An exhibition dedicated to a significant figure not only in the Ostrava literary scene – the writer Jan Balabán, holder of the Magnesia Litera Award.
And why a writer and an industrial enterprise in Vítkovice?
Jan Balabán joined VŽSKG in 1985 in the Translations and Services department as part of the Graduate Entry Practice Plan. He worked at the enterprise, now under a different name and after social changes, until 1999. The exhibition aims to convey the atmosphere of the working environment of that time; a whole that influenced him for many years. The concept was developed in collaboration with Archiv Vítkovice, a.s.
Mrs. Petra Sasínová (wife of Jan Balabán) lent the original Magnesia Litera Award, her husband's university index, diaries, notes on company paper, and photographs for the exhibition. You can also look forward to large smalt artworks by Daniel Balabán, the author's brother, and texts by students from the Language Gymnasium Pavel Tigrid in Ostrava-Poruba responding to excerpts from Jan's stories. The exhibition will also include a reminder of the construction of a new city cycle bridge (including time-lapse footage), which – at the suggestion of architect Josef Pleskot and Jan Světlík – now bears the name of Jan Balabán.
The exhibition will run until Saturday, 19 July 2025. The gallery is located on the ground floor of the Multifunctional Aula Gong.
But we are not stopping with the exhibition!
Not only teachers but also the public can participate in the event at Gong (Small Hall) – 5 and 6 June 2025 BALABÁN?! BALABÁN!
The Ostrava Transport Company will send a literary tram – students will quote from the works of Jan Balabán directly on the tram… You might meet them too!
Snapshots from the opening on 5 June 2025
