<Veletržní palác> has been serving art for 20 years, in the future it may not be like that

Prague - Palace of Trade Fairs has been serving as a presentation of art for 20 years and is one of the most visited permanent exhibitions of the National Gallery in Prague (NG). Nevertheless, throughout the entire time that the well-known functionalist building has been used by the gallery, there has been a debate about whether it is the best place for art. The building, originally constructed for different purposes, has very high operating costs, and it is unclear whether the gallery will remain there. However, it would need to find a new use, just as it did after the fire 40 years ago.
    "The Palace of Trade Fairs is one of the most beautiful and distinctive buildings in Prague. It was built in the late 1920s, and its life has been influenced by the political, social, and cultural events of the time," said the director of the Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art, Helena Musilová. Even after its construction, the building attracted attention due to its size and functional operation; as a gallery, it evokes contradictory emotions.
    NG is now commemorating the anniversary of the devastating fire that consumed the building. "The project dedicated to the 40th anniversary of the fire at the Palace of Trade Fairs is a signal that the National Gallery is considering this remarkable building comprehensively. At the same time, it also touches on how it determines the projects and exhibitions that take place in it, generally addressing the gallery's operating mechanism," added the director.
    A massive fire engulfed the palace on the evening of August 14, 1974, and the building was completely burned down. After the fire, the palace remained unused for several years until NG acquired it in 1979. The reconstruction lasted 17 years and cost hundreds of millions of crowns. It was only on December 13, 1995, that the Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art was opened there.
    The first of this year's exhibitions related to the fire recalled the history of the building. A photographic exhibition titled Prague Glass Hell, focusing solely on photographs from the fire, will begin on Thursday. At the end of October, the Palace of Trade Fairs will host a project by Jiří Sozanský, which will show how the theme of the building itself was incorporated into the work of one of the prominent domestic artists in the late 1970s.
    The heritage-protected functionalist building is now in very poor condition. Musilová, who has led the collection since last February, stated last year that it would need, in particular, a façade reconstruction, which could reduce tremendous energy losses. NG estimated this at approximately 250 million crowns, which is more than the annual state contribution for the entire institution. The building is so demanding to operate that it consumes 78 million crowns from NG's annual budget, which constitutes 55% of the operating costs of all NG objects. Out of that, energy costs amount to 32 million crowns.
    The new director of NG, Jiří Fajt, considers finding a solution to the situation with the Palace of Trade Fairs a major issue. He does not rule out the possibility that NG could leave the palace and build a new object for the collections of modern and contemporary art. According to him, analyzing the condition of the buildings and contemplating possible changes in the placement of the collections falls among his first tasks. "In the recent past, NG acquired buildings without a pre-defined concept for their use. The amount of the state contribution for the operation of NG has not changed since the 1990s. NG has never acquired a building built specifically for its needs and exclusively uses objects constructed for other purposes in various epochs. Therefore, each of the gallery buildings has its limits," he stated earlier to ČTK.