GHMP Art Book Fair 2023 – The Schedule of the Accompanying Program

Troja Château

Barrier-free entrance: basement and ground floor.

Admission

free

GHMP Art Book Fair 2023

PROGRAM — SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 16

10 am–6 pm — publisher jakost’s stand
Collage workshop around the book Planet Prague (jakost, 2022)

When a book is printed, waste called “spoilage” remains at the printing office – sheets of the future book on which the printers finetune the colors and adjust the printing machine. They will not be used in the book, yet are perfectly printed. Since we don’t like wastage in our publishing house, we imagined that they could be turned into a new work. Under the guidance of the Planet Prague book’s illustrator, Silvia Luběnová (aka maestrokatastrof), come and make your distinctive postcard – your own greetings from Prague to the world!

Workshop open to participants of all ages.

10.30 am–12 pm — auditorium
Barbora Baronová: Sustainability, Ecology, Ethics

The Art Book Fair’s opening lecture will address the issues of sustainable publishing in the contemporary world, in both an ethical and an ecological way. It will cover various intellectual concepts, practices, and questions that we as publishers and readers need to start asking ourselves.

(in Czech, translated into English)

12.15–12.45 pm — auditorium
Nikola Logosová: Great Illustrated Atlas of the World: volume 1 – Europe

Nikola Logosová’s Great Illustrated Atlas of the World: volume 1 – Europe will be an ambitious large-format picture book, which will present the whole of Europe in first volume’s 100 pages. A double-page spread will be dedicated to each country, showing the reader its main attributes, customs, foods, and differences. An important aim of the book will be to combine images and texts to help children remember the characteristics of each country. The book will be published in December 2023 by Lux publishing house.

1–2.30 pm— auditorium
Laia Figueras Tortras: The Ecological Calculator

Spanish theorist and director of the institute of ecological book publishing Laia Figueras Tortras will present a clever eco-calculator that calculates the carbon footprint of book production. In her presentation she will take into account – within several calculated models – not only Spanish, but also Czech contexts of book production.

(in English, translated into Czech)

2.45–4.15 pm— auditorium
Radka Hájková: A practical guide to eco-books

Eco-visionary Radka Hájková, co-founder of the ecological publishing house Walden Press and of the e-bookstore BioBooks.cz, focuses on the ecological aspects of publishing, distributing, and selling books in the Czech Republic. In her presentation, she will introduce the individual steps, approaches, and strategies that she and Jiří Hlinka apply to book production in their publishing company.

(in Czech, translated into English)

4.30–6 pm — auditorium
Discussion: What are the possibilities to publish books ecologically in the Czech Republic today?

Invited to this Saturday’s discussion on how much or how little Czech publishing houses can be ecologically friendly are Spanish theoretician of ecological book publishing Laia Figueras Tortras, Czech publisher Radka Hájková, Jana Rakúsová representing Munken ecological papers, and Robert Helbich, owner of Helbich Printers in Brno. They will discuss the availability of organic materials, organic techniques and practices at home versus abroad. The debate will be moderated by journalist Klára Fleyberková.

(in Czech, translated into English)

5–6 pm — Troja Château Garden (by the Orangery, under the myrobalans)
Sonic Garden #5

Petr Korbelář and Jan Kotulán simply play music, whatever the genre the listeners might label it. Korbelář plays a guitar with his own special capo system, Kotulán an Indian bamboo flute. They create surfaces and long narratives, their instruments intertwining and circling, artfully linked in chains, flows, or just ripples and shivers. Their compositions, with durations sometimes surpassing several dozen minutes, bring calm, horizontal alignment, and peace. They have no titles, because – why should they?

 

7–7.30 pm— in front of the château

Opening of the fair by Prague City Gallery’s director Magdalena Juříková, in the Troja Château garden

 

7–8.30 pm — in front of the château
Modular ceremony

A modular ceremony is a hypnotic experience in which a modular synthesizer accompanies a tea ceremony with partially generated noise soundscapes. The visitors are invited on an unforgettable journey pairing sounds with unusual flavors of tea. Each note, each nuance is linked to the gradual journey of each tea infusion’s flavor.

Iva Polanecká is an audiovisual artist. In her work, she often turns to phenomena bordering on the invisible and the audible, highlighting them and thus making perceptible. She is interested in the relationship between the different senses, synesthesia, but also in the area where visuality and aurality intersect with text and language. Cyprian Miller is a musician. His work focuses on experimental soundscapes and ambient music which take the listener into the depths of an emotional adventure. He is creating drone and noise compositions that weave unconventional sonic textures.

