Czech Republic

Last update: November, 2020

There are initiatives in the CR that seek to promote participation in cultural life and different branches of Czech public administration (ministries, municipal authorities) support them in two ways: by establishing their own cultural organisations or through grant programmes.

The Czech Republic is an advanced country in terms of its cultural infrastructure. It has a dense network of public libraries, and it is among the countries with the largest number of museums and galleries per 1 000 inhabitants and those numbers continue to grow. The number of monuments that can be accessed by the public are on the rise, as are the number of theatres, which may be different types of legal subjects. Non-profit organisations and the business sphere have become involved in building cultural infrastructure as well. An interesting fact is that 30% of theatres are self-sufficient, which is above the European average. The types of places that are part of the cultural infrastructure have also changed. Since 2000 former industrial spaces have begun to be used for cultural purposes and modern centres combining entertainment with culture, education, and production activities have emerged. These are multifunctional centres, where learning and educational activities form part of a multigenerational programme based on providing people with an experience. Cultural activities are also offered by community organisations established by churches or religious entities. Their programmes tend to be dominated by activities for citizens with social and health disabilities. Linking cultural services to tourism has become a strong trend. There is a long tradition of ensuring that people with disabilities are able to access cultural sites and to this end support is given to the construction of barrier-free structures and sites and to creating accessibility maps of sites and making them available to the public. For example, the League for the Rights of People in Wheelchairs has been mapping the accessibility of sites for more than a decade, and it uses modern information and communication technologies to this end – for example, alongside websites and online catalogues public libraries are/should be also typically equipped with accessibility maps for people with disabilities.

A priority is to focus on children and young people and foster in them a lasting relationship to the arts and culture. This has given rise to such projects as the library-based ‘A Night with Andersen’ and an initiative prepared by artists called ‘The Whole Czech Land Reads to Children’ and ‘Let’s Have Fun with Monuments’.

Since the early 1990s there has been a programme (earlier known as Museum Gates Open) that seeks to change the traditional way of seeing museums as scientific institutions focused on their collections. This has led to the development of modern interactive exhibits, the Museum Night project (museum tours unusually offered during the late evening hours), theatrical tours of sites (where guides in costumes try to share not just information with visitors but give them an unexpected encounter with the past). Every museum has a museum pedagogue (a specific university-level field of study) who works mainly with child visitors using creative games and activities.

Cultural institutions also try to attract visitors by offering family tickets and discount admission for certain age groups (children) and social categories (seniors, unemployed) and by offering special activities (e.g. Opera Night at Pilsen Theatre). Visitor rates also receive a boost from activities organised in connection with international initiatives. An example is Theatre Night (organised in the CR since 2013), Dance Day or Music Day, when dance and music performances take place all over the country. Heritage Days and Monument Doors Open Days are also traditionally organised where the public is granted access to places usually closed to them with an accompanying cultural programme for children and adults, and admission is usually free.

The Ministry of Culture (MC) has also become involved and in 2009 it launched a new sub-programme called ‘Mobility for All’, which conforms with the goals of the government plan for financing the National Development Programme of Mobility for All. The sub-programme provides funding for making cultural facilities and buildings accessible to people with disabilities.

In 2013 ‘RE:PUBLIKUM: Audience Development Opportunities in the 21^st Century’ was held (organised by the Arts and Theatre Institute, the Czech Office of the Culture Programme, MEDIA Desk CR, and Archa Theatre) on the subject of examples of audience development projects. The conference presented examples of interesting and well-functioning audience development projects in the CR and abroad. To accompany the conference, print and electronic versions of the publication RE: Publikum: Audience Development Opportunities in the 21st Century were published. In 2016 another RE:PUBLIKUM international conference was organised on the same topic. Focus On: Audiences is an event that has been organised every year since 2014 and brings together representatives of cultural organisations that present current inspiring examples of work with the public in different areas of culture. In 2018, to coincide with the European Year of Cultural Heritage, the event turned its attention to the parties involved in cultural heritage – Focus On: The Audience for Cultural Heritage.

There are several examples of strategies that combine participation in cultural life with the wider issue of civic participation and the development of civil society.

The State Cultural Policy for 2015-2020 applies a civic approach to culture (the aim is to highlight the role of culture for the professional and personal growth of individual citizens). The civic dimension of culture is behind the idea of enabling citizens to have a hand in shaping the programmes and activities of cultural institutions and cooperation between the public and private sectors.

In the Strategic Framework of Sustainable Development in the CR to 2030 culture is viewed as essential to the socio-economic development of the Czech Republic as it has a decisive influence on the human and social capital of society and its value orientations. Its aim is investment in life-long education and in the quality and accessibility of public cultural services, especially those focused on the development of leisure-time activities for children and young people.

