The National Gallery in Prague (NGP) wants to significantly reduce acquisitions and digitization of collection items, and from the investments the construction of a depository in Jinonice and is preparing a plan to transform the Trade Fair Palace. Both events have long been prepared by the previous management of the gallery, Alicja Knastoá has been leading it since the beginning of this year.
“In 2026, we want to exceed the limit of millions of visitors a year. We can work on this not only thanks to the attractive exhibition plan, but above all work with the audience. The strategic direction that the institution should take is based on the analysis prepared in the external survey, which shows what our visitors appreciate, but also places where there is potential for development, “said Knastová.
According to NGP annual reports, 282,812 people visited the gallery last year. However, the numbers were affected by the pandemic, the gallery was closed to the public for 105 days. The most visited building was the Trade Fair Palace with 160,615 guests. The most visited exhibition was Rembrandt: Portrait of a Man with an average daily attendance of 649 people, while a total of 26,629 people saw the exhibition.
In 2019, the NGP facilities were visited by 663,492 people, the most visited was also the Trade Fair Palace with 231,271 spectators, the Kinský Palace was visited by 231,271 people. A year earlier, the total attendance of NGP was 711,928 people and in 2017 it was 691,285 people.
Knastová says that her goal is to open the gallery to those groups of visitors who would not normally visit the gallery, and to convey the content of the exhibitions in other forms than regular tours. The gallery should be more open to groups of people with various types of disadvantages, such as online lectures translated into sign language, cooperation with teachers of special schools for deaf connections with the culture of this community. She also stated that women go to the gallery more, so it is necessary to attract men.