižkov freight station, the Klinika building, the creation of a map of city infrastructure, or an increase in property tax. None of these have yet been implemented, as the ANO movement opposed the tax increase from the start.