The Concept of More Effective Care of Traditional Folk Culture 2016-2020 sets as one of its objectives using traditional folk culture in the education process in schools and outside of schools, and as a possible tool for education on tolerance and against racism and xenophobia (e.g. as part of a multicultural education). Identifying phenomena of traditional folk culture, the Concept stresses the involvement of civil society (a network of voluntary non-professional consultants).

Last update: November, 2020

State statistics on culture are the responsibility of the state contributory organisation NIPOS, which tracks data through a register of information units, for instance, for theatre, musical ensembles, observatories, planetariums, libraries, cultural houses, heritage objects, museums and galleries, the periodical and non-periodical press, etc. Below is an overview of some of the indicators that are monitored and their trends over time.

Table 6:    Data on cultural subjects and visitor numbers, 1995, 2005, 2010, 2015, 2018 and 2019 (public and private institutions together)

Source:   Data from the statistical research of NIPOS.

Currently local authorities are very active in conducting surveys on cultural activities and participation in culture. They use the information obtained from the surveys to develop local cultural policies. Another example is studies connected to specific cultural events on the local level, such as ‘Research on the Informedness, Attitudes, and Participation of the Residents of the City of Pilsen in the Project “Pilsen – European Culture Capital”’ (2015-2016, University of West Bohemia in Pilsen), which focused on cultural consumption in relation to Pilsen as a European Culture Capital in 2015.

There are also studies that are conducted on the national and international levels.

As part of a national project called ‘Keys for Life’, in 2012 a study titled ‘Children in the Ring of Today’s World – Value Orientations of Children Aged 6 to 15’ was published. The study looks at four areas of children’s lives: family, school, leisure time, and values. It points to current trends in how children spend their leisure time, including interest in arts activities in relation to age and gender. In 2015-2017 the study ‘Methodology for Segmenting the Population of the CR in Relation to the Consumption of Cultural Goods’ was conducted at the University of Economics in Prague that looked at the segmentation of visitors attending cultural activities, questions of satisfaction, visitor loyalty, and examining the main reasons for attending cultural activities.

The results of studies devoted to culture and cultural preferences and consumption are also regularly published by the Institute of Sociology, Czech Academy of Sciences – such as ‘Cultural Consumption and Social Distinction in the CR’[1] or Leisure Time, Society, Culture: Czechia – Slovakia.[2]

In November 2013 the results of the special Eurobarometer 399 on access to culture and active participation in culture were published. They indicate both passive participation in culture (recipients of culture) and active participation in culture (individual activities in the arts). The study was conducted in all EU Member States on representative samples of citizens aged 15 and older. The summary report compares the findings with a similar study conducted in 2007. Outside statistical studies surveying how often people use cultural facilities, there are no regular studies conducted in the CR that focus on cultural habits, direct and indirect participation in culture, and cultural consumption.

[1]Šafr, J. 2014. ‘Kulturní spotřeba a sociální distinkce v České republice.’ Pp. 114 – 143 in P. Zahrádka (ed.). Spotřební kultura: historie, teorie a výzkum. Praha: ACADEMIA. ISBN 978-80-200-2372-8.

[2]Chorvát, I., J. Šafr (eds.). 2019. Volný čas, společnost, kultura: Česko – Slovensko.Praha: Sociologickénakladatelství SLON. 248.

Last update: November, 2020

Household expenditure on culture is tracked through the CR’s Culture Account. In 2018 household expenditure on culture amounted to 51 992 427 000 CZK. Expenditure increased from 2017 by 4.5%. Household expenditure as a proportion of total expenditure on culture has long remained stable.

Table 7:        Household expenditure 2017 and 2018, in millions of EUR[1] and percentages

Source:               Results of the Culture Account for 2017, ČSÚ, NIPOS, Prague 2019. Results of the Culture Account for 2018, ČSÚ, NIPOS, Prague 2020.

[1] The exchange rate for 1 EUR in 2017 was 26.290 CZK and in 2018 it was 25.68 CZK.

Last update: November, 2020

In the CR, there was a period in the late 19th and early 20th century when club life bloomed and during that time various kinds of clubs were founded – national houses, community clubs, and sporting associations (Sokol) etc., where people went not just for entertainment but also to socialise. They evolved naturally, embedded in community life, until the Communist regime seized power. The regime severed these links, nationalised property, quashed civil society, and seized control of entertainment. The old buildings used for these activities fell into decline; some were refurbished, but usually suffered from insensitive structural modifications. They were replaced by the mass construction of megalomaniacal ‘cultural houses’, which the political authorities also used for their own visibility. After 1989 some municipalities tried to get rid of these buildings by selling them, because they were expensive to operate and to maintain. But even in the 1990s municipal representatives already began to realise that without cultural houses and centres the quality of local community life would suffer, and there was a return to a naturally evolving process. Cultural houses and centres are run by various subjects: municipalities, municipal districts, and even associations and public benefit companies, joint-stock and limited-liability companies, and private subjects; none, however, are run by the state. The activities they offer can be divided into basic groups: artistic, non-artistic and educational activities, and other cultural services. 

