History and Presence of PHP
The Prague House of Photography is a unique, non-profit cultural institution in the Czech republic that specialises in the medium of the photograph. In spring 1989 a group of photographers founded an organisation called "Aktif of Free Photography". At that time the founding photographers, Pavel Baňka, Jaroslav Beneš, Josef Moucha and Ivan Pinkava, gathered prominent names in the field, especially active art photographers and renowned theoreticians.
After 1989 such fundamental legislative changes were injured that made it possible to found a large spectrum of non-governmental organisations. Based on these changes "Aktif of Free Photography" was transformed and that lead to the establishment of the Prague House of Photography. The foundation terminated its activities in 1997 and was succeeded by a civic association, the Prague House of Photography.
In the course of years, the institution moved around Prague several times – from its operation in Husova Street and a short dwelling in 12 U Radnice Street in the Old Town, to the subsequent pursuit of activities in "U Řečických", the gallery, in Vodičkova Street in Prague 1. No sooner than in January 2000 did the PHP anchor in an attractive part of the Old Town, in Haštalská Street, not far away from one of the most visited places in Prague – the Old Town Square. The show and office space in the historical building in Haštalská Street were provided to the PHP by the Municipality of Prague 1 for a symbolic rent in 1999, based on a selection procedure. The PHP continued to exhibit classical and contemporary photograph, organise educational courses, seminars, lectures and discussions for the public, photographic meetings (e.g. Meet the Artist) and present publications.
In August 2002, when Prague was hit by devastating flood, the PHP in Haštalská street was flooded with phreatic water. As a result of extreme surface moisture and vast show- and office-space damage, the PHP was forced to leave its domicile for good. At that time, it probably found itself in the gravest situation in its history. The flood loss in assets, furniture and equipment was great. The most fatal, though, was the loss of its show-rooms. The situation called not only for the promptest short-term solution in the form of temporary premises, but also a long-term solution – i.e. to find suitable premises for a permanent domicile of the PHP. It was surprisingly quick to find a temporary show facility in the Gallery of Oskar Kokoschka in Jungmann Square in downtown Prague. It was provided for free by the Austrian Culture Forum in Prague. Office and store premises for a detached department were offered to the PHP for free by the photo-cine bank Isifa Image Service in its firm domicile, a longtime partner. Thanks to the immediate help from the Austrian Culture Forum in Prague and the photo-cine bank Isifa Image Service, it was made possible for the PHP to open Josef Moucha's exhibition American Dream in a scheduled time and continue its professional activities without any serious discontinuation. The PHP exhibited in the Gallery of Oskar Kokoschka from September 2002 to March 2003 when it moved to the ABF House in Wenceslaw Square 31 in Prague 1.
The PHP, which as a result of the flood lost its domicile in Haštalská Street, responded to the situation quite promptly by designing a project that was operatively called "Photocentre". The project aims to establish a unique, photography-specialised collection institution in the Czech republic, the first photography centre in downtown Prague for both the general and professional public. Premises suitable for the project were found in a historically protected building in Revoluční Street in Prague 1. The project was presented to important local institutions: the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the Capital City of Prague and the Municipality of Prague 1, which were asked for cooperation. The Municipality of Prague 1 provided the PHP with non-residential premises in the basement, mezzanine and the first floor of a house in Revoluční Street 1006/5 in Prague 1. The non-residential premises were in a state requiring thorough reconstruction and specific construction modifications connected with the new PHP. The construction works started in April 2004. The investor was the Capital City of Prague that provided the PHP with a special-purpose investment grant. The PHP covered mainly the construction proceedings and design costs – ing. arch. Igor Kovačević and ing. arch. Yvette Vašourková (Z-architects, s.r.o.), the authors of the architectonic project and project documentation who were responsible for author supervision throughout the construction. The Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic provided the PHP with a state investment grant for professional equipment and technology.
In March 2003, the auction enterprise Swann Auction Galleries in New York organised a benefit auction to support the "Photocentre" project. The entire financial gain from the auction was donated to the construction and equipment of the new PHP domicile in Revoluční Street. The PHP would like to thank the organisers and co-organisers of the auction: Seeing the Light (GB), Rosenberg+Kaufman Fine Art (USA), Workman Publishing (USA), Marilyn Cadenbach Associates (USA), Swann Auction Galleries (USA), Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association (USA), Czech Centre in New York and last but not least to all Czech and foreign authors who presented their photographs to the auction. The PHP thanks all organisers and partners without whom this benefit auction could not take place.
Concurrently with the construction, preparations were under way to establish a new legal subject – a non-profit organisation. The non-profit organisation Prague House of Photography, o.p.s., its founders being the Capital City of Prague, the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic and the civic association FotoForum Prague, was founded on 14 July 2005. It is the first and so far only legal subject in the Czech republic the common founders whereof are the state represented by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, a city (in this case the Capital City of Prague) and a non-profit organisation (the civic association FotoForum Prague). The civic association provided the newly created non-profit organisation with its original name the Prague House of Photography and consequently renamed itself FotoForum Prague.
