It was once a place full of shouting of marketing, fresh food and the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Today, after decades of changes, dilapidation and efforts to revive, the Old Town Market in the heart of Prague is awakening again – but this time as a gallery of the future. Her biggest treasure? Especially vaults and columns that have been covered. But also what will be officially started in it from 1 October.
When the architect Jindřich Fialka completed the Neo -Renaissance building of the Prague Old Town Market in 1896, he probably had no idea that he would one day become a temple of digital art.
“The revival of the long -term closed Old Town market is a new cultural space is a great news for Prague citizens,” says Prague councilor for property, transparency and legislation Adam Zábranský, whose enthusiasm is shared by Petr Hlaváček – Deputy Mayor of Prague. City of Prague for territorial development and zoning plan.
“I consider the temporary placement of the gallery to be a great idea – valuable spaces in the heart of the city will come to life and instead of remaining empty during the project preparation,” he adds.
The market with a rich past and a complex fate was once a symbol of modernity – thanks to its own power plant, cold and lighting by František Křižík. However, it began to lose its shine at the age of 80, then its splendid vault even covered plasterboard ceilings and instead of a living marketplace there was a supermarket.
Its original beauty remained hidden under the layers of plasterboard, glass wool and supermarket shelves. The entrance from October 28 was not even belonging to the city and in 2020 the market was completely closed.
Then it began to talk about her reconstruction, which was supposed to restore its historical form. But as is the case with such projects, hope alternated failures. The announced competitions ended with abolition, the prices increased and the markets remained empty. Until now. Her story is finally rewritten again – this time using light, data and artificial intelligence.
In the sign of digital art
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The Signal Festival sets up its first permanent gallery of digital and immersive art called Signal Space. On an area of 2,500 m², a space that combines light, sound, movement and technology into a unique cultural experience is completed.
Signal Space will be a place where contemporary art is not only exposed, but even the viewer even communicates with it. Eight halls full of installations from Czech and foreign artists will offer, for example, Immersive Space – screening on walls and floor, which pulls the viewer literally inside the work, or Infinity Room from Preciosa Lighting – a mirror illusion of infinite space created from 180 crystal cubions.
Furthermore, Sketches / Scale Studies points from American artist Zach Lieberman – an interactive work that transforms the movement of the visitor into a digital drawing in real time. Or, for example, Signes from the Barcelona duo Playmodes – an audiovisual installation controlled by generative software that never repeats. It should be noted that individuals who are sensitive to light and more perceptions at once should consider their visit to the gallery. At least those parts where they do not spare effects.
Czech track and parents with children
The gallery also includes CzechBox – curated space for contemporary Czech digital art, while the first exhibitors were Petr Pufler aka Strátlonoš. Its light objects connect glass, light and natural elements in an elegant and strongly visual composition.
Children will then come into their own in Signal Playground, an interactive zone that promotes creativity and playful education. It is not only a repository for parents, but a full -fledged space for inquisitive small visitors. And while the children will play, adults can enjoy coffee or something good in the café next to the playground.
Temporary recovery with a long -term overlap
Although it is a unique project, Signal Space is only a temporary tenant – the city with the organizers of the festival has concluded a lease agreement for three years. Yet this temporality is filled with visions and sense. The gallery returns the life of a beautiful building with a complicated past and at the same time the land is prepared for the future reconstruction of the whole area.
“The reconstruction of the interior in a monument -protected market under the baton of Signal Space is temporary and returnable. We are preparing a competition dialogue through which we want to find a long -term tenant, who will then participate in the overall repair of the building,” added Zábranský.
A place with a past that has a future
After years of stagnation, the Old Town Market has become the center of the events. And the symbolism of this step is clear: the history of Prague is not an obstacle, but an inspiration. “The gallery is not just to watch. We want it to inspire, draw, move emotions and thinking,” says Martin Pošta, founder of Signal Festival and Signal Space curator.
As of October 1, 2025, you can visit the place where Genius loci meets old Prague with digital art. And thanks to the preserved vista, it is possible to see the largest treasure of the market in the form of a cast iron construction in the shape of a five -liter basilica – the soul of the whole place.
“Signal Space brings a new dimension of contemporary art to Prague and gives a new life to the historical Old Town market. It is a combination of tradition with innovation deserves.
Source: Signal Space, Camp
VIDEO: TV Architect Vinohradská Market (28. 08. 2022)
Several marketplaces were established in Prague at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. One of them is the Vinohrady market built between 1903 and 1905. Video: TV Architect
