It is the first time that Anna Hulačová’s sculptural work will be presented to the German public; separate exhibitions will be dedicated to the samizdat phenomenon, Czech book art, design and illustration, contemporary Czech architecture, and photography. An extensive exhibition will also be dedicated to Czech literature written by women from the 19th century to the present. Creative objects—Veronika Richterová’s flowers made from plastic bottles—will also be on display. An exhibition will also highlight the poet, translator, and writer Reiner Kunze, and a rare curiosity will be a historical ritual beer vessel from eastern Bohemia. The first exhibition, “Samizdat: Words of Freedom in Czechoslovakia, 1939–1989,” opens at the Museum of Communication in Frankfurt on August 20, with others following in September and early October, just before the start of the book fair. Each exhibition features an accompanying program that will include presentations not only by Czech experts on the respective topics but also by writers. Five of these exhibitions were supported by the Czech-German Future Fund, a partner of the Year of Czech Culture and the Guest of Honour appearance, and one by the PPF Foundation. The exhibitions will not be the only accompanying program during the Guest of Honour week; dozens of other events—including readings, theater performances, and film premieres—will take place throughout Frankfurt during the book fair week.
“The Czech Guest of Honour appearance at the book fair isn’t just about books; it offers insights into the contemporary cultural scene as well as into moments in the past that secured Czech culture’s place in world culture and continue to serve as a source of inspiration—such as Czech typography,” says Tomáš Kubíček, Director General of the Moravian Library and Director of Czechia 2026, in his opening remarks. “I appreciate the trust placed in us by the cultural institutions of Hesse. These projects are the result of numerous curatorial trips by German experts to the Czech Republic and their meetings with Czech specialists, hundreds of hours of long-term work, and significant financial support from all participating institutions, the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the PPF Foundation, and the Czech-German Future Fund,” adds Martin Krafl, Director of the Czech Literary Center and Program Director of Czechia 2026. “We are pleased that among the more than 60 projects supported by the Future Fund in the context of the Czech guest appearance in Frankfurt and the Year of Czech Culture, there are also five truly landmark exhibitions that will introduce the German public to the best of past and present Czech culture—from literature to architecture to book design. The German public can thus look forward to the largest presentation of its kind to date of joint Czech-German cultural initiatives, which will surely resonate in Germany for a long time to come and inspire people to explore and gain a deeper understanding of Czech culture,” state Susanne Sehlbach and Tomáš Jelínek, directors of the Czech-German Future Fund.
The exhibition “Samizdat: Words of Freedom in Czechoslovakia, 1939–1989” at the Museum of Communication—organized by the Moravian Library in Brno in collaboration with the Frankfurt museum—explores the suppression of freedom of expression by totalitarian regimes and ideologies. It focuses not only on the history of this phenomenon, but also on the physical form of samizdat literature, its graphic design, and methods of reproduction, as well as the contemporary form of samizdat in global culture.
The exhibition “From the Heart of Europe: Czech Book Art from 1900 to the Present” brings 190 exhibits by a total of 120 artists from the collections of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague to the Klingspor Museum in Offenbach am Main. It showcases the visual evolution of the modern Czech book from its origins in the late 19th century—during the Art Nouveau and Symbolist periods—through avant-garde artistic movements and functionalist approaches, to the book art of the second half of the 20th century, including the post-revolutionary era and the present day.
The Czech Centers’ traveling exhibition “Beyond Paper Plane. More than just flat paper: Extraordinary picture book art from the Czech Republic” at Struwwelpeter Museum in Frankfurt showcases exceptional works by Czech illustrators that push the medium of the book beyond its traditional boundaries. It demonstrates just how radical, experimental, and surprising contemporary Czech illustration is today—an art form that does not view a children’s book as a flat, printed page, but rather as a space, an object, and an experience. The exhibition will showcase books that straddle the line between a work of art, a design object, a reading experience, and a game.
The exhibition “More is Now! New Czech Architecture” at the German Architecture Museum (DAM) in Frankfurt am Main, organized jointly by the National Gallery in Prague and the DAM, showcases innovative examples of work by young architects, primarily from the so-called millennial generation. The exhibition features approximately 30 award-winning architectural projects, mostly located in regions of the Czech Republic outside of Prague. It builds on the modernist legacy epitomized by the Tugendhat Villa in Brno, which Ludwig Mies van der Rohe designed at the age of 42.
The outdoor exhibition “I Married the Czech Language. Reiner Kunze and Czech Poetry”, held in the plaza in front of the German National Library in Frankfurt am Main and organized by the library and the Reiner and Elisabeth Kunze Foundation in cooperation with the German Exile Archive 1933–1945 and the Moravian Library, showcases the work of poet, translator, and writer Reiner Kunze. It focuses on his literary and personal connections with prominent Czech poets, particularly Ludvík Kundera, Milan Kundera, and Jan Skácel. Kunze’s translations of Czech poetry made the Czech language and poetry one of the central themes of his life and work.
The SCHIRN Kunsthalle Frankfurt has organized Anna Hulačová’s first solo exhibition in Germany. The figurative sculptures of one of the most successful Czech artists blend influences of Surrealism, Socialist Realism, and Czech folk art into a unique world of her own. Hulačová explores the relationship between humans and nature from an ecofeminist perspective; in collaboration with her own bee colonies, she creates hybrid beings and faceless science-fiction characters in which concrete and honeycombs, the organic and the technological, nature and machines merge.
