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), and father of modern-day genetics Gregor Mendel (2017).

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 continues to grow with tens of thousands of visitors attending festival events throughout Washington, DC.    

The festival takes place at cultural, religious, and educational 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 ninth year, the Mutual Inspirations Festival 2018 celebrates the 100th anniversary of Czech independence. 

Running from September – November, 2018, the festival highlights events at select venues throughout the Washington area.