This year, on 28 March, it will be 30 years since the visit of the British monarch Elizabeth II to Brno. To mark the occasion, an unusual work of art will be added to the New Town Hall, in the form of a red bronze hat designed by Radek Talaš, whose submission was selected in January by a jury in a public competition. The shape of the hat was cast yesterday in a foundry in Uherské Hradiště.
The Queen visited the New Town Hall on 28 March 1996, accompanied by Czech President Václav Havel, and was received by Mayor Dagmar Lastovecká, who is due to attend the ceremonial unveiling of the new artwork.
“She was the first British monarch to visit not only Brno, but our country in general,” said Brno Mayor Markéta Vaňková. “And to this day she is one of the most important personalities we have had the honor of welcoming to our city. It was from the balcony of the New Town Hall that she spoke to those who came to greet her at Dominikánské náměstí. Exactly 30 years later, the Queen’s red hat, known from all period photos, will symbolically return to the New Town Hall.”
The jury, which included sculptor Hynek Skoták and art theorist Silvie Šeborová, chose Radek Talaš’s proposal as the most successful and most suitable for implementation, which works with the motif of the hat that Queen Elizabeth II wore during her visit to Brno and which generally functions as her characteristic symbol.
“What was convincing to us was a certain humorous element that is reflected in the proposal, as well as an intellectual game that causes the work to evoke different things from a distance than up close,” said Brno city councillor Kateřina Jarošová, the chair of the jury and one of the initiators of the artistic commemoration of Elizabeth II’s visit. “This approach resonates with Brno, and at the same time is understandable to any viewer.”
The artwork will cost just under CZK 300,000. Its dominant element, the bronze hat, was cast yesterday in the Přesné odlitky foundry in Popovice near Uherské Hradiště.
“The molten bronze was poured into a fired mold, which was created from a wax model, and then cooled in it,” said Talaš, explaining the process. “Since it is not a large object, it was possible to remove it from the mold about an hour later.” In the following days, the cast will be cleaned, processed, and painted.
Meanwhile, a stainless steel plate is being manufactured, onto which the text will be engraved, and then the hat fitted. The entire work will then be installed on the facade of the New Town Hall on Dominikánské náměstí, to be ceremonially unveiled on the anniversary itself.
A public program is planned from 1 pm to 4 pm. “We are planning it in the British style as an ‘afternoon with the Queen’,” said Jarošová. “For example, a bagpiper will perform, there will be a fashion show of stylish hats, and the Brno City Rifle Corps will hold the guard of honor, just like 30 years ago. We are also preparing activities for children.” Historical photos from the visit itself will also be exhibited.
