What does the Culture Accessible to All activity mean in the Action Plan of the Strategy for Culture and Creative Industries? How does Brno approach accessibility in the field of culture? What specific steps have we already taken and what lies ahead? Come and explore one of the strategic activities with us and discover that it is more than just a few words on paper...
When the word 'strategy' is mentioned, many people simply roll their eyes and assume it amounts to empty words with no real impact. But this is not true in our case, and you can see for yourself in the first article of the Strategy in Practice series, specifically by taking a closer look at the Culture Accessible to All activity.
As the name of the activity suggests, one of our key goals is ensuring that Brno's offer of cultural events is accessible to all, regardless of age, background, language, economic status, health limitations, or any other form of disadvantage. We are therefore seeking various systemic tools to help us achieve this goal. We are not alone in this – the Social Welfare Department, the Health Department, and the Education and Youth Department of the Brno City Municipality all address the topic of accessibility; we complement our colleagues' work by focusing exclusively on the cultural sphere.
Back in 2023, we carried out research entitled The Cultural Needs of Brno Residents, which revealed the barriers that typically make it difficult or outright impossible to attend cultural events and institutions, or to move freely about them:
Some of these (e.g. lack of time) are beyond our control, but we are gradually working to ensure that by the time of the next research study, planned for 2028, at least some of the barriers we can realistically address will have decreased.
One of the most common obstacles is a lack of accessible information. That is precisely why this year we transformed the map application Where to Go for Culture into an entirely new form. The new database provides an overview not only of Brno's cultural venues and spaces suitable for cultural and creative projects, but also of cultural organisations themselves, regardless of whether they have their own premises. It includes information on venue facilities and accessibility, rental options, and whether organisations offer programmes for people with disabilities or for visitors who speak other languages. The database is available in both Czech and English.
Alongside this, under the shared brand Kultura Brno (Culture Brno) we are also developing a Facebook profile, newsletter, and website on an ongoing basis, so that they provide clear, up-to-date, and relevant information on culture and creative industries. We also pass on findings from research and the many suggestions we gather from you during personal meetings and conversations to cultural organisations, so they can use them when developing their services and activities.
The same effort is continued through our collaboration with the Faculty of Architecture of the Brno University of Technology. As part of the course Architecture Without Barriers, students have been mapping selected Brno municipal cultural organisations from the perspective of physical accessibility since 2024. The resulting reports then serve both the city and the organisations themselves as a valuable basis for planning and implementing measures to improve the situation.
Public awareness is an equally important part of making culture accessible, which is why we devoted the 17th Brno Cultural Forum: Culture Accessible to All to this topic (text is availale only in czech, but video has an english subtitles). In collaboration with the association Vize tance, z. s., we also organised the conference Art in Health, Health in Art and this year, on 11 June 2026, in collaboration with the Jiří Mahen Library, the international conference Culture as a Shared Language.
As part of the Culture Brno workshops, we also run training sessions entitled Communicating with People with Disabilities. The next session will take place on 7 October 2026. Registration will open in September, but you are welcome to mark the date on your calendar now. (Workshop is available only in czech language.)
It is on the topic of communication that we would like to pause for a moment. One of our activities is the gradual translation of selected materials into English and the addition of English subtitles to videos, so that important information about culture and creative industries is also accessible to Brno residents who speak other languages. Language accessibility is, however, only one of many possible barriers. We are therefore interested in what other obstacles are encountered by foreign nationals living in Brno and by people who communicate in a language other than Czech when engaging with cultural life. We have therefore launched a survey, the results of which will help us better understand their experiences and explore additional ways of making culture in Brno more accessible. If this topic is relevant to you, we would be grateful if you would complete the survey. It is available at the following link: Culture in Brno from the Perspective of Expat and Foreign-Language Communities – Vyplnit formulář until the end of the summer holidays.
Last but not least, we also focus on specific groups of residents, such as families with children, young people, and senior citizens. While colleagues from other city departments develop a range of activities and grant programmes aimed at these groups, we – in addition to focusing on cultural audiences – also concentrate on the creators themselves. At present, we place particular emphasis on supporting young artists, who represent the future of Brno's culture and creative industries. The city therefore contributes CZK 200,000 to the Josefs K. Endowment Fund, which supports graduates of arts programmes as they enter professional life. Through an earmarked transfer, it also provides CZK 500,000 to the Brno City Museum for the acquisition of works by young artists for its collection and gallery. We also wish to dedicate this autumn's Brno Cultural Forum to young artists – specifically to students of arts programmes. We do not want this to be an event where decisions are made about young artists without their knowledge or involvement, but for them to be actively involved in shaping its programme, co-creating its content, and presenting their needs and specific projects. If you are studying at an arts school and would like to be involved, get in touch with us at: majickova.veronika@brno.cz.
Further activities are also implemented by cultural organisations established by the City of Brno, alongside the Culture Department. In addition to the aforementioned Brno City Museum, notable examples include the Centre for Experimental Theatre Brno with its Club 60+, and the wide range of activities of the Jiří Mahen Library, including the operation of the Silent Line and the organisation of the Libraries and Schools in Collaboration national conference.
We also support a number of cultural events and independent Brno cultural organisations through the cultural grant system. When evaluating applications, the accessibility of events and of the organisations themselves is one of the criteria that earns additional points.
Do you feel we have overlooked something? Or would you like to share with us your experience or a barrier in the field of culture that you think we should address? Get in touch with us at the email address provided above: majickova.veronika@brno.cz.
