Mgr. Tomáš Klička

Tomáš Klička studied art history at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University, and at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. In his doctoral dissertation, supervised by Prof. Lada Hubatová-Vacková, he examines the presence of the visual arts in interwar Czechoslovak radio broadcasting. His master’s thesis focused on the exhibition presentation of art produced by members of the Czechoslovak Legions in interwar Czechoslovakia. His research interests include marginal phenomena of interwar visual culture, the relationship between art and the media, and cultural politics.

He is the editor-in-chief of Czech Art monthly ART ANTIQUES. He contributes to the daily press (Seznam Zprávy, Deník N) and previously collaborated with Czech Radio Vltava, where he worked as an editor on the programme Akcent.

Mass Media in the Service of Public Education in Interwar Czechoslovakia

The dissertation examines the presence and reception of the visual arts in the broadcasts of Radio-journal, the monopoly broadcasting company in interwar Czechoslovakia. Radio was not only a medium of mass communication but also played a significant role in educating the population. The dissertation therefore focuses on the role and position of visual culture (the visual arts, architecture, and applied arts) and art history in radio broadcasting, with particular emphasis on the years 1923–1938. A number of art historians and artists were given airtime on the radio, where they introduced listeners to and popularised topics relating to contemporary art and architecture, art history, and the applied arts. In what ways was a non-specialist mass medium able to communicate and explain these subjects and to mediate an understanding between the general public and modern art and culture?