Without a good understanding of Brno’s cultural scene, it would be difficult to develop a meaningful, sustainable and resilient cultural strategy. Data are important not only for the city and its decision-making, but also for cultural organisations themselves and their further development. One of the key parts of the strategy is therefore not only collecting data, but also how we work with them and make them accessible. Digitalisation also allows us to make cultural heritage accessible and popularise it in new ways – regardless of disadvantage or language barriers, and with an international reach. Join us for a closer look at specific projects that bring together two strategic activities in practice. And it is not just about numbers!
Brno Data
Data from the cultural and creative sectors help us better understand the needs of artists, creative professionals and the wider public. At the same time, they provide important insights into the benefits and impact of culture on the city and its residents. This allows us to plan effective support, targeted investment and further development based on real evidence.
But data do not have to remain confined to numbers and charts. They can also be transformed into map applications or cultural trails, contributing not only to digitalisation but also to the popularisation of cultural heritage.
Given the importance of data in culture and the creative industries, as part of the strategy we worked with colleagues from the Participation Department, which manages the city’s data portal, to create a new section dedicated to culture. Through annually updated data articles, we present Brno’s culture and creative industries in figures.
The cultural and creative data dashboard is available here:
Here you can find, for example, articles on:
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culture financing compared with other regional capitals (currently available only in czech)
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the city’s cultural contributory organisations and their financing (currently available only in czech)
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cultural amenities and culture financing in Brno’s city districts (currently available only in czech)
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funding for creatives (currently available only in czech)
This is not an exhaustive list. We are gradually expanding the section with further topics linked to ongoing research in culture and the creative industries.
We update both the data and the articles every year, while also publishing the underlying datasets as open data, freely available for download and further use. To improve accessibility for residents who speak other languages and to support international cooperation, we are also gradually translating selected articles into English.
Map applications and trails
In addition to creating and updating data articles focused on culture and the creative industries, the Culture Department of Brno City Municipality also manages and updates the databases used in map applications and cultural trails.
We currently manage three map applications – Where to Go for Culture, Brno Sculpture and Plug & Play – developed in cooperation with the Municipal IT Department. At the same time, we are preparing a new map application, Brno in Film and Television. Its publication and further development now depend on negotiations with producers and Czech Television, particularly regarding licensing conditions.
What all these applications have in common is that they are not merely a more attractive way of visualising data about Brno’s culture. They are also living databases, continuously expanded and updated, helping to make Brno’s cultural heritage more accessible and better known.
Together with colleagues from the Municipal IT Department and in cooperation with the Jiří Mahen Library in Brno, we are also preparing a new Literary Brno map, which you can look forward to next year.
Let us now take a closer look at the map applications that have already been launched.
The Where to Go for Culture map application focuses primarily on mapping cultural and creative venues and organisations in Brno. In addition to basic information, it also includes information on accessibility and practical details for different groups of users. For the general public and visitors to Brno, it provides information about cultural venues and their programmes. For visitors with specific needs, it offers information, for example, on physical barriers, venue facilities, programmes for people with disabilities or mental health conditions, and the availability of programmes in foreign languages. It also provides cultural event organisers with information on venue hire options and capacity.
The database is also open to the cultural sector itself. If you work in culture or the creative industries in Brno, you can easily add your organisation or cultural venue to the application using an online form. Records are then added and checked on an ongoing basis. The map currently contains 176 records for cultural venues and buildings and 99 records for cultural organisations, and the numbers continue to grow.
Since its launch in May 2026, the application has been a great success and reached the finals of the nationwide ESRI Application Competition in the Public Benefit category. It is now also competing for the Audience Award. You can support it until 5 November 2026 at 11:30 here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DdD7W_rG_dx/
BRNO SCULPTURE (currently available only in czech)
The Brno Sculpture map introduces art in public space across the city. The map is linked to the strategic activity Artworks in Public Space, which we have already presented in more detail in the article Strategy in Practice: Brno Sculpture.
PLUG & PLAY (currently available only in czech)
Plug & Play is a strategic project designed to make it easier to organise cultural and creative events in Brno. The map application clearly shows public spaces where cultural and creative events can be held and also provides information that is important for organisers. The project deserves a separate introduction, however, so we will explore it in more detail in one of the upcoming articles in the Strategy in Practice series.
DESIGNED (NOT ONLY) IN BRNO (currently available only in czech)
Creative Brno, which falls under the Strategic Development and Cooperation Department, also runs the Designed (Not Only) in Brno map application. It presents and promotes local creators, designers, brands and their original ideas. This year, you can also discover their work in person at the Designed (Not Only) in Brno LIVE design market, taking place on 23 October from 12:00 to 19:00 at the KUMST creative hub as part of the Creative Brno festival.
Alongside map applications, we also bring the stories of Brno’s cultural heritage closer to the public through themed virtual trails. We work with a range of partners to create them, including the Brno City Museum, Masaryk University, the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts and its students. You can follow the Sculptures for Brno (currently available only in czech) and Masaryk University Sculptures trails (currently available only in czech), the Trail of Painters’ and Sculptors’ Gravestones (currently available only in czech), the Beer Trail (currently available only in czech), or theatre and film trails such as In the Footsteps of the Film Avant-Garde (currently available only in czech).
In addition to our own maps and trails, we also support independent projects by the city’s cultural organisations and other initiatives that help people discover Brno in new contexts. These include, for example, the Brno Architecture Manual, managed by the Brno House of Arts, which introduces Brno’s architecture and notable architects. We also support the development of a map application dedicated to Brno’s industrial history, currently being prepared by the Brno City Museum, as well as, through grants, the Poetic Brno project, which maps Brno poets and the reflection of the city in their work.
An overview of cultural maps and trails is available at kultura.brno.cz/kulturni-mapy-a-stezky.
International cooperation through the SDG Lab
Our work with data is not limited to the local level. Through our membership in the Culture Next network, which brings together cities bidding for the European Capital of Culture title as well as former candidate cities, we have joined the international SDG Lab platform. It explores how the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can be applied in culture. In cooperation with Whitelabel, it is also developing Encore, a tool that uses artificial intelligence to connect data from participating cities, enabling comparisons and tracking how commitments made in candidate bids are being fulfilled or reflected in city strategies and action plans. Encore also provides staff from participating cities and organisations with a closed environment containing a library of documents and data, an overview of implemented projects, and opportunities for international cooperation.
The project also includes the Ask Culture Brno chatbot, which you can find on our website. It makes city cultural documents and information easier to access regardless of language barriers. It draws exclusively on the documents and materials we provide, and we continuously monitor and evaluate it so that we can improve its answers and make them as relevant as possible. This means you do not have to search through numerous documents and websites – you can simply find the information you need through the chat.
Try Ask Culture Brno and let us know what you think! We welcome your feedback at majickova.veronika@brno.cz.