The PHP is a specialised non-profit collection institution that besides exhibiting, collecting and publishing pursues educational, information and cultural heritage protection activities and networking. The unique status of this institution is to a certain extent due to the absence of a "big Czech museum of photography" that Czech photography would certainly, with respect to its history and tradition, deserve.
The PHP regularly presents classical and contemporary photograph by Czech and foreign artists, and that not only on its show-premises but also in exhibition institutions and cultural centres both at home and abroad. Besides exhibiting it organises courses of photography for the public, photography workshops, seminars, lectures, discussions, meetings with authors and theoreticians; it founded and further expands a collection of classical and most of all contemporary photograph. The collection of the Prague House of Photography is enlisted in the Central Collections Registration (CCR) of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.
Within the scope of the programme concept of its professional activities, the PHP concentrates on presenting exceptional national and international art projects. The concept and projects are cooperated on with prestigious national and foreign institutions and many renowned curators, theoreticians and art historians. It strives to guarantee presentation of the latest of Czech and world photography that is of high contentual quality and genre varied, and at the same time introduce both the general and professional public to outstanding names in the history of the medium of photograph.
The dramaturgy plan focuses in both exhibitions that present author- or style diverse approaches to the medium, and theme projects, generation exhibitions and retrospectives that map significant movements and memorable periods in the history of photograph.
The PHP offers authors from abroad presentation of their work both on its own premises and in cooperation with other institutions in the Czech republic, at the same time provides other ways of public presentation, e.g. in the form of an individual author exhibition or participating in a group exhibition. By deliberate development of cooperation and strengthening ties with foreign institutions that pursue photography and other visual art, it seeks to promote the qualities of Czech and Slovak photography on the international scene.
One of the main tasks of the PHP programme is to create a platform for intergenerational communication that will make it possible for students and young artists to enter the sphere of professional art in an easier way and to "filter out". For that reason, a series of annual exhibitions was started in 1993 and called New Names. The aim of these exhibitions is to discover, among young and so far unknown artists who work with the medium of photograph, new tendencies, author approaches and expressive means, interesting creative ways of thinking and original creative potential.
The Prague House of Photography intends to expand the spectrum of its activities to other, no less important, segments, e.g. publishing, educating, it plans to continue organising courses of photography, lectures, debates, seminars, meetings with artists and theoreticians of photography, develop cooperation with tutors and students of the Department of Photography at the Faculty of Performing Arts in Prague, Department of Photography at the Academy of Arts, Design and Architecture in Prague, Department of Photography at the Faculty of Art and Design, J.E. Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem and the Institute of Creative Photography (ICP) at the Faculty of Philosophy and Science at the Silesian University in Opava, and also students of secondary visual art schools and academies.
The PHP managed to establish a highly professional institution in Revoluční Street in Prague 1 with two open-plan show-halls (called Positive and Negative), a public library and a study hall (Cabinet), a projection hall, lecturer area, digital studio, bookshop and proper office space. We suppose that next year we will commence construction of the basement where modern archives, depositories, a restoration workshop, research facility, a studio and a darkroom are designed.
Compared to preceding years when the PHP activities were fundamentally limited by modest space prerequisites, the new locality today offers much wider possibilities and that not only in the field of exhibiting. There is a new public non-lending library with a study hall in the PHP and its main focus is in the history and presence of photography overlapping to related spheres of visual arts. Besides the library there is a lecture and projection hall open to public where conferences, lectures and discussions lead by local and visiting artists, theoreticians, curators and other professionals are held.
The PHP cooperates with prestigious national and foreign institutions, the Museum of Arts, Design and Architecture in Prague, Moravian Gallery in Brno, FOTOFO (Bratislava, Slovakia), FotoFest (Houston, USA) and Seeing the Light (Birmingham, UK) among others. The last two institutions are thanked by the PHP for their long-lasting close cooperation, promotion of the name of the Prague House of Photography and Czech photography in general and above all the great support and kind help at a time when the institution's existence was in great danger as a result of devastating floods in August 2002. Personally, I would like to thank Rhonda Wilson, the director of Seeing the Light, Wendy Watriss and Frederick Baldwin, the founders and presidents of FotoFest, for all their friendly and professional support of the PHP.
Last, I would like to thank, in the name of the PHP, the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the Capital City of Prague and the Municipality of Prague 1 for years of long support and cooperation. The PHP project aiming at establishing an independent and photography-oriented professional institution could not be realized without them. In this connection I would especially like to thank the past minister of culture, Pavel Dostál, and the mayor of the Capital City Prague, MUDr. Pavel Bém, who personally contributed to launching this exceptional project. Our thanks also go to all representatives of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the Capital City of Prague and the Municipality of Prague 1 who participated in the project in some way. Special thanks go not only to the mentioned authorities but also all members of the Prague House of Photography who, as the founders, made it possible to establish a new legal subject, the Prague House of Photography, o.p.s.
Realization of the project took several years and now it has reached the desirable goal. A new chapter in the history of the Prague House of Photography is being opened. That, as I strongly believe, means a fundamental contribution to Czech photography.
In the name of the Prague House of Photography I thank not only those who contributed to realization of the project but also all those who believed in the project.
