From 17-22 September, Lviv became the centre of cultural exchange between the Czech Republic and Ukraine, thanks to the ‘Czech Dreams’ project. This week-long festival of music, exhibitions, film screenings and discussions grew out of the original framework of the Year of Czech Music 2024, and has now become the largest Czech-Ukrainian cultural event, supporting mutual cooperation and deepening the partnership between the two cities, as well as expressing Brno’s solidarity with the Ukrainian people.
Brno and Lviv: Cities of Creative Culture
Lviv, a city with an extraordinarily rich cultural history, is firmly connected to Brno. Both cities are members of the UNESCO Network of Creative Cities, Brno as a city of music and Lviv as a city of literature. They have also signed a partnership agreement, as have the surrounding regions of South Moravia and the Lviv Region. Through the Czech Dreams event, the cities presented a diverse range of activities focused not only on cultural exchange, but also on the search for new opportunities for cooperation.
Mayor of Brno Markéta Vaňková praised the importance of this cooperation: “Brno has long been trying to support cultural and interpersonal ties with our partners abroad. Participating in the week of Czech Dreams in Lviv was not only a great opportunity for us to present our culture, but above all a gesture of solidarity and support for Ukraine. I believe that thanks to such projects we can strengthen mutual understanding and friendship.”
A number of events took place at Lviv’s iconic locations, including concerts by leading Czech and Ukrainian artists, exhibitions, film screenings, workshops, and panel discussions. It also saw the opening of a project inspired by Brno’s Open Garden, which will focus on eco-tourism as well as the rehabilitation of veterans and assistance to their families.
As part of the discussions, the Brno Architectural Manual (BAM) was presented, and the documentary film ‘The Vašulka Effect’ was screened. Brno’s presentations in Lviv were mainly coordinated by TIC BRNO, the City of Brno’s tourism organisation, which includes the Brno: UNESCO City of Music office and the Janáček’s Brno project, which aim to promote Brno as a city of music. Johan Merty’s exhibition ‘Over All Possibilities’ and Vendula Chalánková’s exhibition ‘Leoš Janáček’ also travelled from Brno to Lviv, and there were performances from Brno jazz artist Vilém Spilka and his trio Sakobi, singer-songwriter Jan Fic, and pianists Ivo Kahánek and Alexander Klement, who presented the work of Bedřich Smetana, Bohuslav Martinů, Leoš Janáček and Antonín Dvořák.
Expert panel discussions saw the participation of Jana Janulíková, director of TIC BRNO, who already signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Lviv Institute of Cultural Strategy in 2022 during the celebrations in Brno of Ukraine’s Independence Day.
“Czech Dreams Week in Lviv was an extraordinary opportunity to deepen cooperation with our Ukrainian partners,” said Janulíková. “During the event, we also had the opportunity to make new contacts and discuss future projects together. I know well that culture has the power to cultivate, inspire and connect. But after a few days in a city at war, I realised how deeply culture can resonate as an expression of support and belonging. We experienced powerful moments in Lviv that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.”
“When preparing the program for Lviv, we had no idea how strongly emotional, even symbolic the impact could be,” said the director of the Czech Dreams project, David Dittrich. “Czech culture left a fundamental mark in Lviv and gave impetus to dozens of new cultural collaborations. We can hardly imagine a better start to the partnership between Brno and Lviv!”
The pan-European Czech Dreams project represents leading Czech musicians and Czech music abroad. This year, the project will include over 80 concerts in almost 60 cities in two dozen European countries.
The Czech Dreams Week in Lviv was supported by the Czech Ministries of Culture, Foreign Affairs, and Interior, as well as the South Moravian Region and the City of Brno, together with many other Czech and Ukrainian individuals and institutions.
