ZUŠ Open
National Festival and ZUŠ Open Projects
ZUŠ Open – From Happening to a Respected Artistic Festival
The ZUŠ Open national festival is the largest festival of art education and a cultural event in the Czech Republic. The festival, under its brand, also holds other projects outside the main festival dates. ZUŠ Open is a festival celebrating shared joy and respect for the unique system of basic art education, whose goal is to develop art schools as a modern educational system that connects art education with practice, impacting the broad development of students and teachers. The main festival program runs over two weeks in 350 cities across the Czech Republic and offers programs for the general public across all disciplines and genres—music, dance, theater, and visual arts. Under the patronage and in collaboration with singer Magdalena Kožená and various artists and cultural institutions, it showcases the work and best practices of basic art schools. Festival Partners include: Prague Spring International Music Festival, Smetana’s Litomyšl, Czech Philharmonic, National Gallery, Concentus Moraviae, Brno Music Marathon, and many other significant institutions.
The festival's program brings carefully curated performances representing collaboration between schools and their partners in various regions, as well as individual school productions. The highlight of the festival is the traditional ZUŠ Open national showcase in the Senate at the Wallenstein Garden, where 1,000 performers represent all regions of the Czech Republic. In 2024, the festival presented performances in 350 cities with 530 artistic productions featuring 150,000 performers, including students, teachers, and professional artists. In 2022, the ZUŠ Open festival closed the Czech presidency of the Council of the EU with two gala concerts in the European Parliament.
Festival productions also include the series ZUŠ Open Helps, which showcases selected art projects by art schools supporting those in need. This series is a platform for presenting the “Without Prejudices, Without Barriers” project of the Magdalena Kožená Foundation, contributing to the education of children in social responsibility through art.
Why support the ZUŠ Open national festival of the Magdalena Kožená Foundation?
- ZUŠ Open is unique in its scale and the quality of its programming, being the largest cultural event and the only art education festival of this scope in the Czech Republic.
- ZUŠ Open not only presents the breadth and quality of the activities of basic art schools, but also all other projects of the Magdalena Kožená Foundation.
- ZUŠ Open showcases the value of art education and creativity, which has a broad impact on the public.
- ZUŠ Open creates a space for meetings and collaboration between students, teachers, parents, artists, institutions, and all those interested in art and nurturing the youngest generation in a professional and respected festival environment.
Benefit Concerts
The Tradition of Benefit Concerts of the Magdalena Kožená Foundation
The first official gala evening of the Magdalena Kožená Foundation took place in 2016 with the goal of gaining support and financial resources for the newly established foundation. That evening, Magdalena Kožená personally presented her mission to support elementary art schools, marking the beginning of a tradition of regular benefit concerts featuring her own artistic participation.
In recent years, students from art schools across the country have joined these extraordinary evenings, giving them a rare opportunity to experience a unique atmosphere in close proximity to the foundation’s founder. From the very beginning, benefit projects have been an integral part of the foundation’s activities — including the festival series "ZUŠ Open Helps" and regular Advent concerts, whose proceeds support initiatives with strong social impact.
Reflections on Previous Benefit Concerts:
- Knights of Talent - Benefit Concert of the Magdalena Kožená Foundation (2025)
- Benefit Concert of Magdalena Kožená and Basic Art Schools (2024)
- Benefit Concert for the Future (2023)
- Benefit Concert of Magdalena Kožená (2021)
- Gala for the Magdalena Kožená Foundation (2017)
- Gala for the Magdalena Kožená Foundation (2016)
The opening concert of the 10th edition of the ZUŠ Open festival will take place on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, and will be broadcast live on ČT Art.
Without Prejudices, Without Barriers
The Magdalena Kožená Foundation’s Without Prejudice, Without Barriers projects connect elementary art schools with partners from special education and the nonprofit sector — organizations focused on social work, charity, and guidance services. Together, we demonstrate that art schools (ZUŠ) offer significant social value and that the arts have the power to foster empathy, break down barriers, and strengthen mutual understanding.
Our core mission is to lead children and young people toward social awareness and civic responsibility through active artistic collaboration.
We help to:
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Remove obstacles that prevent disadvantaged children from participating in artistic activities
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Guide children and youth toward social responsibility through the arts
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Create space for joint projects between art schools and special schools, children’s homes, senior homes, and other communities
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Support art schools in organizing benefit concerts and productions in cooperation with and in support of those in need
Since 2020, we have organized and supported the following initiatives:
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Vysokomýtské Souznění
We collaborate with:
Scholarship Programs
We deeply value the dedication of teachers who work daily with students at elementary art schools (ZUŠ) and support their artistic development. Through our Scholarship Programs, we provide assistance to exceptionally talented or resilient students and educators by offering activities that promote further growth. Project mentors include professional artists, educators, and notable figures who collaborate with ZUŠ through advanced educational initiatives designed to support both student and teacher development beyond the standard curriculum.
