Our plant is a workers’ plant

Bata: Our plant is a workers’ plant

Our plant is a workers’ plant. There is not even one person among us who was born a capitalist. Every one of us holds the “ladder of success” for our poorer relatives by sharing our acquired knowledge. This knowledge, brought to us by our work, spreads through our wide surroundings and becomes a valuable wealth of all people.

- Thomas Bata

With a joyful enthusiasm and a certain satisfaction, we remember that we have contributed a penny, although modestly, to the development and growth of our plant, thinking of the privileges we are participating in, being thankful for our boss’ endless kindness which no other plant in our country or in the whole Europe offers to its employees.

- Bata’s coworkers

Bataism is a philosophy of success, it is a synonym of growth and development, it is a declaration of trust in knowledge and experience, it is a gospel of work which is the source of our wealth. Talent and temperament, desire and patience. What has been given to us and mainly what we produced is our future. Let’s look for the best inside of us, that shall be our offer and service for others. Everything human, civil, commercial, and even political, if it is interconnected, straightforward and fair, then it can be beneficial.

- Jiří Madzia

About the exhibition

The commercial exhibition “Bata: Our plant is a workers’ plant” is conceived as a bilingual collection of nineteen 100 x 70 cm panels and one 70 x 72 cm panel, eighteen picture panels and two text panels. The pictures display the processes of the Bata company in the Zlin plant and its employees, the accompanying text describes the activities or the context of the production. The text panels include the employees’ declarations regarding the anniversary of the company and Thomas Bata’s follow-up reply, furthermore, they describe the company’s situation in the context of the time period. The photographs have not been publicly presented yet.

The exhibition has its own printed catalogue, a companion eleven-minute video-presentation, a website, and a social media profile. The graphic design and prepress preparation of the exhibition were done by the recognized Studio 6.15. The text was redacted by PhDr. Zdeněk Pokluda, a former director of the State Regional Archive in Zlín, a historian specializing on the development and activities of the Bata company. The exhibition was created in cooperation with the Thomas Bata Foundation in Zlín and the Bata’s School of Work Graduates Club. The target audience are both lay audience and experts both in the Czech Republic and abroad.

The proceeds of the exhibition will be used for the salvage and research of the artifacts of the Bata company and the Bata family.

About the author

Jiří Madzia

Holder of a university degree in film direction, production, and marketing communications. Interested in history, film, and information technologies. Collector of Bata memorabilia, film memorabilia, and memorabilia connected with Zlin history and Zlin art. Co-author of several books. Works as an assistant director. Lives in Zlin.

Contact

Mgr. Jiří Madzia, DiS.
Zábrančí I 314
763 02 Zlín
Czech Republic
registration number: 73772224

phone number: +420 608 963 632
e-mail: jiri.madzia@gmail.com

Technical specifications of the exhibition available upon request.
Contract prices.

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