newyork

MAY 1, 2024, at 7 pm

We remembered Allen Ginsberg’s coronation by students in the 1965 Majáles in Prague. Conceived and moderated by our Vit Horejs, with special guests Bob Rosenthal, Ginsberg’s long-time secretary, Bob Holman, a poet and poetry activist who read Ginsberg’s poem “King of Majáles”, and Martin Holub who shared his amusing memory of meeting Ginsberg in 1965 in Prague. The presentation included voice of Andrew Lass who interpreted for Ginsberg during his stay in Prague … and much more.

Archival photos and videos accompanied Vit’s presentation.

STAND BY FOR RECORDING

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VÍT HOREJŠ grew up in Prague and escaped from the toxic political climate in 1978. In 1990, he founded the Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre (CAMT) with fellow émigrés, using centuries-old Czech puppets discovered at Jan Hus Church in the Heart of the Little Bohemia in Manhattan. A resident artist at La MaMa Theatre, Vit translated, wrote, and directed over two dozen plays for CAMT. His film roles included Krojak in Woody Allen’s “Don’t Drink the Water” and the lead role in Onur Tukel’s feature film “Scenes from an Empty Church.” He co-produced “Faust on a String,” an award-winning documentary. His published works include Twelve Iron Sandals (Prentice Hall, 1985), Pig and Bear (MacMillan, 1989), and the lead essay for Czechoslovak-American Puppetry (GOH, 1994). Vit received the international 2018 SVU Award for lifetime achievement in fostering the art of Czech and Slovak puppetry and the 2019 NY ACKER Award at Theater for the New City.

Sunday, FEBRUARY 11 @ 3 pm
Theater for the New City
155 First Ave @ 10th Street, NYC

Join our group when we attend the matinee show of The Good Soldier Svejk and His Fortunes in the First World War, a unique production of the Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theater (CAMT) based on a Czech iconic satirical 1921 antiwar novel by Jaroslav Hasek. SVU NY board member and CAMT’s artistic director, Vit Horejs, has worked his magic to bring this rich and hilarious text to life through a unique combination of marionettes and actors! After the show, we will go for drinks and/or dinner at the Ukrainian East Village Restaurant and chat with the director and cast members. (The restaurant sends a portion of the sales to support Ukraine.)

Please REGISTER FOR THE AFTER-SHOW MEET-UP at the RESTAURANT HERE by Thursday, February 8. Include your name, email, and number of people coming. SEATING is LIMITED – the maximum size of our group is 20 people.

Buy the SHOW TICKETS HERE: $18; seniors and students $15.

A talk by Jaroslav Olša, Jr.

Sunday, February 25, at 4 pm (EST)

Mr. Olsa discussed the life and work of a Czech American writer who stood at the birth of science fiction literature in the USA.

When the American editor Hugo Gernsback started in 1926 the first science fiction monthly magazine, Amazing Stories, he was soon faced with a shortage of authors. In 1927, a new contributor, Miles J. Breuer, a physician of Czech origin in Nebraska, joined the magazine with his story “The Man with the Strange Head.” Later, Breuer published two novels, thirty-six shorter stories, and several other items for science fiction magazines.
While Miles J. Breuer made a mark in US science fiction, his Czech alter ego, Miloslav J. Breuer, was only discovered in 2020. Until recently, experts thought Breuer was a literary newcomer at that time. But Mr. Olsa’s recent research discovered that Breuer was a prolific writer since 1909 and numerous Czech-American publications published his stories written originally in Czech.

Jaroslav Olša, Jr. is a Czech career diplomat with more than 30 years of experience, including posts as Ambassador to Zimbabwe (2000-2006), South Korea (2008-2014), and the Philippines (2014-2018). Since 2020, he has served as Consul General in Los Angeles. Mr. Olša is also a writer with a passion for science fiction. He published many articles and edited over a dozen Czech and international science fiction anthologies. He also authored books on culture and the relations between the Czech Lands, Asia, and Africa. His most recent books are Czech Painters of California (2023) and Miloslav (Miles) J. Breuer: Cesko-americký spisovatel u zrodu moderní science fiction (2023). https://www.facebook.com/olsajaroslav

The Amazing Breuer in Czech
The Amazing Breuer in English to download

A talk by Oldrich Voyta
Friday, January 26 at 7 pm
VIDEO RECORDING

The award-winning Czech footwear designer and technology researcher, Oldrich Voyta discussed the relationship between art, beauty, craftsmanship, modern technology, aesthetics, and comfort in designing shoes. He finds inspiration in the lines of the human body and the biomechanical principles of movement. He was invited to produce shoes for the new Czech First Lady of the Czech Republic, Eva Pavel, to be worn at the presidential inauguration in March 2023 in Prague.

