Strategic documents set the long-term direction in which culture develops. This also applies to the Brno Sculpture initiative, which focuses on art in public space. It encompasses a comprehensive range of activities that the City of Brno either carries out itself or supports in order to make art a natural and everyday part of our lives. We regularly present the activities of the Culture Department of the Brno City Municipality in this area on our website as part of the Brno Sculpture project, but let us take a closer look at what lies behind them.
Small-scale architectural objects are artefacts created, adapted or deliberately placed by people in open landscapes or inhabited areas. They serve aesthetic and historical functions, contribute to the character of the urban landscape, reinforce the identity of a place and the atmosphere of the city, and connect urban planning with artistic expression. Many of them serve a purely aesthetic purpose, while others, for example, help irrigate their surroundings or have a religious significance.
Why is it important to place small-scale architectural objects in public space? We have prepared a video explaining this topic, which you can find, together with all the information about our activities, here: Brno Sculpture. (The website is currently available only in Czech, but English subtitles can be switched on for the videos.)
We present art in public space not only through videos. In cooperation with the Faculty of Education at Masaryk University, we have also prepared educational worksheets about selected sculptures. In an engaging way, they introduce these works to schoolchildren and are freely available for download on the website.
Organisation of Art Competitions
New works of art in Brno are generally created through competitions that the city announces each year for the realisation of works and objects in public space. Each competition follows a clearly defined and transparent process, beginning with the approval of the intention to create the work and the selection of a suitable location.
Anyone can submit a proposal for a competition to be announced. A suitable location is subsequently sought in cooperation with the Brno City Chief Architect’s Office, taking into account both the character of the particular site and the subject of the proposed work.
The next step is the preparation of the competition conditions. These are discussed by a jury consisting of experts in architecture, art and public space, as well as representatives of the city’s political leadership. Professional organisations such as the Czech Chamber of Architects, the National Heritage Institute and the Brno City Chief Architect’s Office may also comment on the competition conditions. The conditions are subsequently approved by the Brno City Council.
Once the competition has been announced, artists can submit their proposals in accordance with the competition conditions and within the specified deadline.
After the deadline, the expert jury reviews all proposals that meet the competition requirements and ranks them. The competition result is subsequently approved by the Brno City Council.
Following the evaluation, the proposals submitted by all participating artists are generally presented to the public through an exhibition and an online catalogue. The winning proposal then moves on to the project preparation stage and subsequent implementation. Finally, the completed work is officially unveiled and presented to the public.
A number of works created in this way have already become distinctive symbols of Brno – for example, the Astronomical Clock on Freedom Square (Náměstí Svobody) or the Courage sculpture on Moravian Square (Moravské náměstí).
In addition to commissioning its own works, the city also supports the creation of other works of art through investment grants.
Sculptures for Brno
The Sculptures for Brno project primarily serves to commemorate significant personalities associated with the city. Through works of art, we remember people who have had a significant influence on Brno’s history or who have made their mark in science, art, sport and other fields.
The project has already resulted in works dedicated, for example, to Marie Restituta Kafková, priest Martin Středa and Jan Skácel. These works do not always take the form of traditional figurative sculptures. They can also evoke a person’s work, creative output or legacy.
Examples include the works Adolf Loos, Hrachovina and Homage to T. A. Edison, which commemorate the activities and significance of these personalities through more abstract artistic approaches.
Honorary Graves
The city also commissions gravestones for significant Brno personalities buried at the Brno Central Cemetery.
Here, too, the works are not simply conventional gravestones. Each is conceived as an artistic and symbolic memorial to the life, work and legacy of the person buried there.
The creation and design of these artistic gravestones are governed by the Statute of the Honourable Burial Ground of the City of Brno and Significant Graves.
Maintenance and Restoration of Small-Scale Architectural objects
Creating new works is only one part of the process. Equally important is caring for the works already present in the city and administered by the Culture Department. This includes regular cleaning and maintenance as well as professional conservation and restoration work, all of which help preserve their artistic and historical value for future generations.
When caring for individual works, the material from which they are made, their age and their current condition all play a role. It is also necessary to respond to damage caused by vandalism. Every year, a number of works therefore undergo professional repairs or conservation and restoration interventions.
Map Applications and Trails
Knowledge of the urban environment is essential for the strategic management and development of the city. That is why, in 2021, we launched the Brno Sculpture map application in cooperation with the Municipal IT Department of Brno City Municipality. The application, currently available only in Czech, provides information about works of art in public space throughout the city.
We continuously expand the map with new works, photographs and other information so that it can serve as a guide for anyone who wants to discover them.
The map currently contains more than 1,600 entries from across Brno. These are not limited to sculptures – you can also find mosaics, commemorative plaques, busts, water features, monuments, memorials, crosses, chapels and other small-scale works of art, whether they form part of architecture or stand independently.
Anyone can suggest a new object for inclusion in the map via an online form. The map is also connected to the online Encyclopaedia of the History of Brno (currently available only in Czech).
You can also explore public art through thematic trails. In addition to the Sculptures for Brno trail prepared by the Culture Department, other trails have been created in cooperation with partner institutions and individual initiators. These include the Trail of Painters’ and Sculptors’ Gravestones, created by the Brno City Museum, and the Masaryk University Sculptures Trail.
Another trail worth mentioning is the Beer Trail, created by curator and author Silvia Šeborová. It takes visitors on a journey through works of art that reflect Brno’s beer-making history and tradition. (The trails are currently available only in Czech.)
Another important tool for discovering the city’s architecture is the Brno Architecture Manual (BAM), implemented by the Brno House of Arts with financial support from the City of Brno. Through its database and thematic routes, it presents significant Brno buildings and their architects, from the beginning of the 19th century to the present day.
It thus helps people discover architecture directly in the streets of the city and presents Brno as a living textbook of architecture that is accessible to everyone.
Maps and trails are not merely databases of works. They also offer a way of looking at the city from a new perspective and discovering the stories hidden within its public spaces.
Brno Art Open
In addition to permanent works of art, public space is also brought to life by temporary contemporary art projects. One of these is the Brno Art Open festival, financially supported by the city. It is a showcase of contemporary art in public space that has been taking place in Brno since 2009.
The festival was originally organised by the Brno House of Arts; its current organiser is TIC BRNO.
Thanks to the festival, the city is transformed into an open-air gallery of contemporary art, presenting artists from the Czech Republic and abroad. Their work enters into dialogue with specific locations as well as with local and international contexts.
Brno Art Open demonstrates that streets, squares, parks and other public places do not have to serve solely as settings for permanent sculptures and monuments. They can also become spaces for experimentation, contemporary art, discussion and new ways of looking at the city.
The festival brings contemporary art directly into people’s everyday surroundings and offers an opportunity to see familiar places from a new perspective. The temporary nature of some installations also introduces an element of surprise into the city – a work we pass by today may no longer be there a few months from now.