In the exhibition “Garden Utopias: A Glimpse into the Landscapes of the Future”, organized by the Palmengarten in Frankfurt am Main, visitors will see works by Czech artist Veronika Richterová made from plastic bottles—cacti, succulents, pines, passionflowers, bromeliads, and strelitzias.
The exhibition “‘Nothing compels me but love’ (B.N.) – Literature of Resistance from the Czech Republic: from Božena Němcová to Radka Denemarková”, held at Frankfurt’s Haus am Dom and organized by the Memorial of National Literature / the Museum of Literature in collaboration with the Faculty of Arts at Charles University, traces the continuity of Czech literature from the 19th century to the present through female authors whose works transcended social norms, political pressures, and cultural stereotypes. The central theme is the dialogue between Božena Němcová and Radka Denemarková.
Following its successful debut in Paris and Taipei, the exhibition “Joy and Hiding Places / Joie et refuge” is heading to the DFF—German Film Institute & Film Museum—in Frankfurt. The PPF Foundation is supporting the entire international tour of the exhibition, which showcases the work of fourteen prominent figures in contemporary Czech photography—including Marie Tomanová, Bára Prášilová, Hana Knížová, Tereza Zelenková, and Vojtěch Veškrna—and offers a representative cross-section of the contemporary Czech photography scene. The project was developed in collaboration with Teleport Gallery and curated by Štěpánka Stein and Tomáš Jiráček. The Frankfurt stop follows previous presentations in Paris and Taipei and further strengthens the international profile of contemporary Czech photography.
The exhibition “The Bronze Beauty from Kladina – The Oldest Beer Offering in Central Europe” will move from the East Bohemian Museum in Pardubice to the Archaeological Museum in Frankfurt. The unique discovery of a bronze bucket has significantly changed our understanding of the development of the Late Bronze Age in Eastern Bohemia. Researchers have identified the remains of herbal millet beer or porridge inside it. Visitors will thus gain insight into the mysteries of this vessel, which likely served as an offering and bears witness to cult practices possibly associated with ritual drinking.
Overview of exhibitions as part of the Year of Czech Culture on the occasion of the Czech Republic’s Guest of Honour appearance at the 2026 Frankfurt Book Fair
Samizdat: Words of Freedom in Czechoslovakia, 1939–1989
- August 20, 2026 – January 24, 2027, Museum für Kommunikation Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main
- An exhibition by the Moravian Library in Brno and the Museum für Kommunikation in Frankfurt
From the Heart of Europe: Czech Book Art from 1900 to the Present
- September 5, 2026 – November 29, 2026, Klingspor Museum, Offenbach am Main
- The exhibition was organized by the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague from its collections in partnership with the Klingspor Museum. With support from the Czech-German Future Fund
Beyond Paper Plane. More than just flat paper: Extraordinary picture book art from the Czech Republic
- September 17, 2026 – January 17, 2027, Struwwelpeter Museum, Frankfurt am Main
- An exhibition by the Czech Centers at the Struwwelpeter Museum in Frankfurt am Main.
More is Now! New Czech Architecture
- September 19, 2026 – January 17, 2027, Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM), Frankfurt am Main
- The project is co-organized by the National Gallery in Prague and the Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM) and is supported by the Czech-German Future Fund.
I Married the Czech Language: Reiner Kunze and Czech Poetry
- September 29, 2026 – October 30, 2026, Plaza in front of the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
- Organized by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek in Frankfurt am Main and the Reiner and Elisabeth Kunze Foundation. With the support of the Czech-German Future Fund.
Anna Hulačová
- October 1, 2026 – January 10, 2027, SCHIRN Kunsthalle Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main
- Organized by SCHIRN Kunsthalle Frankfurt. With the support of the Czech-German Future Fund.
Garden Utopias. A Glimpse into the Landscapes of the Future with works by Veronika Richterová, Jan Kamenský, and malatsion.
- October 1, 2026 – February 7, 2027, Palmengarten der Stadt Frankfurt am Main
- Organized by the Palmengarten in Frankfurt am Main.
‘Nothing compels me but love’ (B.N.) – Literature of Resistance from the Czech Republic: from Božena Němcová to Radka Denemarková
- October 3, 2026 – November 27, 2026, Haus am Dom, Frankfurt am Main
- Organized by the Memorial of National Literature / Museum of Literature in cooperation with the Faculty of Arts at Charles University and Haus am Dom, Frankfurt. With support from the Czech-German Future Fund.
Joy and Hiding Places / Joie et refuge
- October 4, 2026 – November 22, 2026, DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum, Frankfurt am Main
- The exhibition is being organized in collaboration with Galerie Teleport, the PPF Foundation, Martin Krafl (director of the Czech Literary Center and program director of the project), and DFF curator Stefanie Plappert, who is participating in the Frankfurt presentation as co-curator.
The Bronze Beauty from Kladina – the Oldest Beer Offering in Central Europe
- October 5, 2026 – January 31, 2027, Archäologisches Museum Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main
- Organized by: Archäologisches Museum Frankfurt & the East Bohemian Museum in Pardubice