Through its contributory organisation NIPOS, the MC has begun to collect statistical data (firstly in 2007) on the activities of cultural institutions such as cultural houses, municipal cultural centres, extracurricular centres, and so on. Statistical surveys are conducted on a sample of (selected) organisations.

Civic activities (associations, charitable trusts) have primarily surfaced in the area of public cultural services. Their activities relate mainly to arts and education. These include centres mediating access to the contemporary arts. One example is MeetFactory in Prague, which is based in a former industrial space. The centre offers cultural education, productions, studio space and arts residencies and features exhibitions, a video library, a bookstore, a café, and a dance club. It also rents out 5 000 m² space made up of multifunctional studios and halls. This charitable trust is a self-declared non-profit international contemporary arts centre, the mission of which is to initiate dialogue between different arts genres and mediate for the public the latest developments in the contemporary arts scene. In addition to a theatre and music programme and exhibitions in three galleries, it also hosts an international arts residency programme. MeetFactory was founded in 2001 by well-known artist David Černý. Another example is provided by the clubs and cafés run by associations and alternative cultural-education centres that combine a cultural programme with meditation and courses in dance and singing. The Sokol Community is another civic initiative and its individual units manage individual Sokol Centres, which are places that often also serve as local community centres for the wider community. This is the case in the Central Bohemian spa town Toušeň, not far from Prague, where the local theatre association that has been re-established also organises concerts, exhibitions, dances, and theatre shows at the local Sokol Centre. Based on a contract with the municipality, various associations put together the cultural programme of Sokol Centres, which do not have their own professional employees. Another version of this form of arrangement is the work of Johan, an association in Pilsen, which secured funding for the reconstruction of a former train station building that functions as a multicultural and production centre. These examples are evidence of the principle of cooperation between the public and private sectors at work, which is something that is called for in key government concepts.

There are a great number of centres of theatre education that operate entirely as civic initiatives. For example, in Olomouc one basic school of the arts was initially set up as a project and has since functioned as an autonomous association called Association D, which offers courses in drama for schools and also provides training to teachers and heads of children’s theatre companies. Currently these centres are working to obtain a permanent education licence.

An important characteristic of civic initiatives (many of which emerge for this purpose) is that they are a response to what is currently going on in society in the field of culture. Over the years various civic initiatives have emerged spontaneously in the sphere of culture and temporarily established themselves as platforms that promote the interests of culture either at the level of the state or at the level of the given municipality. One example of this is ZaČeskoKulturní/For a Cultural Czech Republic, which operates on the state level; others include 4 Points for Culture or For a Cultural Prague, directed against the lack of conceptuality at Prague City Hall. And one initiative of current relevance in connection with the COVID-19 crisis is a platform called Zaživouhudbu/ForLiveMusic, the goal of which is to promote measures designed to help save the music sector.

The non-professional (amateur) arts have a very strong tradition in the Czech Republic, one that stretches back several centuries. Given the country’s demographic picture (settlements with populations up to 5000 predominate) local culture plays an essential role and positively influences the quality of life and is part of the image of places and regions. Some branches of the arts have no, or only a marginal, professional segment (e.g. vocal music, brass music, folk dance). Non-professional arts groups act as important representatives of the Czech Republic abroad and have been praised for their artistic quality (e.g. children’s choirs, amateur theatre). Every level of public administration is involved in supporting the presentation of amateur groups. Such arts activities are practised as leisure-time activities and are not the primary livelihood for those who participate in them. They can take the form of an individual pursuit or a collective activity practised in groups and clubs. Current cultural anthropology recognises the important role the arts play in the development of the individual in terms of contributing to a person’s cultural capital.

The non-professional arts are currently enjoying a surge, in part owing to tradition and intergenerational transfer, and in part owing to the rising standard of living and to the existing system of assistance by the state, regions and local areas. The state and the regions support a unique system of what are called ‘competitive talent shows’. Most arts fields have a nationwide talent show that is built on regional (rounds of) talent shows, and if a company or individual wishes to take part in the national talent show in their field they must first take part in one of these regional shows. The national show is made up of nominations or recommendations from regional juries appointed by the programme council. This system has been gradually built up since the 1920s and after 1990 amateurs had to decide whether it should continue. At that time the network of cultural education facilities (district and regional cultural centres) that had overseen the system ceased to exist. Given that the grant system of public administration was still only emerging, amateurs in individual fields of the arts had to decide whether they wanted this system to continue and whether they knew how to make it work. Their decision in favour of continuing this system means that it reflects a publicly declared cultural need.   

