Mapovani KKP, svazekII_final

Executive Summary
Also visual arts have a strong tradition in the CR, but the art market was strongly
influenced by the period of socialism, and after 1989 had to be set from scratch.
The strongest players in the Czech market are the auction houses, of which there are
currently 21. Another important segment of the market are art galleries (including
antique shops), which, however, in the CR represent a serious weakness because
only a few of them exclusively represent contemporary artists. The creation of new
galleries is associated with considerable difficulties in the form of lack of capital,
undeveloped collecting and the small Czech market. They can not make living without
a foreign clientele. Nevertheless the current demand of professional artists for
their representation by the galleries exceeds supply. In the CR direct sale from the
studios without the involvement of intermediaries (gallery owners) still prevails. The
reason for this is also the fact that the operation of private galleries is not, unlike
foreign practice, systematically supported by the state (mainly by supporting their
participation in international fairs).
The art scene in the CR is still viewed primarily through the prism of state museums
and galleries presenting permanent historical collections, and much less attention is
given to the support of contemporary production and related activities. Public subsidies
flow mainly into state memory institutions: the state and local governments are
the founders of three-quarters of all museums and art galleries. However, even this
support is inadequate and finances are lacking especially in the area of ​acquisitions,
where a long-term debt has accumulated and collections are, for example, missing
works by contemporary Czech authors of the last decades.
Performing arts, which are characterized by the presentation of the work or performance
in a particular place and time, include theatre, dance, music (for the purposes
of this study only classical), and festivals, regardless of their genre. The infrastructure
of live art has traditionally been numerous and varied in the CR. It includes theatre
buildings, “stagionas” – multi-genre centres, studios, concert halls, festival open air
areas etc. The network of cultural houses represents a certain Czech phenomenon;
they have recently been transformed and often show activities in the field of performing
arts (according to the NIPOS statistics – The National Information and Consulting
Centre for Culture – there are currently 521 active cultural houses in the CR).
The scenes and spaces are managed by different types of entities: most of them are
entities supported from public sources (this is also the case of the backbone theatre
and orchestral network), others are run by private and also non-profit entities.
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