Prague’s Lennon Wall will re-emerge as a gallery for professional artists
Prague’s Lennon Wall will re-emerge as a gallery for professional artists
After the wall is renovated, it will host professional art and be guarded by cameras
Prague’s John Lennon Wall as it has existed since the 1980s has ended. Scaffolding and blue tarps now cover the wall, which is undergoing a renovation. After that is completed, most of the wall will be a protected open-air gallery with paintings by professional artists.
The renovations, to fix structural problems, should be finished by November 17, in time for the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution.The wall in the future should contain only works by professional artists related to former Beatles member Lennon or messages of peace.
Prague 1 will install security cameras near the wall and strengthen police patrols to resolve the recent situation, where alcohol-fueled tours would end up there and inebriated tourists would paint vulgar graffiti.
Prague 1 Deputy Mayor Petr Hejma said that the new rules for the wall are currently being developed. “We want to declare the Lennon Wall a memorial place. Visitors will be obliged to behave in a certain way on the spot, which will be enforced by the Municipal Police,” he said. Busking for money will not be allowed, due to complaints from local residents about noise. “Of course we will not stop anyone from taking their guitar with their friends and going to sing Beatles’ songs. But we will not support targeted busking,” he said.
Inscriptions and inspirational poems began to appear on the site in the 1970s, though these would be quickly painted over by the then-communist authorities. After the murder of John Lennon in 1980, portraits of the former Beatle and his song lyrics began to appear. Among the people to visit the wall were Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, in 2003 and original Beatles drummer Pete Best in 2010.
