Since the 90's my main goal has been to work as a producer for the Czech alternative music and theater groups to bring them to Europe and to invite foreign bands and performance and modern dance ensambles and artists to the Czech and Slovak Republic.  I managed to organize international tours for a wide range of artists on a global scale. My experience and my connections brought me to open the Social-Cultural Centre in Prague 6 Dejvice. It had the same title as my agency and record music label: Black Hand. This Social-Cultural Centre started to operate in Prague in 1991 and lasted until 1997. We managed to establish there the autonomous space for young artists and activists from diferent fields as were the environmental and animal rights, human rights and feminism, promotion of alternative lifestyles and fostering community development.

In 2001 I opened a similar project in Broumov, where I became a driving force of the alternative art space Centrum Broumov. This project operated between 2001 and 2003. One of our project was a four-month international festival for art “Broumov Cultural Summer”. This continued for several years on a smaller scale even after the Centrum Broumov was closed.

My experience with the independent art scene covers nearly 40 years of operation. I think that the 90's were the most fruitful and most vital periode, in terms of independent culture in Czech Republic and even in the entire Europe, even in USA. We could get funding for art and culture from different institutions and sponsors, public funding for alternative venues and autonomous youth spaces. It started to decline after “Schengen agreement” of the European council and since the founding of the European Union. In the following years squat movement and club scene were systematically erased. Parallelly influenced the boom of emerging electronic media as Internet or social media the interest of youth to invest in their own creativity or their interest in subcultures. When I realized this lack of curiosity for alternative, I decided to cancel all activities and in Broumov opened a small publishing house for books focusing on local history and local culture.

The independent art scene, as well as the environmentally, human rights or animal protection oriented movements, where I was ivloved in, attracted then many young people. Not only because of this philosophy and the values, but also because of the way how to achieve it: D.I.Y., cooperation, solidarity, operating in international or global scale. All of of this was interconnected and many of those who were involved in the alternative music scene did automatically share values of environmental movement and human rights. Developement of similar communities and movements triggered a necesity for open acces spaces; new clubs, theaters, contemporary art and autonomous centers, galleries, squats, site-specific projects and festivals were booming during those years. This had ofcourse stronger tradition in West, and was something relatively new in Czechia. After decenia living under oppression, or in underground, this became a challenge for me, and for many of my mates and allies. Especially during the early ́90s was blooming entire new network of different spaces, agencies, art producers agencies. I thought that our dreams are becoming reality. Because in almost every small town was some new place tributed to the independent art, in every larger city were much more, covering variety of focus and different background. Touring of bands and performance companies was feasible and frequent and general public was grateful for almost everything new and unusual. We got a feeling that we were part of permanent network of a vibrant and vivid cultural scene as a result of recently gained freedom and self-determination.

Unfortunately, this feeling of “temporary paradise” did not last for long. Already during the mid ´90s and especially at the end of the ´90s, things started dramatically  change to the worse. The driving force was usually interests of developers, property owners, speculants and even the government, represented by both local and governmental politicians. They managed to eliminate and neglect many autonomous cultural spaces and alternative communities. Autonomous movements turned out to be too weak and not prepared to resist power of the authority and within few years practically fade out. Many actors found theie new jobs in cultural establishment, or even decided to leave culture for ever. 

I know that since then did various initiatives striving for improvement of places of independent culture on the local and governmental scale emerged. Anyway I still consider the current situation getting worse every year. Only very few old alternative spaces remain: in Prague Roxy or Meet Factory are the relics of “old times”. But their dramaturgy and their way of operation changed and their status of independence is questionable: there are different factors, such as the legislation of non-profit activities, general approach towards the culture and towards the communal cultural projects especially. Artists, who are not integrated in mainstream, not being employed by official cultural agencies or show business, hardly survive and have small chance to exhibit their works. Outside of towns, such as Prague, Brno, Ostrava or Pilsen is the situation even worse. Such sad conditions drive young artists to leave and local art scenes in smaller towns or villages practically non existing.

As a former citizen of Prague and a villager in the Broumov area in the North-East Bohemia for the last nearly 25 years, I think I am able to compare and feel the difference: Broumov artistic activities are almost 100% imported, and zero initiative comes from local scene. Very seldom and not on regular base  sometimes initiated by individual activists appears, thanks to individual engagement. Usually such activists burn out and leave without somebody catch up their activities. As a result small towns and remote regions are suffering by lack of culture. This sitation has very negative impact on the social and political level.

Petr Bergman,
Prague, November 2023

Bergamo

Anthology of Forgotten Thoughts
Photographer: Archive of the artist