Slovak National Gallery to close as refit enters final stage

Bratislava premises to shut for summer.

The Esterházy Palace, the last SNG building still open to the public in Bratislava, will close for the summer.The Esterházy Palace, the last SNG building still open to the public in Bratislava, will close for the summer. (Source: SNG/Martin Deko)

The Slovak National Gallery (SNG) will close in Bratislava for the summer but will open new exhibitions in other parts of the country as an extensive refurbishment of its premises moves into its final phase.

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Lost in Bratislava? Impossible with this City Guide!Lost in Bratislava? Impossible with this City Guide! (Source: Spectacular Slovakia)

​The Esterházy Palace, the last gallery building still open to the public in the capital, is to shut its doors for the summer as the gallery carries out final work on a massive refit.

But SNG officials have said art lovers can continue to enjoy works at its branches in other parts of Slovakia, with plans to open a number of new or renewed exhibitions in late May and June.

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Along with the shutting of all its exhibition premises at the palace, the Ex Libris bookshop and the Berlinka café will be closed from June 4 until September 2.

The SNG refurbishment – which began in 2016 - is expected to be finished late this year, and the gallery has pledged to make its refitted premises accessible to the public as soon as all final building approvals are issued, even if they do not immediately house exhibitions.

“We would like to present the refurbishment [of the gallery] to the public, and show the buildings and the operation of the gallery through tours, lectures, attractive programmes and other creative and educational activities,” Alexandra Kusá, general director of the SNG, said earlier this year.

Gallery officials’ tentative plan is to be able to welcome visitors at a special exhibition in December, which will serve as a pilot project before the official re-opening of the gallery.

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Meanwhile, until June 3, the Esterházy Palace will host the “You Can’t Buy a Butterfly” exhibition of works by Slovak contemporary artists, “7x7. Seven Liberal Thoughts on the Arts” which deals with the flourishing of online culture during the Covid-19 pandemic, as well other exhibitions.

Related article Reconstruction of the Slovak National Gallery closer to completion Read more 

Infusion of art

The final event before the closing of the Esterházy palace, is ‘Art Infusion’, a special programme exclusively for medical workers and their families, which will take place over the weekend of June 4-5. Medical workers will have to register online in advance to attend.

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