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