Daniel Herman

Opening Statement of Minister of Culture

I think to myself: What does SharedSpace mean? Although it may seem highly abstract, in reality it is a key concept. Whenever two people – or indeed any number of people – meet, they share a space. It may sound banal, but only until we need to realise it in practice, as is the case, for example, with the Prague Quadrennial...

Participants in this edition include both creators and experimenters, who have set themselves no easy task: to capture in all their diversity, and then to present, the latest trends in performance design and architectural practice with theatre space and then introduce to us environments that, even though they have a considerable influence on us, are not tangible. Proof of the success of their work is the participation of almost 80 countries from all over the world.

Theatre is very frequently used as a metaphor for social life. We talk of societal roles, of how people play them, how they are determined and restricted, what their description and meaning is, and how someone has coped with theirs.

One also talks about the trapdoor of history and directors, and ‘behind-the-scenes’ is another popular term, as if that which is truly important takes place behind the stage and not on it… In a certain sense, this – as in the theatre – also applies in social life. The result that we see has been prepared out of sight, in the shadows – in the good (and in real life, sadly, sometimes also the bad) sense of the word.

When I watch a theatre performance, I very often wonder whether theatre is inspired by life, or vice-versa; and so I keep searching for an answer that, perhaps, I myself cannot find. If I think about space, the stage, the set and props, actors and their roles, and their defined places, I am actually considering life on a smaller scale than that which I’ve been given, and which I share with you.

Culture and art are not just a mere addition to society, a hobby on which we spend money only after ‘more important things’ have been paid for. Ideally, culture should come before all of this. We all know, however, that we do not live in an ideal world.

I am therefore delighted to be able to support projects that do not end when the curtain closes, or when the theatre, gallery and lecture halls close their doors. These projects accompany us throughout our lives; the play moves from one scene to another, from projection to reality, from thought to action, or when one thought leads to others. I therefore hope that the work of all creators, organisers and collaborators involved in the Prague Quadrennial will be seen by as many people as possible, and that this exceptional cultural enterprise will touch and enrich them, and make them think.