MIRO Gallery

MIRO Gallery was established in Berlin in 1987. It has been based at the Church of St. Rochus at Strahov Monastery since 1994, when it was relocated from Berlin to Prague. This unique location was acquired through the kind assistance of celebrated Czech singer Karel Gott, who provided gallery founder Miro Smolák with an interest-free loan of CZK 1 million to secure the space. Since then, more than a hundred exhibitions of the world classical modern and contemporary Czech and international art have taken place at St. Rochus. For example Picasso, Miró, Dalí, Chagall, Rodin, Warhol, Galanda, Camberlain, Tichý, Mucha, Fulla, Francis, Rodin, Tápies, Anderle, Magritte, Masson, Stella, Kornatovský, Jordan, Rickey, Elzmann, Vasarely, Clemente, Šípek, Stipl, Zlamal, Šárovec, Dokoupil, Hajek and many others. In 2001, the MIRO Gallery was named “the most popular commercial gallery in Prague” based on a public research of the Gallup Organization.

 

This house was built in 1677 by the Italian architect and builder Giovanni Domenico Orsi (creator of the Kolowrat Palace, the Theological Hall of the Strahov Library and many other buildings). The initiator of the building of the house for the “secular gatekeeper” was the then abbot of the Strahov Monastery, professor of philosophy and theology Jeroným Hirnhaim. From the mid-20th century, the theatre director Otto Haas and the actress Kateřina Macháčková lived in this house. Since 2012, the legendary Czech singer Karel Gott, who in 1993 was one of the founders of the MIRO Gallery, based at the Church of St. Roch until 2020, has been painting his pictures here. In 2011, the house became the home of the MIRO Gallery and the International TREBBIA Awards.

 

MIRO Gallery also holds the International Trebbia Awards to support culture and artistic activity. Commissioned by the Trebbia Foundation, an International Nominating Committee composed of prominent figures from several different European countries selects the laureates from a list of proposed candidates.

 

The Miroton – Running for Art race has also helped raise awareness about MIRO Gallery among the general public. The Miroton is co-organised by Prague International Marathon.