PLATO Ostrava is a institution of the City of Ostrava (Czech Republic), founded in July 2016.

The mission of PLATO Ostrava is to provide a wide spectrum of information on contemporary art and its subjects, as well as to enhance the discussion on the character, impact, forms and possibilities of contemporary art.

The activities of PLATO Ostrava, grounded in natural connections with the international scene, represent various approaches of significant actors in Czech and international visual arts. PLATO Ostrava gets audiences and the public acquainted with the theoretical background of the artworks’ perception and understanding in relation to the conditions of their origin and their way to the viewers. It communicates contemporary visual art from the point of view of its interdisciplinarity, social functions and within the context of other types of art.

The final seat of PLATO Ostrava will be, in several years’ perspective, the renovated municipal slaughterhouse, a monument of late 19th century architecture in the centre of Ostrava. Until then, it will use the former Bauhaus hobby-market in the slaughterhouse immediate vicinity. Before the basic refurbishment of the Bauhaus is done, PLATO Ostrava will perform its functions and activities as an “office for the arts” on Českobratrská Street 1888/14.

The activity of PLATO Ostrava was preceded by a three-year project of Ostrava City Gallery / Plato – platform (for contemporary art) Ostrava, completed as of 31 December, 2016. Its artistic and executive manager was Marek Pokorný, who has become the director of PLATO Ostrava.

PLATO 2013–2016: Exhibitions

People

Programme

Communication

Educational programmes for schools

Production and operation