SMETANA´S ART
LITOMYŠL 2026: THE TOWN AS A GALLERY
Smetana’s Art Litomyšl 2026 transforms Litomyšl into a gallery full of contemporary and historical art. The project, which runs from June to September, is prepared by the Litomyšl Municipal Gallery in cooperation with galleries and cultural institutions located in the town and its immediate surroundings. Thanks to this cooperation, an exceptionally varied show of exhibition projects is created every year, focusing both on the presentation of older art and the work of contemporary Czech and foreign artists.
PROGRAMME OF THE SMETANA´S ART FESTIVAL LITOMYŠL 2026
EXHIBITIONS OF THE CITY GALLERY LITOMYŠL
The Litomyšl Town Gallery has been sponsoring the Smetana Art Litomyšl for seven years. The curatorial concept behind the central exhibitions of this year’s 2026 edition views art as an “experience” that takes place in a specific time and relationship. The gallery’s intention is not to dazzle or shock viewers, but to offer moments in which to pause – outside the daily rhythms of production and consumption – and enter into concentrated contact with the artwork. Exhibitions There are more variants, Jaroslav Róna – Silence and Myths, Gerhard Flekatsch – Resonance, Out of Ostrale or Natura thus do not create a spectacular whole, but rather a network of situations that work with attention, silence and the possibility of inner response.
WHAT ELSE TO VISIT IN LITOMYSL: GALLERIES AND EXHIBITIONS
In addition to the main exhibition projects, visitors to Smetana’s Art Litomyšl can see other attractive shows spread across the city and its institutions. The City Picture Gallery also offers a glimpse into the world of book culture through the exhibition The Most Beautiful Czech Books of 2025. The gallery at Milovská hut offers a project Vitrum et natura, which connects glass art with the landscape of the Highlands through the works of Miluše and René Roubíček and other important studio glassmakers from the region. The exhibition is repeatedly presented in Litomyšl MenART – On the Road 2026, which captures the results of a year-long collaboration between young talents, their teachers and leading Czech artists. This season, the Zdeněk Sklenář Gallery has prepared an exhibition dedicated to Václav Boštík, an important painter associated with Litomyšl. V Portmone – Josef Váchal Museum Museum and Museum of Váchalov, an exhibition dedicated to the versatile Litomysl artist Antonín Píč. Miroslav Kubík Gallery has prepared a retrospective exhibition Jan Švankmajer – Reliquaries and Fetishes, which presents the author’s work in its entirety. The White Gallery will present Patrik Hábl’s exhibition Behind the Painting. Two projects will be on view at the Nové Hrady Castle – Míla Fürstová – Tenderness in natura a Veronika Bílková – Bohuslav Martinů. Pakosta Gallery will present a project by Simona Blahutová Solitudine Contemporanea, which reflects on issues of freedom, media reality and the changing image of the contemporary world.
Looking for other places to visit in Litomyšl in 2026? Discover Smetana’s artistic Litomyšl.
