Francesca von Habsburg, founder of Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary (TBA21) has signed a cooperation agreement with Jiří Fajt, general director of the National Gallery in Prague, whereby for a period of five years, starting in June 2018, a selection of the most representative pieces from the TBA21 collection will be loaned to the Salm Palace, one of several locations of the National Gallery.

A series of large installations by top international artists will also be commissioned, and installed at the Grand Hall of the Trade Fair Palace.

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“The collaboration with TBA21 will further enhance the transformation that we are working on to reinvigorate the National Gallery in Prague,” said Fajt in a statement.

“This represents to [TBA21 chief curator] Daniela Zyman and myself undeniable recognition for 15 years of commitment and hard work towards developing a very personal style of collecting, commissioning and presenting art that defies traditional categorization,” added von Habsburg.

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Daniel Herman, the Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic, said: “I am very proud of this cooperation between the National Gallery and TBA21. In the times we live in we should build bridges between countries and nations. Culture can unify and bring people together and I am sure this project will do so.”

Details of the program and commissions will be announced in a press conference in the Grand Hall of the Trade Fair Palace, home of the city’s collection of Modern and contemporary art, on March 16, 2017.

With TBA21, von Habsburg is continuing the patronage and collecting efforts of three generations of art collectors of the Thyssen family. Her father, Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen, founded the renowned Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid.

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The headquarters of TBA21 are in Vienna, from where it conducts a large-scale international program that spans from India to the USA, and from Iceland to Colombia, featuring artists including Olafur Eliasson, Janet Cardiff, Ernesto Neto, Ai Weiwei, and Ragnar Kjartansson.