Havel's Place
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Havel's Place is a public art project, which creates a series of memorial places dedicated to the last president of Czechoslovakia and
the first president ''The First President'' () is a 2011 Chinese biographical film directed by Wang Caitao, produced by Han Sanping, and starring Qiu Xinzhi, Nie Mei, Liu Jing, Han Geng, Tian Liang, Johnny Zhang, Xiong Naijin and He Jie. The film is about the li ...
of the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
,
Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and former dissident. Havel served as the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and then ...
. The installation consists of two garden chairs around a round table, usually with a tree going through its middle. The rim of the table has the Havel Quote 'truth and love shall prevail over lies and hatred' inscribed along its rim.


Origins

The original idea for Havel's Place came from Petr Gandalovič, the Czech Ambassador to the United States. He invited
Bořek Šípek Bořek Šípek (14 June 1949 – 13 February 2016) was a Czech architect and designer. Biography Born in Prague, he was renowned for his individual, unusual, colorful, and rich style. He experimented with unexpected and often opulent shapes. ...
, an architect and designer, to create a piece of public art to represent Havel and his democratic views. Šípek had overseen a decade-long renovation of the interior of
Prague Castle Prague Castle ( cs, Pražský hrad; ) is a castle complex in Prague 1 Municipality within Prague, Czech Republic, built in the 9th century. It is the official office of the President of the Czech Republic. The castle was a seat of power for king ...
as President Havel's Head Architect in the 1990s, and made a number of artworks for his close friend. In the 2008 documentary about Havel, ''Citizen Havel'', by Pavel Koutecký and Miroslav Janek, the President stated that he would like people to subconsciously connect his person with Bořek Šípek's design and art. Šípek came up with a design symbolising "Democratic Debate", comprising two metal garden chairs placed around a table around a linden tree, the national tree of the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
. His idea was to create a gathering place in a public space to promote dialogue, discussion and freedom of speech. Bořek Šípek named the installation "Democracy Talks" and described it as "a place where people can meet and exercise their freedom of speech in a democratic dialogue with others". Tomáš Halík, a close friend of Havel, told
Czech Radio Český rozhlas (ČRo) is the public radio broadcaster of the Czech Republic operating since 1923. It is the oldest radio broadcaster in continental Europe and the second oldest in Europe after the BBC. The service broadcasts throughout the C ...
on 5 October 2013 that "the bench with the two chairs symbolises the willingness to sit down at a table and talk. That is, in my opinion, another important message left by Václav Havel: Even as people of different opinions, different political beliefs and different religions, it is still immensely important to sit down at a table and talk to one another in search for the truth."


