Opinion: The Prague Post Online

Wednesday, May 17, 2000

Just look at all the culture
Praguers unite to boost 'European City of Culture' status

By Noel O'Brien

The tourist season is under way, and this year Prague can expect a surge in the number of visitors who come to experience its charm. We have, I'm sure, a pleasant, art-filled summer before us. My optimism is well-founded -- after all, this year Prague shares, with eight other cities, the honor of being a "European City of Culture."

It is a wonderful opportunity for any city and especially for Prague, which, because of its architectural wealth and central location, can host events in the most beautiful venues and is within easy reach of millions of potential visitors.

What impressions will linger in the minds of those who come to partake of the festivities? What sights will astound them?

The visitor who arrives by road can view an almost uninterrupted exhibition of contemporary Czech graphic art all the way from the border to the bosom of the city. All along the highway, huge and innumerable billboards vie with traffic signs for the driver's attention. It is a joy to see the cultural and commercial sectors cooperate on a project of such gigantic proportions.

The works are mostly contemporary, colorful and figurative, with a special emphasis on the female form. They deal with our dreams and desires in a world of gadgets and gizmos. The breathtaking scale of the exhibition is a fine example of the artist interacting with his environment. This show simply cannot be missed!

Those who come by rail cannot help but notice the architectural installations of either the Holesovice station or the main station, Hlavni nadrazi. The visitor might at first struggle to understand the message their creators wished to convey. But one should linger to savor the atmosphere. These buildings are points of entry to a world that offers no shallow "Have A Nice Day." Instead they speak to us of Man the Wayfarer, with baggage in hand, confronting the realities of the post-communist city.

At Hlavni nadrazi note the subtle blend of styles, the Art Nouveau superstructure undercut by a "Novy Bauhaus" marketplace. It is a boisterous setting for one's arrival. Here, old and new collide, East meets West, Communism encounters Tourism. It is mixed media at its best. This is art for all the senses; it is sound, it is smell, it is, as Allen Ginsberg would have it, "A Happening."

As you make your way through this European City of Culture you come to realize that the youth of Prague are driven by the creative urge to paint. Hardly a building is without its mural. So pervasive is the urge that even the dogs are impelled to leave their mark.

"Hey honey, it says here that Prague is one of the most beautiful cities in the world"

For the music lover, there is jazz indoors and jazz outdoors, jazz in the Old Town Square, jazz on the Charles Bridge and jazz up and down the river. For those of more refined tastes, however, there is classical music. Programs are easily obtained; in fact they are hard to avoid. This is the "information age," and Prague is prepared. Just take the tourist route from Celetna street, through the Old Town, and across the Charles Bridge to Mala Strana. This is the Information Superhighway. If you can't collect at least 100 concert schedules on the way, you've taken a wrong turn.

Then, of course, there is the street theater. Audience participation is de rigueur. On the public transport system, men dressed as ordinary civilians are apt to engage visitors in a game of charades. The signal for the game to begin is the quick flash of a tiny metal badge, accompanied by the words "Dobry den." In response, the visitor may feign ignorance of the game, launch straight into the charades proper or accept that it is actually a variation on the card game "Snap."

If theater on the tram is not your idea of cultural exchange, don't lose heart; these are not the only thespians in town -- taxi drivers and waiters have other dramas in store for you.

-- The writer is an Irish journalist living in Prague.

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