Oldrich Voyta holds his MA in Footwear Design at Tomas Bata University in Zlin (TBU) and is currently pursuing a PhD Candidate at the Faculty of Technology at TBU, focusing on the Technology of Macromolecular Compounds. His research centers on women’s high-heeled shoes with a 3D cushioning membrane. With a rich background that includes working as a leading designer in Beijing and receiving the 1st Red Dot Award in 2018 for his contributions to the Air Purifier by ATMPBLUE project, Oldrich’s work has been showcased at renowned events like Beijing Fashion Week, London Fashion Week, Milano Design Week, and the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

Photos from the event on FaceBook

Join us for our signature program since 2014, when artists, professionals, scholars and scientists of Czech or Slovak descent are challenged to introduce their talent, the subject of their work, project, research, or studies in a short presentation limited to six minutes. In English.
You will learn, laugh, and enjoy impressive performances!

Thursday, December 7, 2023
Moderated by Christopher Harwood

In our 15th edition, we will welcome the following presenters:
Matej Cíp (cimbalom player, student at Berklee NYC), Ilona Kohlová (graphic designer, artist), Aneta Kohoutová (Fulbright- ethics of public spaces), Jana Krupková (arts management & production), Pavel Liska (immersive artist), Barbora Lišková (event producer), Luboš Náprstek (luthier), Alicka Pistek (communications & emerging technology), Yvette Vašourková (Fulbright-architecture and public spaces), and Klára Zíková English (mezzo-soprano)

6-Minute Challenge, Vol 15, Dec 7, 2023- edited recordings on YouTube

Welcome

Jana Krupkova

Klara Zikova English

Lubos Naprstek

Ilona Kohlova

Alicka Pistek

Aneta Kohoutova

Yvette Vasourkova

Barbora Liskova

Pavel Liska

Matej Cip

Bonus performance

Q & A

Alumni Toast and Cake

Organized by the Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences (SVU), New York Chapter with the support of BBLA.
PROGRAM NOTES

June 4, 2023, at 11 am
First Unitarian Congregational Society
119-120 Pierrepont St. @ Monroe St.
Brooklyn Heights, NYC

NORBERT CAPEK’S FLOWER COMMUNION
We joined the First Unitarian Congregational Society in Brooklyn to commemorate the 100th anniversary celebration of the Flower Communion ceremony introduced in 1923 by Dr. Norbert Capek, founder of Czech Unitaria in Prague. It was the home church of Charlotte Garrigue Masaryk (1850-1923), the Brooklyn-born First Lady of newly formed Czechoslovakia in 1918. Both her husband, Tomáš Masaryk, and her son Jan spoke from this church’s pulpit. Charlotte Garrigue Masaryk was instrumental in developing close ties of this church with the Czechoslovak Unitaria. The ninth reverend of this Brooklyn church, John Howland Lathrop, headed a relief program in Czechoslovakia following World War II. You can find some memorabilia and photos in the church. A glass window depicting Jan Hus was donated by Alice Masaryk.

We were joined by Mr. Scott Fredrick, a great grandson of Norbert Capek!

The full-service streaming on Facebook.

15:40 Singing the hymn Mother Spirit by Norbert Capek
34:52 Rev.Meagan Henry about Norbert Capek
1:25:00 Singing a Czech folk song Aj lucka, lucka , in Czech!

In Czech
Story of the Flower Communion made in 1993 for Radio Free Europe by Suzanna Pakesova Halsey. She added images to the original audio-only recording.

Photography of the New Millennium
An illustrated talk and book presentation
by Marian Beneš, Ph.D., MQEP

Tuesday, May 23, 2023, at 7 PM
Bohemian National Hall, 3rd Floor
321 E 73 St, Manhattan

The award-winning Czech photographer and educator Marian Beneš will present his photographic work, including the fascinating images of the Bohemian National Hall renovation and the portraits of Czech compatriots living in New York City. He will also offer historical insight into the beginnings of digital photography and its specifics in the Czech Republic. We will learn about his collaboration with Prof. Miroslav Vojt?chovský, the doyen of Czech photography, and their work with students as reflected in his new book Photography of the New Millennium: From Technical Mutations to the Poetics of Authorial Creation. For this book, he received in 2022 the prestigious Best Publisher Title prize in the FEP European Photo Book Award competition in Rome.

