1940s coal plant comes alive as Street Art Festival transforms unusual Olomouc landmark
An old hospital coal plant might seem an unlikely place for contemporary art. But this summer, the Czech Street Art Festival (SAFE) has transformed a functionalist industrial landmark into a space where street art and psychotherapy collide.
What does a 19th-century French poem have to do with graffiti? Visitors to Olomouc’s Street Art Festival (SAFE) can find the answer inside a functionalist coal facility designed in 1946 by Czech architect Bedřich Rozehnal. Once used as a coal plant for the neighbouring hospital, the preserved industrial building has been transformed into an ephemeral exhibition space by SOMA – a centre for contemporary art and psychotherapy.
One of the installations part of this year’s festival is a new work by Czech painter and graffiti artist Matěj Olmer, who drew inspiration from a French poem.
“The inspiration is coming from the poem by Charles Baudelaire, the very famous French poet. The name of the poem is The Carcass. I like it because it’s kind of a romantic poem but still very decadent and very dark as well. First I see the space where I’m going to paint and I feel the composition. I think I have to visualize the words, the parts of the poem and make it come alive in a visual form actually.”
Rather than illustrating the poem directly, Olmer translates it into an abstract visual language rooted in graffiti.
“Actually my graffiti is very specific in a way that I deconstruct letters into the paintings. I use the structure of letters as a scaffolding for my painting.”
For Olmer, graffiti and street art are often misunderstood art forms, SAFE is actively combating this by showing it is art for everybody.
“I mean the general public is persuaded about the fact that graffiti is simply vandalism without any meaning… And they only respect complex paintings, like figures or nature. Graffiti is mostly about the shape of letters, about the movement, about the energy, about the inner value in the letters and the words itself. I think the most important fact about street art is that it’s being displayed in a public space so everybody is related to it because everybody sees it in everyday life.”
That idea has guided the Street Art Festival since it was founded in 2007. Every summer, SAFE brings artists from the Czech Republic and abroad to create works in Olomouc and Hradec Králové, often in places where people might not expect to encounter contemporary art.
Festival founder and art historian Romana Junkerová says it all began as a small gathering of a community of graffiti artists.
“The street art festival began almost 20 years ago as a small community action called Live Graffiti Show, simply brought together graffiti writers from Olomouc and other cities.”
Since then, the festival has grown massively while remaining rooted in the local graffiti scene. While Olomouc has the Museum of Modern Art, boasting the third largest contemporary collection in Czechia, it presents a particular challenge for street art.
“Olomouc has several disadvantages for street art. It’s a somewhat conservative city. In public space, you’ll find an abundance of baroque monuments and statues, the architecture is mostly baroque or historicist - which makes most contemporary artistic intervention in public space difficult.”
Olomouc, located in the eastern province of Moravia, is home to a UNESCO World Heritage site – the Holy Trinity Column. Olomouc has the second-largest urban historic preservation district in the Czech Republic after Prague, which means that any construction work or art installation is strictly regulated. Rather than competing with the city’s historic character, the festival aims to become part of it.
“In the late 90s Olomouc was known for some street art in public spaces. If you look closely at the buildings around you, you might come across colourful balloons or black cats with glowing eyes. I’d say that in Olomouc, we’re trying to keep this historical thread alive rather than trying to make a name for ourselves.”
This year’s exhibition is hosted by SOMA, a project that combines contemporary art with psychotherapy in collaboration with University Hospital Olomouc and the Museum of Art Olomouc. Silvie Hajdíková, art curator at SOMA explains,
“SOMA is a center for contemporary art and psychotherapy created in collaboration with Hospital Olomouc and Museum of Art Olomouc. It is a space designed for sharing, interaction, learning and overcoming various forms of trauma through and with forms of contemporary art.”
The former coal plant itself reflects the project’s philosophy.
“This is a former coal facility that was designed in 1946 in a functionalist style by architect Bedřich Rozehnal. It has two floors. It has been preserved in an intact state. And we aim to keep the space as intact as possible while giving it a new dimension through events.”
The centre’s broader theme, From Birth to Death, can also be read through the building’s own history. The process of renewal also involved patients from the neighbouring hospital.
“Part of the SOMA team includes professionals from the hospital. I approached doctor Grambál to discuss which patients could take part. Together with eight patients, we dyed fabrics, which later became the canvas for Matej Olmer.”
For a few weeks, a building once designed to fuel hospital boilers now fuels conversations about poetry, graffiti, and healing. It demonstrates how the controversial art form can transform perspectives on life, architecture and what we consider art. SAFE has a myriad of projects on offer for the general public and continues to act as street art cultural preservationists for future years.