Partner cities

The first Havel's Place was installed in the grounds of
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private research university in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll in 1789 as Georgetown College, the university has grown to comprise eleven undergraduate and graduate ...
in Washington D.C on 2 October 2013, with the support of
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private research university in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll in 1789 as Georgetown College, the university has grown to comprise eleven undergraduate and graduate ...
, the Czech Embassy, Václav Havel Library and American Friends of Czech Republic. It was dedicated by former U.S. Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 64th United States secretary of state from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Democrat ...
and Dagmar Havlová, Havel's widow. At a meeting in Prague a few days after the installation of the Havel's Place bench in Georgetown, Sipek met with Art for Amnesty founder Bill Shipsey who proposed that further Havel's Places would be installed in cities around the world. It was decided to start with Dublin Shipsey's home town. The Dublin "Havel's Place" was installed in St. Patrick's Park (adjacent to St. Patrick’s Cathedral) in
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
, Ireland on
Human Rights Day Human Rights Day is celebrated annually around the world on 10 December every year. The date was chosen to honor the United Nations General Assembly's adoption and proclamation, on 10 December 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Right ...
, 2013 (10 December) by the Lord Mayor of Dublin Oisin Quinn and
Karel Schwarzenberg Prince Karel of Schwarzenberg (, born 10 December 1937) is a Czech politician, former leader of the TOP 09 party and was its candidate for president of the Czech Republic in the 2013 election. He served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies ( ...
Havel's former Chancellor. The Dublin project was conceived and promoted by
Bill Shipsey Bill Shipsey (born 22 June 1958) is a human rights activist, barrister (retired), artist event promoter, producer and consultant. He is the founder of Art for Amnesty, Amnesty International's global artist engagement programme, and the co-founder ...
with support from the City of Dublin and the Czech Ambassador to Ireland Tomas Kafka. The next Havel's Place, "Espai Havel", ("Havel's Place" in
Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...
) was dedicated in
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
by the Mayor of Barcelona, Xavier Trias, and Karel Schwarzenberg on 15 February 2014 in the
Parc de la Ciutadella The (; "Citadel Park") is a park on the northeastern edge of Ciutat Vella, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. For decades following its creation in the mid-19th century, this park was the city's only green space. The grounds include the city zoo ( ...
beside the Catalan Parliament building. This Havel's Place was also conceived and promoted by Bill Shipsey. On 1 May 2014 the fourth Havel's Place was dedicated in Maltese Square in Havel's home town of
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
. On 11 June 2014 the fifth Havel's Place was unveiled in the University of South Bohemia in
České Budějovice České Budějovice (; german: Budweis ) is a city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 93,000 inhabitants. It is located in the valley of the Vltava River, at its confluence with the Malše. České Budějovice is t ...
, as part of an international project of public places dedicated to the late Czech president. On 27 September 2014 the sixth 'Havel's Place' was unveiled on the Campus of
Venice International University Venice International University (VIU) is an international center for higher education and research located on the island of San Servolo, in Venice, Italy. It was established on December 15, 1995 as a consortium of five Universities and two Ita ...
, San Servolo Island.
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
in the presence of Ambassador Umberto Vattani, President of Venice International University; Petr Burianek, Czech Ambassador to Italy; Honorary Consul of the Czech Republic, Giorgio Boatto; and Professor Agar Brugiavini, the Dean of Venice International University. Michaela Jorgensen-Day and
Bill Shipsey Bill Shipsey (born 22 June 1958) is a human rights activist, barrister (retired), artist event promoter, producer and consultant. He is the founder of Art for Amnesty, Amnesty International's global artist engagement programme, and the co-founder ...
raised the money for the project. On 4 October 2014, the 7th Havel's Place was unveiled in front of the café at the Municipal Library in
Hradec Králové Hradec Králové (; german: Königgrätz) is a city of the Czech Republic. It has about 91,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Hradec Králové Region. The historic centre of Hradec Králové is well preserved and is protected by law as an ...
, Czech Republic. The creation of a Havel's Place in Hradec Králové was initiated by deputy mayor Josef Krofta. In November 2014, two Havel's Places were unveiled to honour the 25th anniversary of the
Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...
. The 8th Havel's Place was promoted by then Czech Ambassador to the U.K. Michael Zantovsky and unveiled on November 6 at
Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
on the banks of the River Cherwell. The 9th, promoted by Bill Shipsey and Iveta Stanislavova, was dedicated at
The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
, November 8, at Lange Voorhout, by: Jozias van Aarsten, Mayor of The Hague; H.E. Jaroslav Horák, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the Netherlands; Eduard Nazarski, Netherlands Amnesty International Director; and Bořek Šípek. On 22 June 2017 a Havel's Place was unveiled in Lisbon in a collaboration between the Czech Ambassador to Portugal, Cultural Counsellor to the Camara de Lisboa Catarina Vaz Pinto and Bill Shipsey. Karel Schwarzenberg attended the dedication. The 25th Havel's Place was unveiled in
Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...
on 16 March 2018 by Nataša Posel, Director of Amnesty International Slovenia and Mateja Demšič Head of the Department of Culture of the City of Ljubljana. This was also promoted by Bill Shipsey and was the first Havel's Place in a city of a former communist country outside the Czech Republic.


Václav Havel's Place


References

{{reflist Czech art Václav Havel