From Exhibition Grounds to the City’s Living Heart Černá Louka Through the Eyes of Jan Šumbera
58 ǀ POSITIV 4/2025
LÍDR
From Exhibion Grounds
to the City’s Living Heart
Černá Louka Through the Eyes of Jan Šumbera
Černá louka is coming to life as an urban space for leisure, culture and even assistance in mes
of crisis. Under the leadership of Jan Šumbera, Managing Director of Černá louka, the site has
been transformed into a mul-purpose centre built on openness and exible use, and it is gradually
earning a new, posive image. In the interview, he takes stock of the key moments of his tenure,
talks about his vision for the future, and shares what he is personally looking forward to most.
You have been leading Černá louka s.r.o. since 2018.
How would you describe the brand’s identity today?
What sets it apart from the period before your
tenure?
When I first arrived, I often sensed that people viewed
us with a certain degree of disdain. Over time, however,
this changed, and today I am convinced that Černá
louka is regaining its reputation – not only in Ostrava,
but across the entire Czech Republic. We are returning
to the site’s original genius loci, we have torn down
the imaginary fences, and I am personally very pleased
that Černá louka is coming back to life as a public
space where people spend their free time.
Which moments do you consider the key milestones
of your tenure so far?
A fundamental – and at the same time difficult –
moment was the very decision to embark on the
merger of two seemingly unrelated companies. That
was in 2018, and not long after the COVID pandemic
came. What initially looked like a potentially devastating
blow for both the destination agency and the exhibition
business in Ostrava ultimately tested us in an entirely
different way: within a few days we built a large-capacity
vaccination centre in Černá louka. Just as it seemed
the covid crisis was subsiding, Russia launched its
aggression against Ukraine. At that point, we converted
the vaccination centre into a refugee assistance centre
in the span of two days. These experiences then proved
invaluable during last year’s floods, when we rapidly set
up an evacuation centre. In doing so, we confirmed not
only the strengths of Černá louka’s facilities, but also our
ability to respond to the needs of Ostrava’s residents
as well as wider regional challenges.
If I leave aside these “catastrophic milestones”, another
very important step was the change of the company’s
name and overall visibility, which – in my view – turned
out extremely well. Also significant was the shift
in how we approach exhibition events and the gradual
revitalisation of the Černá louka grounds. Another major
milestone was taking over the organisation of Ostrava
Christmas. It is essentially a month-long “festival” that
hides an enormous amount of effort and work behind
the scenes.
You are striving to make Černá louka a place not only
for events, but also for everyday life. What has already
changed, and what are your next plans?
We are working to change the way events are
organised – we want to move towards the experiences
and a more “festival-like” approach. A good example
is our Book Festival. We are continuously improving
the interiors of the exhibition halls, we have fully
renovated the congress centre, and at the same time
we have focused on the outdoor public space. Instead
of an unsightly car park next to the Puppet Theatre,
a pedestrian zone and park have been created.
Both our staff and our visitors are pleased with even
the small things, such as partially shading the children’s
playground and replacing the furniture in the Černá
louka park.
A very popular spot in our area today is the Pavilon –
an outdoor refreshment venue operating from spring
to autumn. We also played an active role in the creation
of the MAPPA urban study, where we incorporated our
vision of what Černá louka should look like in 10–15
years. Our aim is to gradually bring this vision to life.
We are working to change the way
events are organised – we want to move
towards the experiences and a more
“fesval-like” approach.