Accompanying Program of Malá inventura 2025
The accompanying program of Malá inventura 2025 expanded the festival’s theme of “suspicion” beyond the framework of individual performances and opened the festival as a space for encounters, sharing, and collective discovery. It created situations for audiences, children, artists, and professionals from the Czech Republic and abroad — ranging from playful and participatory formats to discussions, expert meetings, and networking activities that help connect the contemporary Czech scene with the wider cultural environment. Alongside the main program, a second, equally important festival layer emerged: less formal, more open, and often more immediate.
The public program opened the festival to more playful and accessible formats. A strong burst of energy came with the composed program Y: ROAAARRRRR, which also included Headbanger. Máscara offered a visual and bodily transformation, while the interactive Věštění / Fortune Telling worked with intuition, chance, and a performative situation. The environmentally tuned Hvozdění / Foresting created a poetic landscape of light, and Playrooms for children made the festival accessible to families and the youngest visitors.
The discussion strand formed an important part of this year’s edition. Malá inventura 2025 Discussions, held after selected performances, created space for immediate reflection between audiences, artists, and the festival dramaturgs. A specific format was offered by Invisible Discussions, which used original prompt cards to open up intimate, playful, and critical ways of letting the performance resonate after it had ended. The dance and performance line of the festival was further developed through the public debate Dancing on the Edge: Challenging Power Through Movement, dedicated to the body, movement, power, and women’s creative presence.
The professional part of the accompanying program focused on encounters, knowledge-sharing, and the development of new collaborations. The festival week opened with the Festival Kick-off, which created the first shared moment for guests, artists, and promoters. It was followed by the networking evening Sbal ho/ji/to! / Pitch It!, where artists, producers, cultural managers, and promoters met in a fast-paced and open format. International and Czech guests could take part in Meet the Guests I. and Meet the Guests II., which supported direct contact between the Czech scene and professionals from abroad. Guided Tours, commented visits to festival venues and their backstage environments, offered a better orientation in Prague’s cultural landscape.
An important expert axis was formed by Dramaturgical Inventory I. and Dramaturgical Inventory II., which focused on contemporary dramaturgical practice, professional roles, and intersections between institutions, the independent scene, festivals, and regional centres. ART-IN-RES Symposium focused on artistic residencies and their future, opening a discussion on the sustainability of residency programs, their funding, and their role in cultural infrastructure.
The accompanying program thus expanded the festival into a space where, alongside performances, people could also talk, meet, share, experiment, and build new relationships.
