The 19th edition of the Art in the City festival once again enters the South Bohemian towns with its main theme: Fragility. Fragility calls for care, attention, caution and consideration in a world where society is increasingly divided and the pressure to maximise profit disrupts delicate balances.

The fragility of ecosystems, relationships, democracy, but also of materials and products – these are all subjects of this year’s edition. At the same time, they are challenges that remind us that some things and systems require constant care. In a consumer world focused on the new, the better and the easily replaceable, we have often forgotten to tend to what we ourselves, our ancestors or our societies have built and created. The question remains whether our contemporary society is capable of creating values that future generations will hold in esteem, or whether it can correct the mistakes of previous generations and not overwhelm the world with banality, superficiality, disrespect and waste.

The Art in the City 2026 festival poses these questions in the public space – literally. Works in the streets, parks and on the outskirts of the towns of the South Bohemian Region are tasked with giving form to what is often invisible or overlooked. 14 artists present their works here.

Running alongside the outdoor installations is an accompanying exhibition of glass sculptures by SIN Studio at the Rabenštejnská Gallery. Glass serves here as a direct metaphor – it is beautiful, transparent, solid, and yet so fragile and easily broken. The sculptural installations in the streets then freely engage with fragility by giving form to intangible and fragile bonds, or conversely work with materials as a visual expression.

Fragility here is not just a theme, but also a challenge: towards a more conscious existence, towards caring for what we have, towards the courage to name what is falling apart, and at the same time towards the hope that tenderness and attention can be just as powerful as force and noise.

Enjoy the summer in the city, look around you and take care of things, systems and one another.

Michal Trpák, sculptor and festival initiator