9 pm–? — Bistro Karel
Afterparty

Time passes more slowly in the family bistro on the grounds of the Troja Château. Discover its Mediterranean atmosphere, taste its original cuisine and enjoy the colors and scents of the wild garden around it. The bistro is located on the cycle path along the Vltava River. It also includes a shop with farm produce. DJ Matěj Čechtický will be there to set the mood. DJ Matěj Čechtický blends the smooth vibes of deep house with the hypnotic beats of techno, drawing inspiration from the iconic electronic sounds of the 90s. As a Prague-based DJ, he serves up a mix of these genres that guarantee a seriously immersive dance experience.

PROGRAM — SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 17

10 am–6 pm (continuously) — secondary garden
Cider from the château

All through the day, we invite to come press apples from the château’s orchard. Just as a year has 365 days, our orchard has 365 different apple trees. We are proud to own both common and historic varieties and, each year, our orchard produces plenty of delicious, chemical-free fruit. You can pick your own apples, and use a press to make your own cider. For hygiene reasons, we ask our visitors to bring their own containers to taste the cider or take it back home. We wish to thank the Metro Farm Community Garden for its support.

10 am–6 pm — publisher jakost’s stand
Collage workshop around the book Planet Prague (jakost, 2022)

When a book is printed, waste called “spoilage” remains at the printing office – sheets of the future book on which the printers finetune the colors and adjust the printing machine. They will not be used in the book, yet are perfectly printed. Since we don’t like wastage in our publishing house, we imagined that they could be turned into a new work. Under the guidance of the Planet Prague book’s illustrator, Silvia Luběnová (aka maestrokatastrof), come and make your distinctive postcard – your own greetings from Prague to the world!

Workshop open to participants of all ages.

10.30 am–12 pm — auditorium
Corinne Fleury: The book as an ecosystem

In her talk, publisher Corinne Fleury, originally from Mauritius but now based in France, will explore the topic of bibliodiversity, comparing eco-publishing in the Global South and North, collaborative projects between independent publishers and futuristic eco-trends in the book industry.

12.15–12.45 pm — auditorium
Adéla Svobodová recommends: Jindřich Chalupecký – Texts and Contexts of an Art Critic

The books edited by Tomáš Pospiszyl are always interesting not only in their content but also in their internal structure, which often poses a challenge to graphic designers. In this book, it is the seemingly inconspicuous system of chapters named after art critic Jindřich Chalupecký’s texts. The book was conceived during several years of research, it is published this year by the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague.

1–2.30 pm— auditorium
Discussion: How to incorporate the topic of ecology in book publishing grantmaking policies for the benefit of all?

Sunday’s discussion, moderated by book activist and journalist Jakub Pavlovský, will address the topic of grant policy in the Czech Republic, taking into account the theme of ecology, across all stages of a book’s life. Participating in this debate will be French publisher Corinne Fleury, publisher Karolína Voňková, Monika Horáková, deputy head of the Library of the Faculty of Education of Charles University, and a representative of the Ministry of Culture.

(in Czech, translated into English)

2–6 pm — in front of the château
DJ Kuda: Afternoon music

eclectic vinyl Jamaican – Arab – Asian grooves

3–3.45 pm — auditorium
Martin Krummholz: The Sculptor and the Architect. Correspondence between František Bílek and Josef Fanta

The title of the bilingual publication The Sculptor and the Architect. Correspondence between František Bílek and Josef Fanta paraphrases a book edited in 1948, which published Bílek’s correspondence with poet Julius Zeyer. It was through Zeyer and Zdenka Braunerová that the young Bílek also met the architect Josef Fanta (1856-1954). The nature of their episodic (and characteristically ambivalent) friendship and its significance for Bílek’s work had escaped the interest of scholars. Their mutual correspondence contains a wealth of unknown information relating mainly to the sculptor’s early creative period, shedding light on the circumstances of some of his important commissions. This annotated edition of both artists’ letters is introduced by a collection of selected, previously unpublished writings describing Bílek’s difficult beginnings, including his own description of his legendary fatal confrontation with sculptor Josef Václav Myslbek, in September 1892. In order to make Bílek’s remarkable personality and his work accessible to foreign scholars, the entire publication is bilingual; the transcribed letters have also been translated into English.

