Hospoda U hada (The Snake Pub)

The unconventional exhibition project Hospoda U hada (The Snake Pub) was realised by the architects of the studio MAK! as a reaction to the gradual change of urban districts such as Karlín, marked among other factors by the disappearance of traditional pubs and taverns. For all of October, VI PER Gallery will transform itself into a pub – a ‘local local’, yet also a temporary space for meetings of immediate residents and those from even farther away.

In lands of gentler weather, one could expect conversations among people to transpire on open squares beneath the trees; for the Czechs, the place where one can go and talk has traditionally been the pub. To meet at, and sit in, the pub has for centuries formed a key part of Czech life and represents a notable social phenomenon. It is in the pub that literally ‘public’ opinion is formed, resistance to tyranny created, culture allowed to flourish. And as much as thinkers, activists or anarchists, the Czech pub has been a welcome meeting place as well for the very poorest of society. In recent years, though, the Czech pub has been undergoing visible and rapid change. The locations where one goes to talk and voice opinions or merely listen have started to differentiate themselves strikingly, on the basis of price, generation or social standing. The traditional guest and the traditional local are now regarded with no small measure of disdain or even contempt. The disappearance of the traditional pub from urban as well as peripheral areas goes hand in hand with the dramatic changes that many city sections – and Karlín is certainly no exception – are undergoing. The quality of construction and the associated quality of life, proximity to the centre and transport accessibility, well-maintained public spaces and open construction sites: all this creates pressure on the price of buildings and land. And in such an environment, it is hard for a traditional pub with affordably-priced beer to survive.

The pub will be open every day from 5 PM till 10 PM during the whole October 2017.

MAK! (Mobilní architektonická kancelář / Mobile Architecture Office) is an architectural initiative of young Czech architects Kateřina Vídenová and Adam Wlazel. Their projects address the public space and the quality of life in urban and non-urban settings. They co-founded a new initiative ‘Letná for Itself!’, the activities of which sparked a major wave of civic initiatives ‘for ourselves’ across the nation. In 2013, MAK! decided to leave the city for the country. Their aim was to investigate the present situation of the contemporary Czech village and test cooperation with local residents. In 2016 they travelled even to rural Scotland. For more information visit http://m-a-k.eu/.

The programme of the exhibition project Hospoda U hada:
1 October: Opening ceremony + Milan Mikuláštík / vernissage, 7 PM
2 October: Libuše Jarcoviaková / vernissage of the photography exhibition, 6 PM
3 October: Vágus.cz / Prague railway station pubs, 7 PM
4 October: U Fandy / performance eve
5 October: Honza Kačena / theatre, 8 PM
6 October: U Zpěváčků / performance eve
7 October: Kouř (Smoke) / film screening, 7 PM
8 October: Neighbourhood dinner party, 6 PM
9 October: Vilém Balej / performance, mural drawings, 7 PM
10 October: Štvanice / film screening and discussion, 5:30 PM + hockey tournament Sparta – Litvínov, 6:30 PM
11 October: Richard Biegel / lecture The Prague Suburbs, 6 PM
12 October: Karel Altman / lecture on the practice of being a pub regular, 7 PM
13 October: S.d.CH / author reading, 8 PM + Zpěváčci / performance eve
14 October: Football tournament Sparta – Plzeň + concert, 5 PM
15 October: Neighbourhood dinner party + Pavla Šnajdarová: workshop of animation for children and adults, 5 PM
16 October: Petr Urban / vernissage, 7 PM
17 October: Česká pohoda / theatre, 8 PM
18 October: A tournament in table football: enrolment of teams 5 PM, start 6 PM
19 October: A discussion on Karlín transformations / hosted by Igor Kovačević, 7 PM
20 October: U Zpěváčků / NESPORTOVKY
21 October: U Zpěváčků / NESPORTOVKY
22 October: Neighbourhood dinner party, 6 PM
23 October: Tournament in Marriage, start 7 PM
24 October: Sejdeme se v Eurokempu (I Guess We’ll Meet at the Eurocamp) / film screening, 8 PM
25 October: Discussion on the Karlín associations, 7 PM
26 October: Emil Hakl / reading, 7 PM
28 October: A bude hůř... (It’s Gonna Get Worse) / film screening, 7 PM
29 October: Neighbourhood dinner party + lecture by MAK!, 6 PM
31 October: Closing ceremony + Fetch, concert 7 PM

Reviews: Elizabeth Haas, Karlín’s Newest Pop-Up Pub Mixes Art and Drinks, news.expats.cz, October 13, 2017.
Alžběta Medková, Hospody čtvrté cenové v Praze mizí, karlínští štamgasti teď chodí na pivo do galerie, Radio Wave, October 16, 2017 (Czech only).
Petra Jansová, Tradiční české hospody v Praze mizí. Pivo si teď štamgasti v Karlíně mohou dát v umělecké galerii, aktualne.cz, October 18, 2017 (Czech only).
Karolína Vránková a Pavel Turek, Architekti za pípou, Respekt, 2017, no. 43, pp. 51–53 (Czech only).
Alžběta Widholmová, Hospoda U Hada, A2, 2017, no. 23, p. 31 (Czech only).