STYL ROZHOVOR
AKORD & POKLAD
Two Cultural Institutions,
One Society, Endless Possibilities
Ostrava's oldest cultural centre has stood in Ostrava-Zábřeh for sixty-two years and is known
as AKORD. The POKLAD cultural centre from Poruba is writing its new history after a general
reconstruction in the year of its sixtieth anniversary. What are their differences? What do they
have in common? Why do they share the same management? What interesting things are they
planning? We asked the company's managing director, Darina Daňková.
The Poklad Cultural and Community
Centre opened to the public last
August. How did visitors receive its
transformation after the general
reconstruction?
The responses from those who enter
Poklad have been overwhelmingly
positive. We are excited to see their
fascination with minimalism, clean lines
and modernity. I personally appreciate
the theatre room, which has retained its
original wooden ceiling and has great
acoustics. The ballroom catches the eye
with interesting light fixtures, the entrance
foyer illuminated by stained glass or
the bronze statue of a girl—these and other
artworks in Poklad are original. I could go
on listing the positives.
Are both cultural centres you manage
similar to each other? Or is Akord
completely different?
Akord is bigger, more colourful and
the premises are more varied. It may seem
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more conservative. We say it's actually
great for business clients this way: they
can choose what venue they need for
their event, what's close to their heart.
We can organise anything in either of our
buildings: balls, conferences, corporate
events, Christmas parties. There are also
restaurants and a small hotel in Akord.
In an interview for Czech Television, you
mentioned that visitors can go to Poklad
for more challenging and lively culture
and to Akord for the mainstream. Is this
idea being fulfilled?
Of course, it can't be 100% valid and
we wouldn't even want it to be. Great
theatres, concerts, events for children and
elderly people take place in both places,
although the specific programmes differ,
of course. Poklad is building a community
through projects such as InspiroHub
while Akord is known for established
events such as Zdeněk Chlopčík's dance
lessons.
How do the two institutions cooperate?
Isn't there any competition?
On the contrary, there is no competition,
but cooperation, synergy. A great team
that works with their heart and which we
are currently still hiring. Every one of us
is different and brings our own ideas and
visions, and that is the key to the good
functioning of such a company. We
complement each other, we develop,
we can learn from any disagreements.
Sometimes there are perhaps too many
ideas. We have to bring some of the
audience back to live culture after a twoyear hiatus.
Will the year 2022 be different in any
way for you? How?
This year will be a cultural turning point for
us in many aspects. I'm looking forward to
a charity ride through Ostrava and Bělský
les on illuminated bicycles. We have been
organising the 'Cycling fireflies' for six
years now, but this time we will also involve