Moderated by Christopher Harwood, PhD

VIDEO RECORDING

Marian Beneš is a photographer, university educator, curator, juror, a holder of the Master Qualified European Photographer title (MQEP) awarded by the Federation of European Professional Photographers.
He is a Head of the Studio of Photography and Audio-Visual Arts at the University of Creative Communication in Prague and a vice-president of the Association of Professional Photographers of the Czech Republic. He also teaches at the Institute of Creative Photography at Silesian University. He graduated from the Film Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and received his doctorate from the Faculty of Art and Design at J. E. Purkyn? University. As a Fulbright scholar, he studied at the International Center of Photography in New York City. His work includes digital photography for communication campaigns, advertising, editorials, and exhibitions. His award-winning photography has been widely exhibited and is included in the collections of private collectors, galleries, and institutions. https://www.behance.net/benes

MARCH 22, 2023, at 7pm
Bohemian National Hall, Manhattan

Scholars, scientists, artists, and professionals of Czech or Slovak descent are challenged to introduce the subject of their work, project, research or studies in a short presentation limited to six minutes. A signature program of SVU, New York Chapte, since 2014. In English.

Moderated by Christopher Harwood

Presenters: Jaroslav Bendl (Assistant Professor, Icahn School of Medicine – bioinformatics), Jaroslav Borovicka (Associate Professor, New York University – economics), Viktor Dvorak (counselor, EU delegation to the United Nations), Eva Giannone (Baker and Energy natural medicine consultant), Tomas Jamnik (violoncellist, Fulbright Scholar), Eva Jamnikova (violinist), Michala Metzler (Founder OYA New Earth), Irena Michalcik (OCR athlete and educator), and Pavel Semerak (Bohemian National Hall renovation manager.)
PROGRAM NOTES

PHOTOS on FACEBOOK
ON YOUTUBE

Organized by the Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences (SVU), New York Chapter.

An illustrated talk by Helena Capkova, PhD
In-person!

Tuesday, FEBRUARY 28, 2023, at 7 pm
Bohemian National Hall
321 E 73 St, New York

ON YOUTUBE

Bedrich Feuerstein was an influential member of the Czechoslovak and European avant-garde of the interwar period. He was a cosmopolitan figure, always on the move seeking inspiration and inspiring the rich network of his collaborators. He spent two years at the Perrets’ atelier in Paris and four years working with Antonín Raymond in Japan. The key project of his career developed for Raymond was the St. Luke’s Hospital in Tokyo. As a part of the design process, Feuerstein visited the US and studied the most progressive hospitals, such as the Presbyterian and Mt. Sinai in New York. The talk will introduce Feuerstein’s rich and diverse design work focusing on his American research trip and its outcomes.

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HELENA CAPKOVÁ, PhD, is a Czech Tokyo/Kyoto-based curator, researcher, and art history professor at Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto. She studied transnational visual culture and Japanese studies in Prague and London. As a PhD candidate, she collaborated on international and interdisciplinary research projects such as Forgotten Japonisme (2007-2010) and later Enchanted Modernities: Theosophy, Modernism, and the Arts, c.1875-1960 (2013-2015). Since 2010, she has published and lectured extensively about the specific nature of Japanese modernism and avant-garde, which she considers an inherent part of art history, traditionally perceived as Western. Her publications on this topic include ” Believe in socialism!: Architect Bedrich Feuerstein and His Perspective on Modern Japan and Architecture (2016) and “Careless Shell “– Transnational exploration of Czechoslovak and Japanese Surrealisme (2015). In 2017, she designed a series about architect Antonin Raymond at the Tokyo Czech Center. The successful series led to the book Antonín Raymond in Japan (1948–1976), which she edited with architect K. Kitazawa.

In 2022, Dr. Capková curated an extensive exhibition, Bedrich Feuerstein, Architect: Prague-Paris-Tokyo and New York, at the National Technical Museum in Prague. There will be a few copies of the catalog available for sale at the event. Catalogs are also available online from the National Technical Museum: https://eshop.ntm.cz/z1511-bedrich-feuerstein-architect-prague-paris-tokyo

A recording of Dr. Capková’s 2021 SVU NY Zoom talk about another important Czech architect Antonin Raymond is available on SVU NY YouTube Channel.

This event is organized by the Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences (SVU), New York Chapter, with the support of the Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association (BBLA).

Preserving the Czech Language around the World