​Jan Štěpán is the Program Director of the DEPO2015 creative centre in Pilsen, where he has long been dedicated to the development of contemporary art in public spaces and to supporting cultural and community projects. He collaborates on a wide range of initiatives connecting artists, the city, and the public, and has also been co-creating the concept and implementation of the Wallz Festival in Pilsen since its very beginning.

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Councillor of the City of Pilsen for Culture and Heritage Preservation and member of the Regional Assembly of the Pilsen Region for the political party ANO; historian, long-time teacher, and co-author of a history textbook that was awarded Best European Textbook for Lower Secondary Education at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2009.

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René Kaestner is a German producer, curator, and entrepreneur from Chemnitz. He works at the intersection of film, publishing, and urban culture. As the head of RED TOWER GmbH, he produces documentaries about graffiti and street art and collaborates with international partners. He founded the platform ILOVEGRAFFITI.DE and the WRITE4GOLD project. For many years, he has focused on documenting subcultures and connecting communities through film, books, and cultural events.

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Long-serving Deputy Mayor of the town of Planá. Although culture is not part of his official portfolio, he has consistently sought to bring visual art into the town’s public space. Over the years, he organized several stone sculpture symposiums, including projects with international participation. Later, he boldly introduced street art to Planá, which in recent years has resulted in the creation of two murals in Planá’s housing estates. In doing so, he has helped bring visual art closer to people who might otherwise never step into a gallery.

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A PR specialist, project manager, and active citizen who has long been dedicated to connecting people, institutions, and public-space initiatives. She is active in the informal groups Promyky and Ústečtí dobrodruzi and is co-author of the project Unknown Heroes from Ústí nad Labem, which uses large-scale murals to present powerful stories of personalities connected to the city, opening them to public space and to an international context.

The project also includes educational and cross-border dimensions and demonstrates how urban art can function as a tool for dialogue. In her contribution to the section Residents as Connectors, she will present how proactive citizens can initiate cooperation across local government, schools, cultural institutions, and international partners, and how local ideas can grow into projects with a broader social impact.​​

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Head of the Cultural Services Department at the Department of Culture of the City of Brno, where she focuses on the support and administration of a wide range of cultural activities. She is involved in the implementation and development of projects related to art in the public space of the city of Brno, created primarily in cooperation with both professional and general public audiences, cultural initiatives, and city districts.

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Marketing Director of Kooperativa, who has long focused on the meaningful involvement of brands in public space. He has experience with partnership projects based on co-creation, respect for place, and dialogue with audiences — from urban art initiatives to interventions in public space. He specializes in out-of-home (OOH) communication, contextual engagement, and the responsible role of brands within the urban environment.

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Founder and owner of the Prague-based The Chemistry Gallery, which focuses on presenting the youngest generation of Czech visual artists. He graduated from the Faculty of Law at Charles University. Petr founded The Chemistry Gallery in October 2008. Since then, he has organized more than 200 exhibitions in the Czech Republic and abroad. He has presented young Czech painters and sculptors at international art fairs across Europe, the USA, and Asia.

He serves as the gallery’s Artistic Director and also works as curator of numerous exhibitions. In 2022, he founded the Prague mural art festival Urban Pictus, whose third edition will take place in 2026. In 2024, he was elected Chairman of the Czech Academy of Visual Arts.

Co-founder of the Street Art Festival Olomouc, where she is responsible for dramaturgy, funding, and co-curating exhibitions and interventions in public space. She is the recipient of the Olomouc Region Award for Contribution to Culture (2018). She has curated projects such as The City as a Temple, Graffiti as Holy Scripture (2022) and Candy (2024).

She is currently collaborating on a scholarly publication about the development of the visual arts scene in Olomouc after 1989. As an art historian, she focuses on the relationship between graffiti and architecture, its visual nature, and its role in public space as well as within the context of cultural heritage.