4–5 pm — auditorium
Presentation of the 11th issue of Qartal magazine

A discussion with philosopher Miroslav Petříček for the occasion of his upcoming exhibition at the Prague City Gallery. What did Kant mean when he said that “art is purposiveness without purpose”? And what did Susan Sontag mean when she said that in place of a hermeneutics we need an erotics of art?

5.15–5.45 pm — auditorium
Tomáš Hrůza (ArtMap) recommends: Future Book(s) – Sharing Ideas on Books and (Art) Publishing (Valiz publishing)

What is the future of the book? And, specifically, what is the future of books on art, design and architecture, and cultural-critical publications? We asked a large number of interested individuals to respond to this question. Journalists, artists, architects, curators, designers, philosophers, sociologists, teachers, book scholars, publishers, printers, booksellers, historians and art-historians, critics, editors, students, and many others have enthusiastically shared their views with us, in both text and images, exciting for anyone who loves books and/or is involved in books and cultural content. Each section of this publication was designed by a different young designers, to celebrate its scope and diversity.

(in English)

SCHEDULE OF GUIDED TOURS OF THE TROJA CHÂTEAU

Saturday September 16

11–12 pm — start of the tour at the entrance to Troja Château
Guided tour of Troja Château with Martin Mádl

During this tour, visitors will learn about the authorship of the paintings in the château’s apartments, galleries, chapel, and great hall, about their subjects and about the meaning of the depicted allegories.

Sunday September 17

11–12 pm — start of the tour by the staircase
Guided tour through the Troja Château Garden with Sylva Dobalová

Troja Château’s Garden was created in parallel with the construction of the building, drawing its inspiration from French gardens and their geometrical shapes. The tour will highlight the modern reconstruction of the site, which maintained a continuity with the principles of the axial baroque gardens. It will focus on the garden’s sculptural decoration. And it will explore the unique spectacular connection between the garden and the ceremonial hall by means of the oval staircase with its Fall of the Giants, which ends in the underground grotto. The tour’s underlining theme will be the question of why the château and the adjacent Prague district are called Troja.

EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES AND ART WORKSHOPS IN THE ORANGERY ECO-STUDIO

Saturday September 16

10 am–7 pm — Prague City Gallery Eco-Studio
Image and text: book creation, book-objects, giant leporellos, ex-libris, lettrism, street art and graffiti, illustrations, initials, collages, experimental herbal

The workshops led by the Prague City Gallery’s in-house educators will be inspired by the many types and forms of combining text (writings) and image: bookmaking (covers, bookmarks), book-object, giant collaborative leporello, ex-libris, lettrism, street art and graffiti (designs for pieces and tags), illustrations, initials, collages, experimental herbals, etc. These art workshops will be based on the work of several artists – including Květa Pacovská, who had two important exhibitions at the Prague City Gallery in the past, and who died this year. She donated one of her sculptures to the Prague City Gallery Eco-Studio, and this work may serve as an interesting stimulus for the workshop visitors. The projects will also include a collective work in progress, in which we will complete and gradually fill a giant leporello with letters, numbers, codes, symbols, words, sentences, text fragments and quotations, using – among others – cut-out letters of different colors and sizes prepared by secondary art school graphic design students during their internship at the Prague City Gallery. These educational activities will be implemented by Prague City Gallery educators Lucie Haškovcová, Markéta Slachová Goldová and Jolana Lažová. During the workshop, the educators will also put their professional specializations in use – e.g. overlaps to literature, writing and text, film, new media, etc.

10–12 pm — Troja Château Garden, in front of the Eco-Studio
Olha Kuzhdina: presentation of the book Detective Agency SAM

Olha Kuzhdina, a graduate of Kyiv National University, will present her renowned book for children and young people. It is a fictional story inspired by real current events and true stories. The main characters are Sonya, Andriy and Mariyka, 3rd grade students in the Ukrainian town of Kryvyi Rih, who have to evacuate to Uzhhorod because of the war. There they set up a detective agency called SAM, which tries to solve mysteries connected with the war as seen through children’s eyes. They embark on four curious stories, in each of them the young detectives of the SAM agency try to solve different mysteries. All are written truthfully but gently, and with humor. This book is not about war, but rather about the fact that even in times of war, children need friends and exciting adventures. It also helps us realize that Ukrainians are a strong people who believe in their victory. The theme of the book is a reflection on the mindset of children and youth in the midst of war, who are trying to contribute to supporting Ukraine in their own way, and using their own imagination. The author’s work has been recognized with several awards (for example for the books Children’s Coronation Competition, KM Books, etc.). Olha Kuzhdina’s fairy tales are published online on the Australian online Library For All.

