This year, Brno Christmas will offer more than just markets in the squares; it will also feature a rich array of art and light installations in the streets, courtyards, churches and gardens. Highlights include the Brno dragon in a sweater from the NAHAKU studio, which this year will be accompanied by a closely-guarded secret surprise. Works by renowned artists such as David Možný, Martin Skalický, and Pavel Korbička will be freely open to the public at dozens of locations around the city, and the artistic program also involves cooperation with the Moravian Gallery in Brno, the Brno House of Arts, KUMST, and many other institutions.
“Our goal is to entice visitors to discover the stories of Brno and the city centre, and at the same time spread them outside the central markets,” said TIC BRNO director Jana Janulíková. “On Náměstí Svobody we will continue to develop the story of the dragon in the sweater, and at Skácel’s fountain there will appear a new dragon installation by the NAHAKU studio, made with the same technology as the luminous sweater, but this time from 12 kilometres of polyethylene tubes that would otherwise end up in the trash.”
Visitors can also take in the open-air gallery, which features contributions from a number of artists, mostly local Brno creators. “The installations encourage meditation and reflection,” said Janulíková. “Such as the burning LOVE by David Možné in Denisové sady, the neon ‘Be calm’ sign in Kapucínské náměstí by Janica Šípulová and Barbora Pejková, or the installation by Hynek Skoták in the alley next to the Capuchin tomb called ‘What you are, so we will be’.”
In an empty niche at the corner of Radnická and Panská, the sculpture ‘Woman and Child’ by Martin Skalický will appear. The work depicts a traditional subject, but processed in a modern way using geometric abstraction.
“On the basis of our summer project ‘Brno and its churches’, we established a great cooperation with Brno’s churches and parishes, which we are now extending to the Advent season as well,” said Janulíková. “This time of silence and contemplation is the ideal opportunity to make them available. During Advent, seven churches will open in the centre of Brno, which will have regular opening hours, and will offer visitors the opportunity to look inside their unique atmosphere and connect with spiritual traditions and the Christmas spirit.”
As well as being open to the public, the Church of St. Mary Magdalene and the Church of St. James will host free art installations. The Church of St. Mary Magdalene will host a light work by Michal Mitra, referring to the Holy Trinity, while St. James’s Church will host the Via Adventus installation by Pavel Korbička, which works with the symbolism of gradually lighting up the pilgrim’s staff of St. James. In the rafters of the latter there will be a new multimedia exhibition by the VISUALOVE studio, dedicated to the Christmas theme.
Other art installations will be hosted in the Zluty Kopec water tanks. In Vodoje 1 will be the interactive work ‘M50’ by Markéta Olšarová , which uses a luminescent foil on which visitors can write using flashlights. Vodoje 3 will contain the ‘Hole’ installation by the Street Dog design studio, whose concept is the illusion of space using the principle of an infinite mirror.
In the centre there will also be several festive photo opportunities. The dragon puppet from the TABULA RASA association, which will help usher in the Brno Christmas, can be found on Dominikánské náměstí. The baroque Parnas fountain on Zelny Trh will be illuminated by the VISUALOVE studio. In the fountain on the piazzetta in front of the Janáček Theatre, elements from the visual style of Brno Christmas will create a photo point, and on Namesti Svobody, a more technical than lighting innovation is the Gateway to Ireland – a telebridge connecting Brno with Waterford, Ireland, the title-holder of European City of Christmas 2024 in the under-100,000 inhabitants category.
The Light Trail on Bašty and the Light Park at Špilberk Castle promise further illuminating promenades through the city, and you will also find a large wooden star from the VISUALOVE studio on Kraví hora, near the Brno Observatory and Planetarium, telling the story of the Christmas star.
Numerous Brno institutions and city-centre cafes are also preparing Christmas attractions in their courtyards and gardens. The accompanying program includes the Moravian Gallery in Brno, Filharmonie Brno, the Brno House of Arts, KUMST, the TIC Gallery, as well as gastro establishments in the hall of the Baroque Palace on Zelny Trh (known as Platz), the Morgal gallery cafe, and cafes Typika and Mitte.
You can find all the artistic and light installations forming part of Brno’s festive Christmas atmosphere on the Brno Christmas website or on the printed map.
