Czech Artists to Offer Diverse Programme of Culture at Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Beyond

Since 2008, the Czech Centre have been committed to bringing the best of Czech live performance to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe; in 2017, they will be creating further partnerships and deeper relationships with Scottish art organisations through a whole season of exhibitions and live art.

The programme has started with Poetry Periscope, a pop-up installation of poems from 30 artists from 28 European countries including Scottish writer Jackie Kay. A format that started in Prague by a charity presenting art in public spaces that has been adopted by countries all over Europe, the installation takes shape as a six foot yellow periscope with a speaker at the top. By pressing one of thirty buttons, art-seekers and curious passers-by can listen to the poems in their original languages or translated. The periscope has already been used over 12,000 times, and will continue its six-month journey around Edinburgh at Edinburgh Napier University, Out of the Blue Drill Hall as part of LeithLate17, Grassmarket Community Project, Scottish Poetry Library and Scottish Parliament (TBC).

Appearing at the Traverse Theatre as part of Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival in July, Fragile Bliss is trio Tomáš Liška, Luboš Malina and Michal Nejtek performing their album of the same name, which was nominated for the Czech equivalent of a Grammy Award, the And?l Award. On piano, banjo and double bass, the trio play acoustic music that sounds as though jazz, classical and folk roots of central Europe have been distilled into a perfect balance. Later in the year, Robert Balzar Trio will appear at Swing, Glasgow and the Jazz Bar, Edinburgh with One Day, their new project originally recorded for Czech TV as a live concert in a forest. Composer and bassist Robert Balzar demonstrates fine bass technique along with focused and strong support from pianist Ji?í Leví?ek and drummer Kamil Slezák in a selection of their own compositions and adapted jazz standards.

For Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the Czech Centre will be bringing five outstanding Czech companies with three Herald Angel Awards and four Total Theatre Award nominations to present six shows at ZOO Southside as part of the Czech Showcase. Spitfire Company will be bringing their "theatrical knock-out" (The Times) One Step Before the Fall inspired by Muhammad Ali's journey from champion boxer to Parkinson's sufferer, which features internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter Lenka Dusilová, winner of six And?l Awards including best rock album for Between Worlds. Spitfire will also present their new work The Narrator, a one-woman story of secrets, unspeakable truths and being a woman.

Joining them will be: contemporary circus company Cirk La Putyka in Batacchio (also part of the Aurora Nova programme), a journey to the time of spectacular 19th century comedy shows; dance theatre company Lenka Vagnerova & Company with Gossip; You Are Not the One Who Shall Live Long about our obsession to satisfy our needs for love, sex and money by Dance Company Dot504; and 420PEOPLE, who will be making their Edinburgh Festival Fringe debut with dynamic dance show Wind-Up.

A week after the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, award-winning photographer Markéta Othová will follow her successful UK solo exhibition at the Photographer´s Gallery with a brand new cooperation with Slovenian artist Aleksandra Vajd at Street Level Photoworks in Glasgow from September. The two critically acclaimed artists explore the medium of photography in very different but equally striking ways. Markéta´s large scale minimalist black and white images and Aleksandra's experiments with photographic paper and colour complement each other. At the same time, award-winning photographer Radek Brousil will create a site-specific installation inspired by Glasgow's botanical garden at 16 Nicholson Street, Glasgow.

Lastly, in October through to November the Czech Centre will present two sound and light installations at Glasgow's biennial showcase of world-class visual sonic art, Sonica. One of Glasgow's churches will be transformed by artists Tomáš Dvo?ák and Dan Gregor into an interactive sonic installation, Archifon, a musical instrument on the church's surfaces that's played with laser pointers, activating both sound and light. Specifically designed for the church, the reimagining of the original installation will be bigger and more technologically innovative than ever. And in Hidden Towers, the Macula creates a surreal sound and light experience projected onto a vast dome. The project premiered at Glow festival 2015 as a 360 degrees inflatable dome projection. Inspired by the work of William Gibson, Hidden Towers shows a vision of a new Cyberspace future.

Director of the Czech Centre Tereza Porybná said, "At the Czech Centre we are committed as ever to showcase Czech culture and initiate long-term partnerships and exchange with UK cultural organizations, local initiatives, artists and promoters. We see so much talent coming from the Czech Republic and it's our passion and privilege to present it to new audience all around the UK. Working in Scotland is a particular pleasure, allowing us and to explore together with the artists its vibrant cultural scene, beautiful landscape and wonderful Scottish colleagues and partners."

The Czech Centre London is a cultural institute actively promoting Czech culture in the UK. Its programme covers visual art and performing arts, film, literature, music, architecture, design and fashion. The 2017 season is a tribute to their continuous cooperation with numerous partners, festivals and cultural organisations in Scotland. It builds on their annual Czech Showcase @ Fringe featuring Czech dance and theatre, and allows them to introduce a variety of wonderful Czech artists to Scottish audiences, in most cases for the first time ever.

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