Mutual Inspirations Festival
The Mutual Inspirations Festival (MIF) is an annual initiative spearheaded by the Embassy of the Czech Republic, focusing on the mutual inspirations between Czech and American cultures and featuring each year an extraordinary Czech personality who has greatly influenced and inspired others through his or her work.
Over the years, the festival has featured former president Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (2010), classical music legend Antonín Dvořák (2011), film director Miloš Forman (2012), former president Václav Havel (2013), writer Franz Kakfa (2014), author Karel Čapek (2015), tennis legend Martina Navratilova (2016), father of modern-day genetics Gregor Mendel (2017), Czech Independence (2018), singer Marta Kubišová (2019), father of modern education John Amos Comenius (2020), decorated Olympian Věra čáslavská (2021), genius playwrights Voskovec & Werich (2022). and racing legend Eliška Junková (2023).
The festival began as a pilot project of the Embassy of the Czech Republic in 2010, and branched out to the local DC community a year later. It serves as a platform for bringing together communities centered in Washington, DC.
The festival takes place at cultural, educational, and community centers through a variety of forms, such as music, art, film, science, sport, and literature. Through the celebration of the work of many famous personalities and the creations of individuals they in turn influenced, the festival aims to depict this long tradition of transatlantic inspiration and interpretation as well as to foster new works.
Now in its 15th year, the Mutual Inspirations Festival 2024 celebrates the life and work of Czech composer Bedřich Smetana. This year marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of the classical composer and 140th anniversary of his death. Running from September – November 2024, the festival brings inspiring events to the Washington, DC community and beyond.
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