Culture for June 2023: The best performances, art, and film in Czechia this month

Decades of Denim Explore the history of jeans in Czechoslovakia at Retro Muzeum Praha on the 150th anniversary of Levi Strauss.
Tennis Garden Exhibition The Museum of Applied Arts in Prague showcases portraits of nine renowned Czech female tennis players, including Martina Navrátilová and Petra Kvitová (now through July 30, free entry).
Truth and Beauty: Ukrainian Art in the Shadow of War Portheimka Gallery Prague features photographs by Czech documentarians capturing the effects of the Ukrainian war alongside artworks by Ukrainian artists (through August 15 with free entry).
European Gulag: Remembering the Victims of Communist Labor Camps Ambit Gallery sheds light on the forgotten history of forced labor camps in the European Union and neighboring countries (June 6 to 30).
Levitation Villa Pellé Gallery presents an extensive exhibition of prominent Czech painter Lubomír Typlt's current work, a carnival of colors and humor (June 7 to August 13).
Petr Nikl: Světloplach Discover the world of light and sound transformations via a new installation on SmetanaQ accompanied by large-scale photographic projections on metal plates. (June 9 to Sept. 17) .
CLI-FI 2050 How do contemporary artists imagine the future of the Earth in 2050 in the context of climate change? A group exhibition at Karlín Barracks seeks answers (through June 30).

Aftersun, a Cannes favorite when released last year is a melancholy drama starring Paul Mescal. At Kino Pilotů. (June 1-7 and 26).
Bones and All, a poetic horror love story/road movie starring Timothée Chalamet, is at Kino Aero (on June 1-7 and 12).
Messi from Baghdad, which tells the story of an eleven-year-old Iraqi Hamoudi, who dreams of football greatness, is at the newly reopened Kino Atlas (June 3). The cinema reopened this spring and offers English-friendly arthouse films.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, opening this month in Czechia, is at Edison Filmhub (June 3 and 12) as is The Little Mermaid (June 3). Both are in the original English version.
Sunset Cinema on the roof of Arkády Pankrác has 500 Days of Summer (June 4), Pretty Woman, (June 5, 8, and 11), and a host of other hits.
The Naruby Film Festival screens the worst movies made in the last 50 years, such as the now-iconic The Room (June 9 and 10), at Kino Balt.
M-Lounge open-air cinema atop Westfield Chodov is open for the season, screening Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (June 10) and a number of other Eng-friendly titles this month.
The Big Lebowski, an iconic crime comedy starring Jeff Bridges as Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski, is at Kasár¬na Karlín (June 15). Kasárna Karlín shows movies every Thursday and Saturday as part of their summer cinema program.
4X3 Faces of Ingmar Bergman brings Summer with Monika and Smiles of a Summer Night, directed by Swedish Ingmar Bergman to Edison Filmhub on June 23, 24, and 25.
River, an odyssey exploring the remarkable relationship between humans and rivers with Willem Dafoe as a narrator, is at CAMP (June 28).

Prague Rocks is split into two big events at Letiště Letňany. In the first part, people can see a day-long heavy metal lineup topped by Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard (June 2). The more pop-oriented second half has Maroon 5 and Gwen Stefani (June 21).
Hans Zimmer has two Oscars for his soundtracks. He was also one of the first people to appear on MTV in a music video, as the keyboardist for Buggles. His current tour, which will be at O2 Arena, has new arrangments of his film music (June 2).
Summer concerts at the Mozart Saturday concerts will take place in the unique historic courtyards of this hotel which is also opening an exhibit of mural art by artist David Strauzz.
The Lumineers, a folk rock band from Colorado, returns to Prague after three years. You can catch them at Sportovní hala Fortuna (June 7).
Kiss will play in Prague for the last time. The positively final leg of the End of the Road Tour comes to O2 Arena. Founding members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley say there may be one-off shows in the future, but no more world tours (June 10).
The War on Drugs Grammy-winning Neo-psychedelic American rockers bring roots-soaked-synth-and-guitar to Forum Karlín (June 13).
Son Lux earned accolades for their score for Everything Everywhere All at Once. The experimental trio will be at Roxy (June 14).
Mezzoforte, a jazz band from Iceland, plays at Lucerna Music Bar in a concert billed as a One Day Jazz Festival (June 14).
Prague Open Air at Ledárny Braník has a big lineup of mostly Czech rock and pop musicians (June 15–Sept. 20).
The summer stage at Museum Kampa has a mix of live music with popular local acts and dramas performed in Czech (June 16–Sept. 5).
Respect Festival focuses on world music, with an international line appearing at Rohanský ostrov (June 17–18).
Prague Proms presents classical, jazz, and pop music at various venues across the city. (June 21–Sept. 24).
Praha Žije Hudbou brings music and performance to the stages in parks, squares, and streets (June 23–24).
Foals bring their indie rock sound to Žluté lázně. The band released new music in 2022 and is considered one of the UK's top live acts (June 28).

Jungle Book (Kniha džunglí) can be seen at Azyl78, but has been selling out. The colorful adaptation of the popular children’s book has music by Marko Ivanović and is directed by Matěj Forman. It is mostly non-verbal with a little bit in Czech (June 1–18). The reopened circus tent in Stromovka will have events all summer, but only some are English-friendly.
PQ+, the side program to the Prague Quadrennial, has several English-friendly and nonverbal performances at Alfred ve dvoře, DOX, Ponec, Archa, and other venues across the city (June 8–18).
Plum serves as a good introduction to both Czech culture and the comedic plays allegedly by polymath Jára Cimrman. This new English translation is performed with the original props and costumes at Žižkovské divadlo Jarý Cimrmana (June 9).
The Marriage of Figaro premieres with a new staging at the Estates Theatre. Mozart’s famed opera played on that same stage in 1786, even before Don Giovanni. This new production is mounted in cooperation with Nationaltheater Mannheim (July 9 and more dates).
A Beggar’s Opera, adapted from the 18th-century play by John Gay, features music composed by the Tiger Lillies and an international cast performing in English. The dark satire unfolds at Divadlo Na Prádle (June 12–16).
The Arena festival presents theater and new circus at Smíchovská náplavka and Erpet Centrum in Prague 5. Many of the family-friendly acts have no language barrier (June 17–July 1).
The Cabinet of Doctor Tumblety: Mothers and Fathers is the ninth entry in Prague Horrortheater's Grand Guignol series of horror plays. They perform at Dviadlo MA. (June 23).

The 63rd International Film Festival for Children and Youth in Zlín will present over 300 thematic films from more than 50 countries (June 1-7).
Metalfest Open Air 2023 in Pilsen has a lineup of metal heavyweights like Arch Enemy, Behemoth, Ensiferum, and Korpiklaani (June 2-4).
Beethovenovy dny 2023 brings classical music to Karlovy Vary (June 8-22).
Indian Riders Fest 2023 is a meeting of European Indian Motorcycle owners that takes place in České Budějovice (June 9-11).
Břeh, a new music festival in Ostrava brings together Czech and Slovak alternative acts ranging from punk and hardcore to underground rap and dark electronic scenes (June 10-11).
SUM 41 performs in Brno with The Hara and Beauty School Dropout as opening acts (June 12).
Brno Brass Fest 2023 is an international festival of brass instruments that takes place in Brno (June 15-19).
Slunovrat 2023 is a music festival in Opava bringing Czech acts like Tata Bojs, and international ones like Swiss The Young Gods, German-Balkan Mr. Žarko, Polish-Ukrainian Dagadana, and many others (June 22-24).