12–2 pm — Prague City Gallery Eco-Studio
Olha Chaplya: presentation of the books Sunflowers and Where Are My Children?

Olha Chaplya, a graduate of Uzhhorod National University, associate professor of French and Spanish philology at the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, author of numerous scientific papers issued in professional scientific publications, will present her psychological and philosophical novel Sunflowers, which was included among the ten best works of the Ukrainian national literary prose competition The Winged Lion for best book of the year. Its main theme is the fate of a Ukrainian schoolboy during the current war who decides to actively defend his country. His dramatic story unfolds in what would normally appear to be a life-giving sunflower field. It is incredible how much can be experienced and decided in a single moment. Also introduced will be her book Where are my children?, dedicated to all the lost, deported and emigrated children of Ukraine in the 2014-2023 war. Its story is divided into five parts: Alarm; Publicans and Pharisees; Where are my children?; the fairy tale-like part Cover yourself with wings, little bird; and Thoughts aloud. Although the subject matter is serious, the text is permeated with vitality, joy, and humanity. Sunflowers has been translated in English and published in book form. Where Are My Children? is to be featured in one of Ukraine’s oldest and most recognized magazines, Dzvin, which has been published by the National Writers’ Union of Ukraine since 1940.

12–6 pm — Troja Château Garden, in front of the Eco-Studio
UUUL tutors: How the World Sounds – A Harmonious Marketplace

Do you know what Japan sounds like? Or what it smells like when grandma is baking something? Our Cactus will help you capture different sounds, smells, but also how you feel. The Harmonious Marketplace is primarily for children (4-12 years old) and their parents, but also for people of all other ages and target groups. At each station, participants engage in games and creative activities related to the theme of harmonious creation of words in Czech, Ukrainian and other languages. These games allow a new perspective on language and a playful approach to foreign languages. They help children and adults to listen to each other and to cope with language barriers in a creative way. Guiding you through the program are tutors from the UUUL Children’s Museum and the Prague City Gallery. The activities are inspired by the works of Japanese author Hiromi Ogata and are based on her books.

2–3 pm — Prague City Gallery Eco-Studio
Vitaliia Hrytsak: presentation of books from Poetry Project publishing house

Ukrainian poet, singer, composer, and organizer of online poetry projects Vitaliia Hrytsak will present poetry collections by several Ukrainian authors published by the small alternative Ukrainian publishing house Poetry Project. She will reveal why the authors’ works are connected by the motif of dreams and how she herself motivates others to realize their dreams. In her original interactive and experimental style of recitation, Hrytsak will also read poems by selected authors to a musical background created on the spot with the audience’s voices, musical instruments, a microphone, and a laptop. All in attendance will thus be able to participate in the poetry performance.

2–3 pm — Troja Château Garden, in front of the Eco-Studio (by the Orangery, under the myrobalans)
Reading of A Dog and his Journey to the Moon by the author

The children’s book entitled A Dog and a Trip to the Moon was published by Pointa in 2022. Ondřej Pechník’s texts will be presented by Leona Hlavinková, who is the book’s co-author and illustrator. It is a fantastic story about a small, ordinary dog who goes into space for a big, extraordinary adventure.

Have you ever wondered what life is like for pets? In truth, it’s pretty boring. Go for a walk, kibbles, sleep, over and over again. But one dog wants more out of life than just a full bowl and three walks a day. At first, flying to space and being the first dogstronaut on the Moon seems like a good idea – and the opposite of boring! After all, getting through tough training and building a rocket out of junk it’s easy enough. But the liftoff is only the beginning – the trip will get a bit trickier as it will progress, and getting back home will turn out to be a real riddle.

Join our Dog on his journey through a fantastic universe and you might just find out that not only small, determined dogs can go on an adventure.

3–5 pm — Prague City Gallery Eco-Studio
Anna Pavlichenko a Kateryna Chornomorets: presentation of books and photographs