Non-professional arts shows (the number of which increased significantly after 1990 as municipalities sought to revive or establish such a tradition) are organised by cultural facilities, leisure-time facilities for children and young people, associations and charitable trusts, individuals and businesses. They use multiple-source funding based on public grants. As well as the newly established shows there are also festivals that have a continuous history dating back many years (Jirásek’s Hronov Amateur Theatre Festival founded in 1931, Chrudim Puppetry Festival established in 1951, the Festival of International Choral Art in Jihlava, established in 1957, Strážnice International Folklore Festival, established in 1957).

Unlike other European countries that were not part of the communist bloc, where the main non-professional arts organisations are non-state, non-profit organisations that operate nationwide (their activities receive material support for the relevant state body (e.g. Germany, France, Belgium, Austria), there are no majority nationwide associations (that represent individual fields of the arts) in the Czech Republic. In some fields there are no associations at all (e.g. stage dance, recitation), in others there are several associations (e.g. amateur theatre, non-professional film), and in others there are associations striving to represent the majority (e.g. the Union of Czech Photographers, the Union of Czech Choirs). This situation is the result of the break in tradition that was caused by the communist period, when such associations were not allowed to exist, and by the ongoing aversion people have to being grouped in associations. And associations that do not have the resources to hire professional employees and must rely on volunteers will have difficulty functioning. On the other hand, a state service centre has existed since 1925 (Masaryk Institute of Public Education, established in 1925). Today this agenda is taken up by two state budgetary organisations: the National Information and Consulting Centre for Culture based in Prague (which covers most fields and oversees the talent show system) and the National Institute of Folk Culture in Strážnice (overseeing traditional folk culture including folk dance and music). It works with all umbrella organisations on a conceptual and organisational level and respected experts and artists sit on its advisory boards.

In terms of tradition, it is not surprising to find that the largest fields are amateur theatres, with approximately 3 000 companies and choirs with approximately 1 700 groups. Each year 200 children’s choirs, with a total of around 6 000 singers, take part in the talent shows. Approximately 300 dance groups and a total of 2 500 children take part in the talent shows in dance. A new field is children’s filmmaking, for which a national show has been organised in Blansko since 2015. New technologies also influence the experimental work of adult filmmakers and photographers. Complete information on some fields is provided on national websites. For example, www.amaterskedivadlo.cz is a website that has been developing since the mid-1990s (with the financial support of EEA/Norway) and it offers more than 180 000 items of data stored in five database categories (location, companies, people, shows, literature). The web is administered by NIPOS. There are also some good non-state websites such as FILMDAT.cz (a voluntary association initiative) and a portal for choirs created by one individual.

A characteristic of the non-professional arts is their varying prominence from one region to the next. This is the result of tradition, demographic development, especially after the Second World War, and development since November 1989. The Hradec Králové Region is a hub of activity in all the arts, which thrive exceptionally well there, thanks in part to cooperation between the regional budgetary organisation IMPULS and civic associations (e.g. the Association of Amateur Theatre Artists in Eastern Bohemia); this universality is moreover apparent in the number of companies and individuals that take part in national talent shows. The Pardubice Region has a strong tradition in the fields of puppetry theatre and drama, folk dance, and choral music. In the Moravian regions, brass music, dance, folk music, stage dance, and vocal music do especially well. The Olomouc Region is a traditional centre of non-professional chamber and symphonic music and amateur film. In Western Bohemia, folklore, theatre, and dance are particularly strong. This same is true of Southern Bohemia, where there is also a strong tradition of brass music and puppetry theatre. In the Central Bohemia Region and in Prague every field of the arts are represented. Although as the largest population settlement in the Czech Republic Prague also has the largest numbers of groups in every field, these activities do not play as important a role in local culture as they do in other regions in the Czech Republic. Northern Bohemia continues to lag in this area because it suffers from high unemployment and also because post-war development had the effect of interrupting cultural traditions. Nevertheless, in the Liberec Region positive development has begun to be seen in some fields (e.g. stage dance, choirs, amateur theatre – thanks to the work of individuals and groups).

Since 2013 the Week of Arts Education and Amateur Work has been held each year in the Czech Republic in response to a challenge from UNESCO (education) and the international network AMATEO. It takes place in the last week in May. Arts schools, cultural institutions, associations, and individuals participate. Projects include festivals, shows, concerts, performances, exhibitions, and ‘open doors’ days of arts and cultural institutions. Since 2014 the Week of Arts Education and Amateur Work has featured a famous person from the arts world and is launched with a concert in Prague.