NOVÁ SÍŤ INFORMS / THE 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF NOVÁ SÍŤ

Adriana Světlíková: It has been a great ride ...

It all started with an invitation for a Christmas party of the organization Nová síť which celebrates fifteen years of its existence this year. The scope of its activities is enormous - it takes care of independent scenes both in Prague and in the regions. Its work includes various activities such as counseling, coaching, organizing of residences and festivals across the country and establishing cross border contacts. We interviewed its director Adriana Světlíková shortly before the Christmas party in Pardubice.

Your organization is based in Prague. However, the anniversary is going to be celebrated in Pardubice. Could you tell us why?

A nationwide meeting of Nová síť organized three times a year will be held in Pardubice from 12 to 13 December. So it came to our minds that we could connect this event with the celebration of the fifteenth anniversary in Divadlo 29, the place where it all started years ago. One of the first meetings of Nová síť was held there. We invited all those who participated on the organization’s activities, the artists from different ensembles as well as behind-the-scenes people and other involved for the celebration. Obviously, our ambassadors and partners from the regions with whom we cooperate not only on the Malá inventura festival in the regions are of great importance to us. It will be a nice reunion. Moreover, we would like to say goodbye to Dagmar Kantorková, who has been managing the organization in the last years. From now on, she will dedicate to another important educational project Art Gate.


Nová sít has overcome many obstacles through all those years ...

You are right. The activities of our organization have changed and spreaded significantly throughout 15 years of its existence. In fact, it all began as a simple project with a task of bringing the performances to the regions and even further abroad and making them circulate instead of releasing them only i.e. in Alfred ve dvoře. As the various organizations interconnected, a living network was created, that is one of our most important programs. We take care of networking - interconnecting of many organizations of different types. And we focus not only on independent organizations in the field of culture, but also on those managed by the municipalities, such as Uffo in Trutnov or Oko in Opava, and many others. In my view, it has been a great ride in those fifteen years, when really everyone had to work 300%. And obviously, we all enjoy our work as it is incredibly creative. However, it is hard to defend it. Those who take our services have been expanding and this makes us happy. From their point of view, it resembles going to a psychotherapist. If you go see one, you don’t talk about it, you don’t say that he/she has helped you and that your situation is far better than it used to be before ...


What other programs do you offer?

Apart from the mentioned ones, we realise New Blood On the Scene giving the opportunity to the graduates of art schools within three years after the graduation. They can sign up, we then pick out four or five projects and take care of them for a year. We give them support to get started. When they leave the school, they are usually completely lost in the reality ...


Is it true that they have good conditions in schools, a good starting position?

And when they leave the school, they have to start over again. There is a couch in the rehearsal room and I have seen many of these young people sitting on this couch and crying because the ideal bubble suddenly deflated as the ties with the school didn’t exist any more. So we try to help them - we evaluate them, their abilities, their portfolio, what they can offer. We seek to link them with competent people, teach them how to apply for a grant, how to finance activities, how to operate or how to act. To sum it up, it's a one year coaching. The graduates are really interested in this program and appreciate it very much. Moreover, we offer free consultations (Thursdays in Prague and Mondays in regions). This service is used not only by recently graduated, but also by those who have been working for 10-15 years in the field of culture and find themselves in a crisis. So it is sort of a cultural psychotherapy. Additionally, we realize projects related to foreign affairs. Recently, we have launched a completely new project of cooperation of independent groups in Prague and Berlin called Pralin.


You have also mentioned educational activity ...

Yes, I was talking about the Art Gate project which was launched two years ago. Its aim is to improve the technical skills at the basic level. On one hand, we offer specialized workshops on light design or sound design, but many people also need basic knowledge on how to turn on the projector, light, video, and how to operate the technologies. It is mainly in the regions where they feel this need as they have to hire external forces for these activities. And it is incredibly expensive. But if you train someone who works as a technician, not only does it save money, but it also benefits the people themselves because they deepen and extend their skills. And it's enriching when an experienced person tells them what they can do, what to order, how much the items cost, etc. This applies to various cultural institutions, museums, galleries or clubs. And it generates at least a minimum income for us. Because otherwise we are completely nonprofit as we provide free services.


In addition, Nová síť establishes foreign contacts. How is the situation in the Czech Republic in comparison with other countries?

We have really good relations with Poland, Hungary, Israel, Lithuania, Slovenia and Germany. However, with France and Italy it does not work as well... Nevertheless, we have strategic partners - the Czech Centers, and that is a great help for us. Obviously, it depends on their directors. And bearing in mind their budgets, I have a feeling that they are able to hex. They help a lot.


Trips abroad on one side, residencies in the Czech Republic on the other side…

Residential stays are of great interest to us. We are the guarantors of the Visegrad residencies for the Czech Republic, and I have to say that the Czech Republic is the best of the Visegrad Group in this field. We host the most foreign residents because the conditions here, the locations in the regions that offer the residencies are very good. We have the biggest offer. And that's positive.

The interview was led by Jana Soprová