The D.I.V.O. Institute in Kolin, 2008-2016

After its flamboyant inauguration the D.I.V.O. Institute became the permanent base for an inhabited museum constituting a Gesamtkunstwerk, or all-encompassing artwork, an inspiring venue and melting pot of different artistic disciplines.

The upper floors provide space for workshops, offices, archives and guest rooms. The ground floor, basement and garden are used as a venue for countless art exchange projects, exhibitions, minor festivals, concerts and lectures, such as Funkeho Kolín—the biannual Festival of Contemporary Photography, concerts by the alternative promoter collective Holubnik, and the fortnight-long Czech/Finnish/Swiss symposium “Planting Ideas.”

Visits by numerous artists from other European countries and successful interaction with local artists, initiatives and concert organizers prove that the concept of a vibrant cultural institution can work in the provinces as well.