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Kafka 100 - Židovské muzeum v Praze
“Kafka100” is a year-long project of the Jewish Museum in Prague to mark the centenary of the death of Franz Kafka. It is a commemoration of the life and work of this world-renowned writer. We are pleased to invite you to this diverse cultural event for people of all ages.

Kafka100

22. 9. 2024 Guided tour with a curator – exhibition Oded Ezer: The Samsa Enigma

On Sunday, September 22, the curator of the Oded Ezer´s exhibition “The Samsa Enigma” and our chief curator Michaela Sidenberg prepared a unique guided tour. Starts in the Robert Guttmann Gallery at 4:00 p.m., entrance fee 100 CZK,

“While the magic backdrop of Prague´s dark alleys fed an adolescent fascination with mystery, the story of Gregor Samsa impacted readers on a more intimate level…”

 

25. 7. 2024

26. 6. 2024 Guided tour with a curator – exhibition Oded Ezer: The Samsa Enigma

On Wednesday, June 26, the curator of the Oded Ezer´s exhibition “The Samsa Enigma” and our chief curator Michaela Sidenberg prepared a unique guided tour. Starts in the Robert Guttmann Gallery at 6:00 p.m., entrance fee 100 CZK, 

“While the magic backdrop of Prague´s dark alleys fed an adolescent fascination with mystery, the story of Gregor Samsa impacted readers on a more intimate level…”

17. 6. 2024

“TRANSATLANTIC KAFKA”: THE JEWISH MUSEUM IN PRAGUE IS PREPARING A FOUR-DAY EVENT FULL OF DISCUSSIONS AND TALKS THAT WILL HIGHLIGHT AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVES ON THE WORK OF FRANZ KAFKA

From June 17 to 20, the Jewish Museum in Prague will be inviting both local and international visitors to a series of seven talks and discussions centered around the ideas of Franz Kafka in a present-day context. Simultaneous interpreting will be provided. This project will bring together prominent writers, academics, and artists from the United States and Europe to provide their various perspectives on the work of Franz Kafka and on his relationship to love, friendship, and Jewishness.

13. 6. 2024

event Calendar

Exhibition
The Israeli typographer Oded Ezer will be showcasing his covers for the 24 unpublished books of Gregor Samsa. However, it is not entirely clear whether these books or their alleged author, Gregor Samsa, ever existed…
June 4 – September 30, 2024, Robert Guttmann Gallery, U staré školy 153/3
Game
“In Search of Odradek” is based on one of Kafka’s short stories. It is an outdoor game that involves looking for a mythical creature – while getting to know the Prague Jewish Quarter as it originally looked before its urban renewal.
Throughout the year, starting on April 1, 2024. A game to be played in the streets of the Prague Jewish Quarter
Lecture
The writer and journalist Elif Batuman on the relationship between Franz Kafka and Max Brod and on Brod’s role in preserving and interpreting Kafka’s work.
June 18, 2024, Maisel Synagogue, Prague, 5 p.m.

Historical records

June –  Kafka enjoys a beer in the heat

A hundred years ago, on June 2, 1924, Franz Kafka wrote the following in a deathbed letter to his parents: “… And then ‘a good glass of beer’ together, as you write, from which I infer that Father doesn’t think much of this year’s wine, and I agree with him as regards the beer. By the way, in the heat, I often recall us regularly drinking beer together, many years ago, when Father would take me to the Civilian Swimming Pool.” By this time, however, Kafka was suffering from laryngeal tuberculosis, which caused great pain whenever he tried to swallow. He apparently found some relief taking sips of beer.

June – The Centenary of the Death of Franz Kafka

“My life consists, and has basically always consisted, of attempts at writing, mostly unsuccessful. But if I didn’t write, I’d already be flat on the floor, ready to be swept out with garbage.”

June the 3rd 2024 marks 100 years since the passing of Franz Kafka, the celebrated Prague German Jewish writer. He died aged 40 in a sanatorium in Kierling near Vienna on June 3, 1924. Kafka regarded books as a narcotic and non-writing writers as monsters courting insanity. He posthumously achieved worldwide fame and literally became the ‘cultural brand’ of the Czech Republic.

May – Kafka awkwardly woos Milena Jesenska

Milena Jesenská was the first translator of Kafka’s works into Czech and was to become one of the central female figures in his life. At the end of April 1920, her translation of Kafka’s short story “The Stoker” appeared in the Prague literary magazine Kmen [The Stem], a copy of which was sent to Kafka in May. Wishing to remain in written contact with Milena, he later wrote the following: “I wanted to hear from you and not the all-too-familiar voice from the old grave… In any case, the story is abysmally bad, which I could prove to you, dear Frau Milena, with unparalleled ease… Naturally the fact that you like the story gives it some value, although it also makes my view of the world a little dimmer.”

 

Projects

Transatlantic Kafka

In the year of the centenary of Franz Kafka’s death, the Transatlantic Kafka project will present innovative, inspiring, and topical discussions focusing on this important writer in the context of contemporary society. In June 2024, the project will bring together prominent writers, academics, and artists from the US and Europe to create a space for the intersection of American and European perspectives on Kafka’s work. Through this meeting, we aim to stimulate enriching cultural dialogue and the exchange of ideas, helping to keep Franz Kafka’s legacy alive for current and future generations.
17. 6. 2024 - 20. 6. 2024

Oded Ezer: The Samsa Enigma

A June 1916 edition of the Prager Tagblatt newspaper contained a delirious account of Gregor Samsa’s re-metamorphosis in a trash heap behind the city walls. Inspired by The Metamorphosis, it was written by Karl Brand, an admirer of Kafka’s work. This is illustrative of the immediate impact that Kafka’s story had on the imagination of readers and authors alike – including the author featured in Oded Ezer’s exhibition The Samsa Enigma.
4. 6. 2024 - 30. 9. 2024

EXHIBITION “THROUGH THE EYES OF FRANZ KAFKA: BETWEEN IMAGE AND LANGUAGE” (PARTNER PROJECT)

In June, the West Bohemian Gallery in Pilsen will be showcasing works that reflect the writer Franz Kafka’s relationship to the visual arts and visual culture of his time. This exhibition  (June 5 – October 28, 2024, venue: Masné krámy / Meat Market Exhibition Hall) will explore Kafka’s attitude towards his own drawings and towards the paintings made by his friends.
5. 6. 2024 - 28. 10. 2024