Čičmianske Domy: The Houses of Čičmany Village opens Saturday, February 4,

with special media preview on Friday, February 3

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (February 1, 2017) –Jaroslav Horečný, photographer, and Milan Mazúr, curator and the director of the Považská Gallery of Art, have traveled from Slovakia this week to the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library (NCSML) to install their exhibit, Čičmianske Domy: The Houses of Čičmany Village. Opening this Saturday, February 4, the exhibit presents Horečný’s unique photo collection of rural houses covered with unusual folk decor located in a small village called Čičmany, in the Žilina region of northern Slovakia. The houses in the village have been decorated with traditional Slovak folk art in this way for two centuries. Horečný, Žilina native and one of the founders of the Slovak progressive art photogroup Generation ´74, focuses on enlarged details of the geometric decorations, in contrast to other photographers’ interpretations. This exhibit has been presented in London, Prague and Washington D.C. before making its way to Cedar Rapids.

Students from Metro High School’s STEAM Academy will visit on Friday morning at 9:30 am to preview the exhibit and meet with the visiting guests. In a separate year-long collaboration with the NCSML, Metro students will develop a train car diorama component for the WWI Czech and Slovak Legions exhibit, Guts & Glory, slated to open in the spring of 2018. The NCSML invites members of the media to this special preview for an opportunity to view the final stages of the installation. Interviews may be arranged upon request.

Following its time at the NCSML, the exhibit will travel on to the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Ottawa, Canada. The Lead Sponsor for the exhibit Čičmianske Domy: The Houses of Čičmany Village at the NCSML is Western Fraternal Life. More information is at https://ncsml.org/exhibits/cicmianske-domy/.