Magdalena Kožená Foundation Scholarship Programs:
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Support talented and determined ZUŠ students, allowing them to pursue their passion and expand their abilities beyond regular instruction (e.g. through mentoring, masterclasses, participation in showcases and artistic projects, or preparation for exceptional interpretive or creative assignments)
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Support ZUŠ educators who go beyond their formal responsibilities to work with exceptionally gifted and resilient students, those with special educational needs, or teachers seeking to further develop their professional and artistic potential
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Provide growth opportunities through collaboration with top-tier artists and educators in special educational and artistic projects
Our Projects:
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Masterclass with Clarinet Factory
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Orchestral Academy – ZUŠ Open Orchestra
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Dido and Aeneas: Voice of the Future
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Ad Gloriam – a scholarship program with concerts in Prague and Rome
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Summer School of the Magdalena Kožená Foundation
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Collaboration with the Czech Association of Double Reed Instruments
Magdalena Kožená Foundation Award
Extraordinary opportunities for collaboration and performances by talented ZUŠ students and competition laureates, alongside leading artists in foundation-supported projects. These include events such as:
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ZUŠ Open in the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic
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Knights of Talent – benefit concert of the Magdalena Kožená Foundation
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Live performances on Czech Television
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Participation in masterclasses
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Guest appearances at concerts of professional musicians including Ivo Kahánek, Karel Košárek, Jan Kučera, Marek Štryncl, Martina Bernášková, Simona Šaturová, and others
We Cultivate with Art
We Cultivate with Art
We support additional activities of art schools. We aim to help basic art schools expand their offerings of educational and artistic activities beyond the existing curriculum and the financial possibilities of public funding (MAP templates, school founder grants, etc.) or contributions from parents.
We help art schools with:
- organizing extraordinary artistic and educational projects
- holding meetings or creative competitions in various fields
- implementing extraordinary artistic or educational projects in support of those in need
- developing innovative approaches in education and improving its quality
- implementing projects that foster collaboration between local communities both regionally and nationwide
- linking art education with practice, impacting the broad development of students and teachers.
Give Art Schools a Chance
Give Art Schools a Chance
We support small art schools. Many small art schools, often located in socially disadvantaged areas, face numerous challenges that may hinder their development and ability to provide quality art education to talented youth in these regions. The “Give Art Schools a Chance” project is designed to strengthen these schools and provide them with the tools to overcome obstacles preventing them from reaching their full potential.
Together with our partners, we support:
- the full potential of small art schools and schools in disadvantaged locations
- the presence of teaching assistants where needed
- the availability of school psychologist services and professional counseling
- support for students with artistic talent whose lives are affected by a health handicap, social disadvantage, or special learning needs
- systematic development of a specific group of artistically gifted children and youth growing up in foster care or children’s homes.
We Stand by Art Schools
We Stand by Art Schools
Together with our professional partner Asociace základních uměleckých škol, we engage in strategic negotiations and activities to strengthen the promotion and protection of the existential and economic interests of basic art schools, the development of quality, and the awareness of the importance of art education in the Czech Republic.
Since 2016, we have been helping art schools with presentations and fostering collaborations:
- Art showcases and exhibitions in both the upper and lower chambers of Parliament, under the personal patronage of members of the Czech Parliament and Senate
- Presentations of art schools during the award ceremonies of the Minister of Education's medals
- Presentations at the Senate of the Czech Parliament during the Senate Awards ceremonies
- Presentations of the art school system and participation in conferences of the Education Committees of the Czech Parliament and Senate
- Presentations at festivals and events organized by regional and city leaders
- Showcase of the unique system of art schools and concerts at the European Parliament during the conclusion of the Czech residency of the Council of the EU
- Major art showcase in the Wallenstein Garden – ZUŠ Open at the Senate of the Czech Parliament
- Media presentations in programs and news reports on Czech Television, TV Nova, Czech Radio, Deník, and other media
- Art presentations in concerts for St. Vitus Cathedral organs (live broadcast on Czech Television)
- Advent Concerts on Czech Television
- Concerts and showcases in cooperation with the Administration of Prague Castle
- Art school presentations in collaboration with leading Czech festivals and cultural institutions
- Presentations of talented students of art schools as part of Prague Spring International Music Festival, Smetana’s Litomyšl, Concentus Moraviae, Czech Dreams, and other events.
We actively collaborate with:
- Asociace základních uměleckých škol ČR
- Umělecká rada základních uměleckých škol ČR
- Ministerstvo školství, mládeže a tělovýchovy
- Národní pedagogický institut
- Ministerstvo kultury ČR
- Asociace krajů ČR
- Svaz měst a obcí ČR
- Poslanecká sněmovna ČR
- Senát Parlamentu ČR
- Výbor pro vzdělávání Magistrátu hlavního města Prahy
- Celostátní komise pro výchovu a vzdělávání vládní strany
- Pedagogická fakulta Univerzity Karlovy
- Pedagogická fakulta Univerzity Palackého Olomouc
- Asociace konzervatoří ČR
- Akademie múzických umění v Praze
- Janáčkova Akademie múzických umění v Brně
- Společnost pro hudební výchovu
- INSEA
- Arcibiskupství pražské
- Česká televize
- Český rozhlas
- Česká filharmonie
- Concentus Moraviae
- MHF Pražské jaro
- Smetanova Litomyšl
- Karlovarský symfonický orchestr
- Západočeský orchestr Mariánské lázně
- Filharmonie Bohuslava Martinů ve Zlíně
- Janáčkova filharmonie v Ostravě
- Zlín Film Festival
- Správa Pražského Hradu
- and many more