CLOSED › April 17, 2023 – September 28, 2023

After eleven years at Příhrádek, GAMPA is now saying goodbye to its exhibition haven near the Pardubice Castle.

From this September on, please look for us in the area of the reconstructed Automatic Mills in the neighbourhood of the Gočár Gallery, as well as the two new institutions – Automatic Mills Foundation and Sféra.

Our new era in the area of the Automatic Mills will be started with the Mill Island exhibition project, which we will opened to public during the grand opening on September 29 to October 1, 2023.

Looking forward to seeing you in the new GAMPA!

AUTOMATIC MILLS GRAND OPENING | September 29 – October 1, 2023

The Winternitz Automatic Mills are a national heritage site, one of the first realisations of the renowned architect Josef Gočár. He designed this monumental mill factory on the banks of the Chrudimka River in 1909 for the Winternitz brothers, and in 1924, he added a grain silo to the complex.

The Automatic Mills were in operation for over a hundreed years, until 2013. Mariana Smetanová and Lukáš Smetana first initiated a transformation of the mill complex brownfield in 2016. In 2019, their activities were formalised under their family foundation, the Automatic Mills Foundation, whose aim is to transform the site into a modern cultural and social city district. The Automatic Mills are a unique example of collaboration between the public, private, and non-profit sector.

Currently participating in the transformation of the complex and surrounding public spaces are the Pardubice Region (Gočár Gallery) and Pardubice City Hall (GAMPA; Sféra). Following the first stage of renovations (2019–2023), the public will have access to four buildings, a park adjacent to the central mill building, and a new inner square. These structures were all designed by leading Czech architecture studios: Transat architekti (Gočár Gallery), Šépka architekti (Sféra, GAMPA, and public spaces), and Prokš Přikryl architekti (AM Foundation / Silo).

In the second stage of construction (2023–2026), three new housing and commercial buildings will be added, including local amenities, designed by Zette ateliér under the leadership of architect Zdeněk Balík, who was there with the Smetanas at the very beginning of the idea of revitalising the brownfield. 

WHO ARE THE AUTOMATIC MILLS?

AUTOMATIC MILLS FOUNDATION

The Foundation initiated the conversion of the brownfield to a modern cultural and social city district. Now, it acts as the coordinator of the Automatic Mills brand. Its headquarters is a former grain silo that serves as a starting point for tours, a meeting point, facilities, and the heart of the entire complex. The Foundation acts as a curator for events in the public spaces of the compound, focusing on overlaps between architecture and art. The silo and its funnels feature a tailor-made permanent exhibition. The highest floor of the silo contains a multi-purpose performance hall and a viewing terrace. On the ground floor, the Foundation has provided spaces for the Pardubice Tourist Information Centre, which serves as an information point for the entire site.

GOČÁR GALLERY

The Pardubice Region has transformed the former central building of the mills into the modern Gočár Gallery, the new home of its art collecting institution. In addition to an extensive collection of Czech visual art, there are also relics of the previous life of the mills. The exhibition spaces are complemented by an educational studio, a lecture hall, a library, a viewing terrace, and a gallery café. Along with its other building, Dům U Jonáše, the Gočár Gallery thus represents an exhibition platform with educational projects and accompanying programmes for schools and the general public.

GAMPA

GAMPA is a city gallery for contemporary art with an emphasis on public space. It shares with Sféra a striking new building on the groundplan of the former flour storehouses. The exhibition spaces are on the ground floor, as are two apartments for residencies. Along with Divadlo 29, GAMPA is part of the Centre for Open Culture – a city-funded organisation whose aim is to present and support contemporary visual and performative art in Pardubice.

SFÉRA

This innovative education centre offers top-class hand-craft and technological workshops, classrooms for the general public, and a hall with didactic tools for toddlers. At the centre of the space is a piece of special projection technology, Science on Sphere. It is situated in the upper floors of a futuristic object above the GAMPA exhibition spaces. Sféra shapes modern knowledge and supports dialogue among generations. Its ambition is to awaken in visitors an enthusiasm for polytechnic disciplines, inspiring their creativity and allowing them to spend their time meaningfully – whilst still being entertained – on any day of the week.