Ukrainian medical student, writer, winner of several national Ukrainian competitions, graduate of the Kyiv Medical University Anna Pavlichenko, engaged in scientific work, medicine, as well as creative writing, will present her books, which she started writing after the events of the Maidan, and for which she also created distinctive illustrations. She has experience as a volunteer in first aid and as an instructor of medical training for the army (courses for paramedics) within the Medical-Tactical Group Kyiv, for which she has received thanks from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense and from military units. Her books and texts include The Eyes, Love Conquers All, Heaven, Riddles of Life – Quantum Entanglement, The Shadow of War, and the historical play Coffee with Einstein, in which the main narrators are the ghost of Albert Einstein and his Prague neighbor, Ivan Puluy. The theme of quantum physics runs through some of her books. She has dedicated her poetry to her husband, who is a prisoner of war in Russia, and proceeds from the books go to help children who suffered during the war. Her literature has already been presented in Austria and the Czech Republic, and her books are part of libraries’ collections not only in Ukraine, but also in other European countries and in Japan. She received a scholarship from the President of Ukraine for her collection of poems The Eyes. The book The Shadow of War was accompanied by artistic photographs by Kateryna Chornomorets, an artist and doctor from Odessa who mainly photographs Ukrainian architecture and its many interesting details. Currently, she is also trying to document war crimes. A big exhibition of her photographs took place in Kyiv, and she will also present them in this event.

5–7 pm — Prague City Gallery Eco-Studio
Nataliia Melnyk: presentation of the book The Magic Microscope

Ukrainian lecturer and writer Nataliia Melnyk is the author of the children’s series deriving from her adventure and fantasy book The Magic Microscope – The Adventures of Dennis and his friends. There are many questions about our body that children are interested in. How does our body work? Why is blood red? What do we think? How do we perceive different colors and sounds? This book helps us find the answers to these and other questions. Visitors will be introduced to the book’s main characters and to their engaging stories. The author herself will present her work.

Sunday September 17

10 am–7 pm — Prague City Gallery Eco-Studio
Image and text: book creation, book-objects, giant leporellos, ex-libris, lettrism, street art and graffiti, illustrations, initials, collages, experimental herbal

The workshops led by the Prague City Gallery’s in-house educators will be inspired by the many types and forms of combining text (writings) and image: bookmaking (covers, bookmarks), book-object, giant collaborative leporello, ex-libris, lettrism, street art and graffiti (designs for pieces and tags), illustrations, initials, collages, experimental herbals, etc. These art workshops will be based on the work of several artists – including Květa Pacovská, who had two important exhibitions at the Prague City Gallery in the past, and who died this year. She donated one of her sculptures to the Prague City Gallery Eco-Studio, and this work may serve as an interesting stimulus for the workshop visitors. The projects will also include a collective work in progress, in which we will complete and gradually fill a giant leporello with letters, numbers, codes, symbols, words, sentences, text fragments and quotations, using – among others – cut-out letters of different colors and sizes prepared by secondary art school graphic design students during their internship at the Prague City Gallery. These educational activities will be implemented by Prague City Gallery educators Lucie Haškovcová, Markéta Slachová Goldová and Jolana Lažová. During the workshop, the educators will also put their professional specializations in use — e.g. overlaps to literature, writing and text, film, new media, etc.

10 am–1 pm — Prague City Gallery Eco-Studio
Cinema of flowers: a plant film / National Film Archive

Are films made only by humans? Do you need a camera to film? Films often depict other people, animals, plants, and objects, but perhaps there are other films. Let’s see together what kind of film plants would make. Plants have different abilities, characteristics, and sensitivities. They are full of cells and substances. In the early days of photography, it was discovered that they can develop film. The sun is their inseparable companion. Join the plants and come make a film with us! Based on their own creations made in a workshop with tutors from the National Film Archive, visitors can try out an experimental photographic technique based on dipping plants, flowers and leaves into a developing solution and printing them onto film stock. The resulting effects will then be projected in large format on a wall.

12–6 pm — Troja Château Garden, in front of the Eco-Studio
UUUL tutors: How the World Sounds – A Harmonious Marketplace

Do you know what Japan sounds like? Or what it smells like when grandma is baking something? Our Cactus will help you capture different sounds, smells, but also how you feel. The Harmonious Marketplace is primarily for children (4-12 years old) and their parents, but also for people of all other ages and target groups. At each station, participants engage in games and creative activities related to the theme of harmonious creation of words in Czech, Ukrainian and other languages. These games allow a new perspective on language and a playful approach to foreign languages. They help children and adults to listen to each other and to cope with language barriers in a creative way. Guiding you through the program are tutors from the UUUL Children’s Museum and the Prague City Gallery. The activities are inspired by the works of Japanese author Hiromi Ogata and are based on her books.

