Dvořák, dialogue, and the Czech Center’s new vision in New York

When Tereza Porybná talks about culture, she doesn’t mean a museum or a gallery — at least not in the traditional sense. For her, culture is a space. A space for dialogue, for connection, and yes, sometimes for surprise.

“I somehow found that the natural talent I have is to create space for these people and to bring them together and to be creative,” she says. “But in my own way — not necessarily through a specific art form.”

Now based in Manhattan, Porybná leads the Czech Center New York, where she’s rethinking what it means to present a national culture in a city like this one. She brings with her a wide international background: time spent as director of the Czech Center in London, experience with humanitarian and educational work in Addis Ababa for Člověk v tísni, and a foundation in visual anthropology from Charles University and Harvard.

But she’s also quick to point out that you never know where Czech culture will show up — even in a Harlem bar.

“I was sitting in a bar, at a bar in Harlem a couple of weeks ago and someone started talking to me and I said what I do,” she recalls. “It was a young guy and he said, oh, I love Dvořák! And this sort of hip hop looking type showed me his Spotify that was full of these Vodak compositions that he listens to when he goes to work.”

Moments like that — spontaneous, authentic — are what Porybná sees as the real work of cultural diplomacy: not polished representation, but real human connection.

At the Czech Center, her plans are ambitious. Upcoming projects include partnerships with the New Museum, a student exhibition from UMPRUM, and events that stretch beyond art to tackle pressing issues like climate change, mental health, and human rights. It’s a far cry from safe programming.

“I think what we can offer is continuity in our programming,” she says. “In the fact that we are a safe democratic space that is open to dialogue, that is open to cultural exchange. And we open it up to topics that maybe the US institutions might not be able to do due to all these funding cuts that are happening.”

Porybná is realistic about the challenges. But she’s equally clear on what success looks like. If the Czech Center becomes a space where people feel welcome to think, feel, and discuss openly — she’ll consider her mission fulfilled.