MADRID

Simona Calboli Director

The Czech Centre Milan organized cultural events and an accompanying programme to leave a Czech footprint in the north of Italy which would be visible not only during the Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU but also after its completion. A total of six projects were implemented, one of them directly at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission in Ispra. Music, street art and workshops provided space for an open discussion about current European topics.

We approached the preparations for the Czech Presidency projects with respect. We were united by the vision, motivation and pride that our country took over the baton of European leadership at an extremely tense moment. The Presidency itself began with a concert performance by the renowned Czech ensemble “Collegium 1704”. The concert took place in the almost magical atmosphere of the Renaissance Church of Santa Maria della Passione in Milan.

Thanks to the Presidency, however, we started to look at the implementation of our projects from a different perspective. Rather than focusing on traditional projects, we decided on projects using state-of-the-art technology. In this context, I would like to mention the “Street Meets (Mural) Art” project which “breathes” and thus helps the environment. Visitors to Ispra can admire two murals which contain special pigments that convert carbon dioxide into oxygen. The author of these murals is the Czech-Canadian street artist David Strauzz who created the portraits of the writer Karel Čapek and the former Czech President Václav Havel in the Italian Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. Symbolically, both murals were completed on the 28th of October, the day that commemorates the establishment of the independent Czechoslovakia. The letters that appear in the murals are in fact codes. By decoding them you get a quote by Karel Čapek and Václav Havel. Havel’s quote is highly topical today I believe: “Work for something because it is good, not just because it stands a chance to succeed.”