POINTS OF REFLECTION project is one of the main accompanying programmes planned for the anniversary of Kutná Hora's inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is a presentation of works of contemporary art in the spaces of historical buildings and churches in the territory of Kutná Hora with an extended radius of the neighbouring villages - Sedlec u Kutná Hora (Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist), Nové Dvory (Church of St. Anne) and Kačina Castle.

The selected works are by authors who are connected with the Christian cultural tradition, the art-historical legacy of past generations, as well as with the historical architectural framework of Kutná Hora. The selection of works includes a variety of expressive media (sculpture, object installation, painting, photography) by artists of different generations. The unifying platform is the theme of STOPPING, which responds to the general acceleration in society by offering an alternative - "slowing down". The principle refers symbolically to the "stopping" of the Stations of the Cross. Retreat and contemplation.

The works are distributed in different objects. In the case of churches, their installation takes into account the liturgical function of the artefacts rather than their gallery representation. The works are intended to "blend in" with their surroundings, while at the same time reviving and updating the contact of tourists and visitors to monuments with contemporary expressions of art. Encountering a sculpture, painting, photograph or installation requires silence, concentration, pausing, no matter how old the work.

The aim of the project is to remind us that there are no limits to contemporary art.

Certain themes permeate time and recur cyclically. They express respect for life, solidarity with human destiny and suffering, recurring events and rituals through which man reassures himself that his existence is not futile and meaningless. Last but not least, they remind us of the wider context and historical roots of pan-European cultural identity, in which Czech art plays a significant role.

In the context of Kutná Hora as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the project aims to link tradition and contemporary living art, because it is through contemporary art that sensitivity to history and the past is deepened. Last but not least, the manifestations of contemporary art are embedded in the historical framework as living sign systems that speak about the actualisation of the basic human context behind everything present and past that is stored in human memory - in the most general sense, they ask questions about what human presence is, what it is about, and how it should or should not be fulfilled.

Authors and places Dominik Běhal (1988) - Kačina Castle, Kateřina Komm (1990) - St. Jacob, Monika Immrová (1970) - Chapel of Corpus Christi, Jakub Janovský (1984) - Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist in Kutná Hora - Sedlec, David Pešat (1980) - Church of St. Anne in Nové Dvory, Ivan Pinkava (1961) - Church of St. Barbara, Zbyněk Sedlecký (1976) - Church of St. Barbara in Nové Dvory, Miroslav Polách (1980) - Church of St. Barbara in Nové Dvory, Ivan Pinkava (1961) - Church of St. Barbara in Nové Dvory, Ivan Pinkava (1961) Jan Nepomucký / Church of St. James, Miroslav Polách (1980) - Church of St. Barbara, Zbyněk Sedlecký (1976) - GASK, Miloš Šejn (1947) - Church of Our Lady of the Square, Richard Štipl (1968) - Kačina Castle, Vladimír Véla (1980) - Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist in Kutná Hora. Kutná Hora - Sedlec, Jindřich Zeithamml (1949) - Kačina Castle

The curator of the project is Dr. Petr Vaňous.

Detailed information (catalog content) about THE POINTS OF REFLECTION  project:

Opening: June 15, 2025

June 16 - September 30, 2025
St. Barbara's Cathedral, Chapel of the Body of Christ, St. James' Church, St. John of Nepomuk Church, Church of the Virgin Mary in Náměť, GASK, Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist (Sedlec), Church of St. Anne (Nové Dvory)

organizers: City of Kutná Hora, Roman Catholic Parish Kutná Hora, Roman Catholic Parish Sedlec, GASK, National Agricultural Museum