We cordially invite you to the opening of the exhibition, the main theme of which is the Maypole tradition. It focuses on the period after the Second World War, when majáles took on distinctly political connotations. These student festivals reflected the nature and changes of political regimes, the mood of society and the degree of emancipation of the student movement, which played an important role in many historical ruptures.
The exhibition presents not only the famous majáles in 1956 and 1965 (Allen Ginsberg became the king of the majáles), which had a distinctly protest character, but also deals with post-war majáles, student festivals during the Prague Spring and the revival of the majáles tradition after 1989. Using previously unpublished photographs and documents, he also describes the unofficial majales on Prague's Petřín Hill, which in 1962-1967 turned into riots and in some years also into street demonstrations.
The texts of the exhibition are in Czech and English, as well as the published catalogue, which will be available from 29 April 2022 in the shop of the Museum Kampa - Jan and Meda Mládek Foundation, which prepared the exhibition together with the Museum of Memory of the XXth Century. The main author of the exhibition is historian Petr Blažek.
The organisers of the exhibition have prepared several accompanying events. The opening of the exhibition will take place on 29 April 2022 at 7 pm in Kampa Park. On 1 May 2022 at 4 pm, a historical walk from Kampa Park to the statue of Karel Hynek Mácha will take place. On 9 May 2022 and 15 June 2022, two discussions will take place at the Werich Villa, the first on Allen Ginsberg (guests will be Josef Rauvolf and František Stárek) and the second on the first maniacs in communist Czechoslovakia (guests will be Filip Pospíšil and Ladislav Kudrna). The discussions will be moderated by Petr Blažek.