Václav Havel – Photographs by Bohdan Holomíček

5 October 2026 marks the 90th birthday of Václav Havel. The nEUROPA Gallery, run by Kultur Aktiv e.V., is marking this anniversary with an exhibition and a programme of events to commemorate this pioneer of democracy and human rights in East Central Europe, a staunch European who, as President, also vehemently advocated for German-Czech reconciliation.

The photographer Bohdan Holomíček (born 1943) met Václav Havel on 4 May 1975 in Hrádeček and photographed him there for the first time. Havel liked the photographs, and a friendship developed, along with a deep bond of trust between Bohdan Holomíček, Václav Havel and his wife Olga. Holomíček thus became the visual chronicler of Havel’s activities, particularly at his private residence in Hrádeček at the foot of the Krkonoše Mountains. There, he witnessed and documented Havel’s meetings with theatre people, writers, musicians and dissidents, as well as their artistic and political engagement with the conditions of real socialism in Czechoslovakia.

Holomíček remained Havel’s loyal companion, even after Havel was elected President of Czechoslovakia on 29 December 1989 as the Civic Forum’s candidate. Bohdan Holomíček took the last photographs of Václav Havel in 2011, a week before his death. Through his pictures, he documented the rehearsals for Havel’s latest play, “Asanace” (Eng.: “Renewal/Renovation”), the premiere of which the author himself was unable to attend.

Bohdan Holomíček’s photographs are characterised by closeness and a strong sense of intimacy. They reveal far more of Havel’s human greatness than official tributes ever could. The photographer does not see Havel primarily as a dissident, writer or president. Holomíček portrays Václav Havel as a human being.

Participating photographers

Bohdan Holomíček (CZ)

Curated by

Jan Oelker

The vernissage on 4 September 2026 will feature artist Bohdan Holomíček and curator Jan Oelker.

On 26 September 2026, Jan Oelker will be hosting a curator’s tour as part of the 14th Neustadt Art Festival.

To mark Havel’s 90th birthday, on 5 October 2026 we are organising a reading and discussion with Jana Krötzsch on Havel’s long-lost manuscript “Ich habe es irgendwo versteckt” – Notizen zum “Charta-Jahr” 1977.

To mark the finissage of the exhibition on 13 November 2026, as part of the 28th Czech-German Cultural Days 2026, we invite you to an artist talk with Bohdan Holomíček entitled ‘Václav Havel the Human Being’ at the nEUROPA Gallery.

This exhibition is sponsored by Ostsächsische Sparkasse Dresden. The “Galerie nEUROPA” project is funded by the Saxon State Ministry for Social Affairs, Health and Social Cohesion. This initiative is co-financed by taxpayers’ money on the basis of the budget adopted by the Saxon State Parliament as part of the “Wir für Sachsen” funding programme.