Václav Havel’s Place
Open gallery
Václav Havel Place is a memorial commemorating the life and legacy of playwright, philosopher, dissident, and Czech president Václav Havel (1936-2011). The installation of Havel Places is a worldwide project to create a network of public spaces where people can hold frank exchanges of important ideas, an expression of Havel’s belief in the power of mutual dialogue. It is comprised of two chairs linked by a round table with a linden tree, the national tree of the Czech Republic, growing through the center of the table. The seating area, named the Democratic Bench, was designed by Bořek Šípek, a celebrated Czech artist and architect who was a close friend of Havel’s.
The memorial at Lewis & Clark is only the second in the United States. The first is located at Georgetown University. Its installation here is made possible through a collaboration between Lewis & Clark, the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Washington, D.C., and the Václav Havel Library.
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