1–3 pm — Prague City Gallery Eco-Studio
Jindřich Čapek, Tereza Dobiášová: From Story to Illustration – A Thousand Years of Solitude

How do you create illustrations for a book? How to find images in a story, how to give them their shape? Come and listen to the fairytale stories from Tereza Krejčí’s book A Thousand Years of Solitude and, together with illustrator Jindra Čapek, try to create your own illustrations. Both award-winning authors will let you peek behind the scenes of their work and you will be able to talk, draw and read with them. Jindra Čapek is following in the footsteps of some of the most illustrious Czech painters and book illustrators. He has been recognized as one of the top Central European artists and his art has earned him fame beyond his native continent. Čapek’s books have been published in 25 languages, are available in four continents and have won numerous awards: most recently, in the Czech Republic, this very year, he has received the Lifetime Achievement Golden Ribbon. Many illustrations from his books will be on display here. Author, director, theatre advisor, curator, and cultural manager Tereza Krejčí founded the association Barevný děti (Colored Children), dedicated to social integration of foreigners through theatre and other art forms. For several years, she managed the art organization Sladovna Písek. She is cooperating with the Hands On! International Association of Children Museums, she has also founded and is managing the UUUL Children’s Museum. Finally, she is the chairwoman of the platform for creative learning uMĚNÍM. Published in 2021, her first novel, Secrets, won the Magnesia Litera Award for Best Debut of the Year. Her second novel, A Thousand Years of Solitude, came out a year later.

3–6 pm — Prague City Gallery Eco-Studio
Eva Pejchalová, Kristýna Adámková, Viktoriia Mashchenko: Maxi Eko Mini Book

(integrational and intergenerational workshop, reservation required eva.pejchalova@ghmp.cz)

The Maxi Eko Mini Book workshop reacts to the ecological needs of our contemporary society. Together we will reflect on the possibility of an artistic work in which we would create exclusively with recycled and easily recyclable materials. Not only the type of material, but also the amount of material used in the creation process is important regarding the ecological footprint. The object of the book itself is the carrier of an idea not only in its content but also through its conception. We will explore and look for a wide variety of book bindings, and limit their size to the smallest conceivable dimensions. We will create mini books with maximum respect for ecology. Miniature objects with maximum poetry. The creative event will be led by Kristýna Adámková and Eva Pejchalová, with the support of Ukrainian artist Viktoria Mashchenko. All three artists are long-term external lecturers of the Educational Department of Prague City Gallery, and are graduates of prestigious art schools (the Academy of Art, Architecture and Design in Prague, the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, the J. E. Purkyně University etc.)

4–6 pm — Prague City Gallery Eco-Studio
Petr Soukup, Anastázie Slavíček (Slovo 21): Poems for your Pictures

The book Poems for your pictures has been translated in Ukrainian as the result of a cooperation between the Slovo 21 organization and poet and screenwriter Petr Soukup. It comes to support informal Czech language education for children and adults, as a publication created to help with the acquisition of Czech language, also allowing children to freely illustrate the poems. This helps to develop their imagination, but also to encourage interaction between children, teachers, and parents. The book also helps in the home environment, where Czech and Ukrainian children grow up together and can draw together in the book. The poems were created with the deliberate aim to make children laugh and have fun. They are purposefully short, describing a specific situation that will spark off the children’s imagination and invite them to draw pictures based on them. The author insisted on keeping a literal translation and the same order of words as in Czech, so that the short poems would help children to develop their knowledge of Czech language. In this workshop, children can try their hand at becoming illustrators of Petr Soukup’s playful and imaginative texts.

6–7 pm — Prague City Gallery Eco-Studio
Iryna Ozymok: prezentace knihy City is Me

The book City is Me was published in 2021 and reissued in 2023 with additional chapters, together with an audio version narrated by artist Natalia Zhizhchenko. It is an illustrated book about how cities functions and about the role of humans in their development. The book contains examples of effective solutions in different spheres of urban life, interactive tasks, and encourages dialogue between children and adults. It is inspiring not only to observe the development of a community, but also to actively take part. Every resident can change life for the better.

The event will have the format of an interactive presentation – with interactions with the audience on the theme of the city and important aspects of urban life. There will also be a contest about the secrets of cities. Iryna Ozymok is the founder of the International Mayors Summit, the director of the Western NIS Enterprise Fund’s local economic development program, the regional representative of Technovation Girls in Ukraine, and the host of the Community for a Million, Undercover Mayor and City DNA programs. The book has grown into a larger project, as it now has a podcast, which served as a basis for the development of a special game-app for schools implemented in many Ukrainian cities. The book has also been published in Sweden and Kazakhstan. Also discussed will be the Urban Clubs in Poland – groups focusing on cities and civic participation for youth and teenagers.