From Majáles to ECoC: Programme Director Matěj Vlašánek in an open interview for BARbar magazine

Bonus: What didn't make it into the print magazine?

The interview was much longer than what fit on the pages of the magazine. Here are a few extra questions and answers.

When you go out for culture "just like that", what do you personally choose? Theatre, concerts, galleries, film?

I go to theatre and performing arts across all genres – from opera to contemporary dance. Plus concerts, club music, galleries and film. Thanks to my long-standing interest in public space, I also enjoy artistic interventions in cities and landscapes. I'm fond of contemporary design, architecture and community events.

Because I have a small child, I now often choose programmes we can attend together. So we most often go to galleries – especially those with programmes for young children – to theatre for small children and to libraries.

What do you think České Budějovice has been missing culturally – and what is starting to change thanks to the ECoC title?

We started preparing the candidacy at the end of the Covid pandemic, and our first activities focused on supporting community and neighbourhood life. Through the Kul.turista project, we managed to activate some neighbourhood communities that are now running wonderful activities and improving life in their districts – most notably Havlinda in the Havlíčkova kolonie area, but the neighbours from Smetanka in the Pražské předměstí district and the community around Luční jez are also doing great work.

Collaboration between major cultural institutions is also important. When we started with the candidacy, there was virtually no systematic cooperation between organisations such as the South Bohemian Theatre, the South Bohemian Museum, the South Bohemian Scientific Library or the Aleš South Bohemian Gallery – even though they are located just a few metres from each other. Thanks to the cultural quarter project we call Ostrov kultury (Island of Culture), these organisations are slowly connecting and preparing joint outputs.

České Budějovice also has the potential to be a very attractive city for young families. However, the offer for families with children under six is not yet sufficient – which is why, together with the Aleš South Bohemian Gallery, we will open a gallery in 2028 that will help nurture a relationship with culture and creativity in the very youngest children.

And then there is accessibility. If ECoC is to be open to everyone, including people with various physical or social limitations, we need to remove barriers. Thanks to ECoC, the Accessibility Alliance was established, bringing together people with various types of physical disabilities and helping cultural institutions consult and remove obstacles.

How and when will you know that the ECoC project in České Budějovice was worthwhile?

I already know that this project is worthwhile. It is so large that mistakes will inevitably be found. Not all projects and outputs will succeed, and criticism will certainly come. But I believe the positives will far outweigh the negatives.

Today, ECoC comprises around sixty projects, and by 2028 we will be approaching one hundred. That means dozens of organisations and hundreds of people pouring their energy, time and a piece of their lives into it – because they know that culture has an enormous impact on the quality of our lives. And from such an amount of energy and time, something truly meaningful is bound to emerge.