The Velvet Bridge is a monumental mural by the world-renowned Czech illustrator Petr Sís. Through his characteristic illustrations, it captures the arches of Czech history and the events that Czechs lived through on their path to freedom and the Velvet Revolution of 1989.
The work connects history, the author's personal perspective, and the symbolism of the bridge as a path between the past and the present. Over a span of more than 70 meters, the individual images come together into a single story of the Czech journey towards freedom, seen through the eyes of one of the world's best illustrators.
Petr Sís is a world-renowned Czech illustrator, writer, graphic artist, and animated filmmaker. He was born in 1949 in Brno, grew up in Prague's Malá Strana, and has been living and working in the United States since the 1980s. His work ranges from author's books and illustrations to animated films and monumental public art projects.
His works can be found all over the world – from a mosaic in the New York subway to large-format tapestries at airports in Prague, Dublin, and Cape Town. He has received numerous prestigious international awards for his work, including the Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration.
One of the long-term themes of his work is freedom – its pursuit, loss, and its meaning. In his works, he repeatedly returns to the experience of life behind the Iron Curtain and the question of personal freedom.
The Velvet Bridge could have been created thanks to the people who believed in its idea and helped turn it into reality. Thank you to everyone who supported the project and became a part of its story.
The work was created thanks to the generous financial
support of the donors:
Václav Dejčmar, Eduard Kučera, Pavel Baudiš, Pavel Bouška, Petr Cichoň, Martin Hájek, Milan Kratina, Zdeněk Lorenc, David Koláček, Patrik Kreysa, Radek Pokorný, Jakub Petržela, Kvido Štěpánek, Ondřej Tomek and Terezie Täubelová, Martin Vohánka, Martin Wichterle, Miroslav Uďan.
Special thanks to:
Jiří Řezák, Leoš Válka, Aneta Disman, and Eva Kozarová.
The work was created in cooperation with and with the support of the Prague City Hall and the Prague 1 Town Hall.
