Congratulations to Czech writer Magdalena's Platzova whose book Aaron's Leap, her first book book published in English with translation by Craig Cravens, will be available beginning February 11. Magdalena is the author of a children's book, two collections of short stories, and three novels, including Aaron's Leap, a Lidove Noviny (Czech newspaper) Book of the Year Award finalist, hailed by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung as a novel that "must be counted among the best written by contemporary Czech writers."

Aaron's Leap is a deeply moving portrait of love, sacrifice, and the transformative power of art in a time of brutal uncertainty.>> Continue reading... 

by Katerina Kyselica 
The recent exhibition at the BBLA Gallery presented phenomenal prints, all hand-pulled, by two generations of renowned Czech and Slovak printmakers. Their world of fantasy and imagination was featured in etchings and lithographs, traditional printmaking techniques that in hands of the masters revealed timeless qualities and beauty.

When I met New York print collector Marvin Bolotsky and learned about his vast collection of Central and Eastern European prints, I did not hesitate to offer a collaboration to exhibit Czech and Slovak prints at the BBLA Gallery. The two months of preparation gave me a wonderful opportunity to examine each and every one of the 58 works created by 27 artists. Being a printmaker myself, I was intrigued by the remarkable command of technique and diversity of narrative centered on human figure. The narratives present in all exhibited works told compelling stories... >> Continue reading... 

It has been a year since Ruth Horackova graduated college in New York City and she is continuing to work as hard as possible to pursue her acting dreams. Born in Prague, Ruth grew up surrounded with love for the arts and after visiting New York when she was ten years old, she knew she would be back again someday. BBLA spoke with her about her acting, dreams and aspirations - allowing us a little glimpse into the lime light of a young Czech actress living, working and growing in our very own New York City. 

When did you first know you wanted to be an actress?

When I was a child, maybe around 6 or 7 years old, I grasped my ability to make people laugh and smile. Their reaction to what I would say or do was something that made me realize that I wanted to pursue a path that would continue to make people happy. I'm grateful to my parents, both of which pursued me to enjoy concerts and theater at a young age. This also helped inspire me to develop my talent to entertain people with my acting on stage.