Dear friends of Czech culture,
June at the Czech Centre London brings a vibrant programme of exhibitions and events celebrating photography, architecture and contemporary culture. This month, we are especially delighted to present Love You From Prague, a major new exhibition by Robert Vano, showcasing more than fifty works spanning fashion photography, portraits and atmospheric images of Prague.
We also invite you to explore our current exhibitions Baťa’s Architecture of Belonging and The Queen and The Playwright. Alongside these, Designed to Belong offers a London Festival of Architecture talk exploring modernism, industry and community.
We look forward to welcoming you throughout the month.
Your Czech Centre Team
Cover image: Collage of photographs by Robert Vano
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Robert Vano: Love You From Prague
26 June - 4 September 2026 / Vitrinka Gallery, Bouda Gallery & Public space outside of the Czech Embassy, London W8
Private View: Thursday 25 June 2026, 6.30-8.30pm
A new exhibition by celebrated photographer Robert Vano presents over fifty works spanning fashion photography, male portraits, polaroids and atmospheric images of Prague. Love You from Prague traces Vano’s remarkable journey from émigré beginnings to becoming one of the best-known Czech-Slovak photographers. More info
Photo: Robert Vano: Dimtrij with his boyfriend, Paris, 1989
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Artist Talk with Robert Vano
Wednesday 24 June 2026, 7 pm / Czech Embassy Cinema, London W8
Join internationally acclaimed photographer Robert Vano for a special artist talk exploring his remarkable career across New York, Paris, Milan and Prague. From exile after 1967 to working with Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, Vano reflects on photography, artistic inspirations and iconic collaborations. More info
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The Queen and the Playwright: A Royal Visit at the Prague Castle
Till 12 June 2026 / Public space outside of the Czech Embassy, London W8
Open 24/7
Marking 30 years since Queen Elizabeth II’s 1996 visit, this exhibition presents Alan Pajer’s photographs capturing historic encounters with Václav Havel, reflecting diplomacy, symbolism and renewed ties between Britain and a newly free Czech Republic. More info
Photo: © Alan Pajer
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Desire to Create: Baťa’s Architecture of Belonging
Till 12 June 2026 / Vitrínka Gallery, Czech Centre London, W8
Open Tue-Fri, 10am-5pm, Thu 11 June - 10am-7pm
Only a few weeks left to see Desire to Create, an exhibition marking the 150th anniversary of Tomáš Baťa’s birth. Through architectural drawings, historic photographs and original artefacts, it explores how Baťa used architecture to shape community, everyday life and a sense of belonging — with a special focus on East Tilbury. More info
Photo: Bata Swimming Pool in East Tilbury, © Bata Heritage Centre
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Designed to Belong: Modernism, Industry and Community
Thursday 11 June 2026, 7pm / Czech Centre at the Czech Embassy Cinema, London W8
How does architecture shape belonging? This panel explores the Bata village at East Tilbury, where modernist ideals, industry and planning created a unique community, connecting its legacy to today’s debates on development, identity and place-making. More info
Photo: Bata development in East Tilbury, © Bata Heritage Centre
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Josef Koudelka at Tate Modern
Till 5 July 2026 / Tate Modern, London SE1
This powerful exhibition of Josef Koudelka’s work, ending soon, explores exile, freedom and identity through iconic photographs capturing Soviet-occupied Prague, displaced communities and everyday life across 20th-century Europe with striking poetic intensity. More info
Josef Koudelka, On 22 and 23 August, Wenceslas Square was Cleared of People, August 1968 1968, printed 1970s. Tate. © Josef Koudelka / MAGNUM Photos, Courtesy of the Josef Koudelka Foundation.
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Josef Koudelka: Diaries
Published by Aperture, 2026
Josef Koudelka’s newly published diaries offer a powerful insight into the life and mind of one of the postwar era’s greatest photographers. Chronicling exile, travel and artistic struggle, the book reveals Koudelka’s uncompromising vision, documenting communities on society’s margins across Europe and beyond. More info
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Edita Liessner: Short Stories on a Long Theme
Published by The Lost Light Recordings, 2026
Czech photographer Edita Liessner’s Short Stories on a Long Theme explores loneliness, urban isolation and the need for connection. Combining colourful still-lifes with documentary photography, the series transforms everyday moments, shadows and reflections into poetic images about belonging and contemporary city life. More info
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MONUMENT: An Interactive One-Woman Comedy Show
Tuesday 21 July 2026, 7pm / Czech Embassy Cinema, London W8
A politically urgent and defiantly funny interactive performance blending rap, live comedy and physical theatre. Inspired by Prague’s Stalin Monument and contemporary migrant labour, Polish-British artist Margot Przymierska invites audiences to help build a collective theatrical experience exploring power, identity and belonging. More info
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