Saša Michailidis is a moderator, journalist, and long-time media personality. He also works for Czech Television and Czech Radio Vltava, where he hosts the programs ArtZóna and Akcent. He focuses on film, media, and contemporary culture.
 

photo source: KVIFF

Art historian and curator Kristýna Jirátová organizes exhibitions for various public and private institutions in the Czech Republic and abroad, gives public lectures as part of the art history lecture series at the Winternitz Villa, and teaches art history at the Jaroslav Ježek Conservatory in Prague. She is also closely connected with the cultural space DEPO2015 in Pilsen, whose establishment she helped shape as a member of the Pilsen 2015 – European Capital of Culture team, and where she has organized a wide range of artistic and thematic

Curator and author of exhibition, educational, and socially engaged projects. Founder of the educational platform Máš umělecké střevo?, lecturer at the National Gallery in Prague (2005–2009), head of the Educational Centre at GASK (2009–2011), and author of accompanying programmes for CJCH (2011–2015), tranzitdisplay (2014–2016), and Galerie Rudolfinum (2016–2017).

He is the author and editor of several publications.

Currently, he works as a curator at Atrium Gallery (since 2021), as Kul.turista within the framework of the European Capital of Culture České Budějovice 2028 project, and as part of the team at Kreativní Praha, focusing on urban communities and Prague’s public space.

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Reiner Meyer is an art historian representing the City of Regensburg and the Department of Culture as head of department and member of the commission for public art and city development. He also represents the City Gallery in Leeren Beutel. He provides organizational support for mural art projects.

First Deputy Mayor of the City of Pilsen responsible for technical affairs, including investment construction, waste management, and the city’s spatial and strategic development planning. Originally from Klatovy, he moved to San Francisco, USA, in 1986, where he studied graphic arts at the prestigious CCAC (now CCA) in Oakland, California, and co-founded a graphic design studio. In 2008, he returned to the Czech Republic with his family and immediately became involved in public life — first through civic activities in the fields of culture and ecology, and later in local government.

In his current role as Deputy Mayor for Technical Affairs, he places strong emphasis on the revitalization of neglected urban sites and on improving the quality of public space, ideally through architectural competitions. Last year, he introduced the first binding measures in Pilsen’s history aimed at combating visual smog. In his free time, he continues to pursue visual art.

He has long been dedicated to raising awareness, education, and connecting people who care about the values of history and their preservation for future generations. He founded the Institute for Heritage and Culture and initiated both the information portal and the magazine PROPAMÁTKY. He focuses on project funding and coordinates the public fundraising competition MÁME VYBRÁNO.

He enjoys building long-term partnerships with donors and companies and seeks ways to support people who are “smoothing out the scars of the past.” He is also closely connected to the field of social entrepreneurship. Their organization employs people with disabilities whose work contributes to the preservation of heritage sites across the Czech Republic.

At ČEZ Distribuce, a.s., he serves as a representative for the public sector in the Public Sector Relations Department. He focuses on cooperation with municipalities and local governments in matters related to the distribution network. This also involves the development of public spaces. He emphasizes the importance of maintaining transformer stations, which are not only part of the technical infrastructure but also a visible element of towns and cities. According to him, aesthetic improvements enhance the surrounding environment while also helping to protect property from vandalism.

Head of the Department of Education, Culture, and Sports at the City of Mladá Boleslav, where she is responsible for the management and coordination of agendas related to education and culture. She contributes to the strategic development of the city’s cultural and educational activities and their connection with public space and community life. Since 2021, she has collaborated with the City=Galerie festival in Nymburk and Mladá Boleslav. In Mladá Boleslav, she initiated an artistic competition for the creation of a Memorial to RAF Airmen and Personnel from the Mladá Boleslav region, which is currently being realized.

An artist whose work is highly diverse and whose creative activities span a wide range of fields. From accidental or intentional installations in public space, large-scale paintings and murals on building façades, walls, and open surfaces, to painting large canvases and participating in major collective art projects. He belongs to the first generation of graffiti writers in the Czech Republic and remains actively involved in the scene to this day, having dedicated himself to this artistic adventure since 1993.

His public artworks can be found in Prague, Berlin, Tel Aviv, Ho Chi Minh City, New York, Ibiza, and many other places around the world.

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​He has been working for a long time at the Czech Centers, where he is mainly involved in the program, cooperation with partners and networking.

The Czech Centers are an institute of public diplomacy established by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic. They support the good name of the Czech Republic abroad, the development of cultural relations and the presentation of Czech culture, science and innovation. They are a member of the EUNIC network, participate in international projects, intercultural dialogue and are dedicated to teaching the Czech language. They operate through 26 branches on four continents.