Festival 4+4 Days in Motion will occupy the abandoned House of Applied Arts

Prague - The functionalist building of the former House of Art and Design on Národní Street will come alive again with art and culture. From October 15 to 24, it will host the cultural festival 4+4 Days in Motion. This showcase of dance, theater, cabaret, lectures, and exhibitions is already taking place for the 15th year. The artistic director of the festival, Pavel Štorek, introduced this year's program to journalists today. People can look forward to a dance tribute to football, a monodrama about the life of the first wife of Gustáv Husák, or a Czech heavy metal soap opera.
    The festival organizers always choose an interesting place that has lost its original function as one of the venues - in the past, the building of the Federal Assembly, a wastewater treatment facility in Bubenč, or a factory hall of ČKD in Karlín. In addition to that, performances are traditionally held at the Archa Theater, La Fabrika, and Studio Alt@-Hala 30.
    The House of Art and Design was built in 1936 by architect Oldřich Starý. It served to support art and architecture. There was also a showroom for items to decorate the apartment, Krásná jizba. After the war, it became the headquarters of the Center for Folk and Artistic Production (ÚLUV), and several floors were rented by the publishing house Odeon. Today, cheap shoes and inexpensive books are sold on the ground floor of the building at Národní Street 36. The basement has become a storage area, the upper floors are empty, and the unique glass roof of the atrium is neglected.
    The building will now come alive with lectures and exhibitions. The former director of ÚLUV, Lenka Žižková, will talk about the history of the house, while guided tours will be offered by geologist and science popularizer Václav Cílek and architectural historian Rostislav Švácha. Another architectural historian, Zdeněk Lukeš, will focus on a lecture about Národní Street.
    The showcase will offer ten performances. Belgian architect Filip Berte has prepared for visitors of the former foundry in La Fabrika a work titled Mass Grave of Shared Memories. "The project is a reflection on Europe and its tragic places," said Štorek. Through a walk around the large structure, spectators will gain insight into exhibitions that bring closer the disasters and massacres of the last century.
    The Norwegian company Jo Stromgren Kompani will present a dance tribute to the art of football. The company De Utvalgte, also from Norway, will bring the production Shadows, which is based on the drama by writer Jon Fosse.
    An independent platform from Slovakia, P.A.T., will head to the festival with its intimate tragedy M.H.L., dedicated to the compelling life story of the first Slovak director, Magda Husáková-Lokvencová, who was the first wife of the future normalization president of Czechoslovakia.
    During the festival, awards will be presented to artists over 35 years old. The award named "An Artist is Valuable" is given by young artists under 35, who want to express their appreciation to older colleagues they look up to. This year, four artists made it to the finals - Václav Stratil, Jan Metra, Viktor Pivovarov, and Krištof Kintera.
    The program and more information about the festival can be found on the website www.ctyrydni.cz.