40 Years On, Stories of Charter 77 Members Can Be Heard Once Again

Forty years after the signing of Charter 77, we look back at the life stories of individual dissidents as well as the overall atmosphere of the revolutionary era. The Story of Charter 77 – its origins, activity and end – is told through the life of poet, art historian and patron of the underground Ivan Martin Jirous, also known by his nickname Magor (Madman). Also featured are the lives of Václav Havel, Jan Poatočka and Jaroslav Seifert.

The exhibition includes written documents, samizdats and photographs, as well as artworks by Jiří Kolář, Otakar Slavík, Jan Šafránek and Olga Karlíková. In particular, the images that capture the atmosphere of joyful determination that prevailed among Charta members take us straight back to the events of the Czechoslovak unofficial culture of the 70s and 80s.

Charta Story: The Story of Charter 77 can be viewed from 14 March 2017 until 13 January 2019 in Salm Palace, daily except Mondays from 10 am to 6 pm. The exhibition is supported by The Pudil Family Foundation.

More information from the Naional Gallery in Prague

Ondřej Němec - Third festival of the second culture, Hrádeček, 1. 10. 1977, from left Vratislav „Vráťa“ Brabenec, Jiří „Kába“ Kabeš, Ivan M. Jirous and Václav Havel

Otakar Slavík, 1978, oil on canvas, 100 x 80 cm, Gallery Bahbouch

Jaroslav Kukal - At the occasion of Olga Havlová's birthday, her play 'Ascent to Říp' was played for the first time, Hrádeček, 1985

Ondřej Němec - The funural of professor Jan Patočka at the Břevnov cemetery became an anti-communist manifestation, Pavel Landovský kneeling by the grave, 16. 3. 1977

Jaroslav Kukal - Václav Havel and his wife Olga, Hrádeček, 1986

Jan Šafránek - Collector of Old Paper, 1986, oil on canvas, 56 x 72 cm, the authors's collection

Jaroslav Seifert at his desk, 1980 (photographer: Jiří Bednář, Libri prohibiti)

The Pudil Family Foundation is an open non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the understanding and appreciation of Czech and international modern and contemporary art through the realization of innovative exhibitions, research and educational projects.

For more information regarding the Foundation and our projects, visit www.pudilfamilyfoundation.org.