INFO

The Eleutheria foundation was set up in 2008 and its objective is to provide an appropriate response to the need for knowledge and popularization of the historic and artistic heritage of the least known and studied periods, through activities aimed at promoting their image and cultural value.

To that end, the foundation promotes conferences, seminars and exhibitions; may set up prizes and scholarships; initiates collaborations and enters into agreements with universities and research institutes, with cultural bodies and institutions, working in sectors relating to the foundation’s activity.

The first initiative promoted by Eleutheria goes back to 2008: the writing of a monograph – entitled Socialist realism in Czechoslovakia: 1948-1989 – written in English, Italian and Czech, where the most significant works owned by the foundation were published. This was followed the following year by an exhibition on the same theme, which was housed inside the Manes pavilion, a prestigious place in the cultural life of Prague. The initiative was realized under the aegis of the Italian Embassy, the Italian Institute of Culture and the city of Prague.

In 2010, the foundation decided to propose a range of initiatives and studies focused on Vietnamese poster art. Poster art in Vietnam is in a sense a unicum within graphic art production. For their originality, the themes and images used by the creators of these veritable works of art deserved an attention and study that, in the West, they had not sufficiently received.

To that end, a second monograph was produced, realized in collaboration with the National Gallery of Modern Art in Prague, written in English, Italian and Czech. The book, which came out in December 2010, presents the written contributions of distinguished art experts including the director of the National Gallery of Modern Art in Prague, Prof. Tomáš Vlček, and the Italian art critic Prof. Vittorio Sgarbi, Superintendent in Venice and also administrator of numerous art exhibitions in Italy and abroad.

The monograph was also the catalogue of the related exhibition, which took place from 15 December 2010 to 30 January 2011 in the rooms of the National Gallery of Modern Art in Prague, where a selection of over 150 posters was exhibited. The show covered the entire artistic span associated with poster production in Vietnam from the 60s to the 90s and with the production of artists who were called to give their contribution to the realization of the revolutionary project. The show was conducted with the contribution of the National Gallery of Modern Art in Prague and under the aegis of the Vietnamese Embassy, the Italian Embassy, the Italian Institute of Culture and the city of Prague.

The show, inaugurated by Prof. Vittorio Sgarbi and Prof. Tomáš Vlček, had a vast echo in numerous Czech and international press outlets. The exhibition mounting project was also published in numerous specialized architecture magazines and obtained a unanimous positive opinion.

This exhibition has been repeated in 2011 in the spaces of the European Parliament building in Brussels, with a selection of about 50 posters representative of the entire period of time Vietnamese poster production. The exhibition was organized under the patronage of the Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Mudr. Jiří Maštálka.

In march 2012 a big exhibition dedicated to Socialist realism in Czechoslovakia: 1948-1989 was inaugurated in the wonderful spaces of Villa Manin in Passariano (Udine – Italy), The majestic ensemble of Villa Manin, located in the province of Udine, is one of the most important artistic monuments in Italy and one of the most popular symbols of the tourism and culture of the region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. Commissioned in the 17th century by Ludovico I Manin to celebrate the wealth and power of the Manin family, it was the family’s country house. The life of this majestic complex in Passariano has always been closely linked to the local historical and political events: at the end of the 18th century, under the reign of the last doge of Venice Ludovico Manin (1789-1898), Napoleon Bonaparte chose this regal residence as the General Headquarters of the French troops stationed here in 1797 during the Italian campaign. The new order he was later to impose on the whole of Europe was planned here.

The famous Italian dramatist Carlo Goldoni defined the villa and its grand park as “a dwelling fit for a king” and the awe it inspires is still the same today. Nowadays, Villa Manin is one of the most important museums and cultural spaces of northern Italy. The exhibition presented a selection of about 140 works (paintings, sculptures, drawings, graphics and photos) from the 40s to the 80s. The initiative was realized under the aegis of the Italian Foreign Ministry, the Italian Embassy in Prague, the Italian Institute of Culture, the city of Prague, the Czech Embassy in Rome and the Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia.

The show, inaugurated by President of the autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, On. Renzo Tondo, the Ambassador of the Czech Republic in Rome, H.E. Petr Buriánek, the Italian Ambassador in Prague, H.E. Pasquale D’Avino, the Councillor for the Culture of the Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, Mr. Elio De Anna, the Councillor for the Culture of the city of Prague, Ing. Vaclav Novotný, the Director of the National gallery in Prague, Dr. Vladimir Rosel, had a vast echo in numerous Czech and Italian press.

The foundation made also the catalogue with the photos and the descriptions of all works exsposed in the exibiton in this occasion.

The last initiatives of the Eleutheria foundation have been:

— the promotion and organization of the photographic exhibition dedicated to the italian air acrobatic group“Frecce Tricolori”. The exhibition is opened in the spaces of Italian Cultural Institut of Prague from 11th October to 3th November 2012. The foundation has worked on the realization of the monography entitled “Frecce Tricolori”
The exhibition was realized under the aegis of the Aeronautica Militare, Frecce
Tricolori, Italian Embassy in Prague, the Italian Institute of Culture, the city of Prague, the Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia and Italian-Czech Chamber of Commerce.

— the collaboration in the realization of the fellowships for the students of Rome University of Fine Art.