I am thrilled to welcome you to the 10th year of the Mutual Inspirations Festival, which has become a staple on the cultural landscape in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. Our anniversary coincides with the paramount commemoration in the Czech Republic, the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution.
A series of demonstrations led to the downfall of communism and reinstated democracy in former Czechoslovakia in the fall of 1989. Students and citizens found the courage to take to the streets. Leading the way to democratic reform were the brave faces of opposition such as dissident and playwright Václav Havel and singer Marta Kubišová. She had been banned from performing since the 1960s, when her song, “A Prayer for Marta,” became a nationwide lyrical expression of the dissident opposition. During the Velvet Revolution, her prayer rang out once again before thousands gathered in the Wenceslaus Square in Prague.
Join us to celebrate the courageous voices of the Velvet Revolution via this year’s Mutual Inspirations Festival 2019 - Marta Kubišová.