Celebrating 10 years in UNESCO

Exactly ten years have passed since the moment Slovak and Czech puppetry was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

In 2026, we mark the 10th anniversary of the inscription of Slovak and Czech puppetry onto the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. PRIENIKY perceives this anniversary not only as an opportunity to commemorate a tradition, but above all as a chance to examine what puppet theatre means today.

Puppet theatre is an art form in which theatre, fine arts, literature, music, and craftsmanship naturally meet. However, its essence does not lie solely in a specific puppet or technique. It resides in the ability to breathe life into an object, material, image, or space, and through them create a new mode of theatrical storytelling. This is precisely why we view puppetry as a living cultural heritage. For us, tradition does not mean a return to the past or the repetition of historical forms. It is a foundation from which new methods, experimentation, new technologies, and interdisciplinary collaboration can grow. Contemporary puppet theatre can work with a classical puppet just as well as with an object, material, body, image, light, or digital technologies. Through them, it can also address themes that belong to today’s world.

Therefore, PRIENIKY does not wish to confine puppet theatre to a single definition. On the contrary, it creates a space for the encounter of various poetics, aesthetic approaches, and working methods. The main programme brings together Slovak and Czech productions, both established (state-funded) and independent theatres, traditional practices, as well as progressive forms of contemporary puppetry. For us, the UNESCO anniversary is also a reminder that preserving cultural heritage does not mean conserving it. It means creating the conditions for it to continue to develop, transform, and find its place in the present.