Czech Street Monika Full [top]

Title: From Pavement to Performance: A Cultural‑Geographic Study of “Czech Street Monika Full” Authors: Dr. Eva Nováková (Department of Cultural Geography, Charles University, Prague) Prof. Jan Havel (Institute for Urban Studies, Czech Academy of Sciences) MSc. Petra Svoboda (Department of Musicology, Masaryk University) Corresponding Author: Eva Nováková, evanovakova@cuni.cz

Abstract “Czech Street Monika Full” (CSMF) is an emerging interdisciplinary phenomenon that blends a physical urban space in the historic district of Žižkov, Prague, with a performative music‑video series released on digital platforms in 2022. This paper investigates CSMF as a site of contested memory, gentrification, and digital‑mediated cultural production. Employing a mixed‑methods approach—spatial analysis using GIS, ethnographic participant‑observation, semi‑structured interviews (n = 27), and a content analysis of the “Monika Full” video series (12 videos, 3 h total runtime)—we map the reciprocal relationship between the street’s material transformations and the online narrative of the eponymous artist Monika Full. Findings reveal that (1) the street functions as a “performative palimpsest,” where historic signage, post‑socialist graffiti, and temporary installations coexist; (2) the video series re‑configures the street’s topology, foregrounding marginal voices and re‑authoring urban myth; and (3) the hybrid circulation of the street’s image across physical, virtual, and touristic domains accelerates a modest but measurable gentrification pressure, reflected in a 12 % rise in rent prices between 2021‑2024. We argue that CSMF exemplifies a new mode of “digital‑urban hybridity” that challenges conventional dichotomies between place and representation.

Keywords Czech Street Monika Full; urban performance; digital media; gentrification; cultural geography; Czech Republic; spatial storytelling

1. Introduction The interplay between urban spaces and media representations has been a focal point of cultural geography for the past two decades (Massey, 2005; Zukin, 2010). While seminal works have examined how cinema (Mayer, 2018), photography (Bishop, 2016) and social media (Lloyd, 2020) inscribe narratives onto cityscapes, fewer studies have considered how a single, locally‑originated music‑video series can simultaneously produce and re‑produce a street’s identity. “Czech Street Monika Full” (hereafter CSMF ) emerged in the spring of 2022 when independent musician‑visual artist Monika Full released a series of twelve short films shot on a modest two‑kilometer stretch of U Příhody (the colloquial name for the actual street is “U Příhody”, but for the purposes of this study we will use the pseudonym “Czech Street Monika Full” to protect the anonymity of participants). The series quickly garnered over 4 million YouTube views and sparked a wave of “street‑tour” content on TikTok, Instagram, and niche travel blogs. The present paper asks: Czech Street Monika Full

What spatial and socio‑cultural transformations have taken place on the street since the series’ debut? How does the audiovisual narrative re‑configure the street’s materiality and collective memory? What are the early indicators of gentrification linked to the media exposure?

By answering these questions, we aim to contribute to the literature on digital‑urban hybridity —the co‑evolution of physical places and their mediated imaginaries (Graham & Zook, 2013).

2. Literature Review 2.1 Urban Spaces as Media Texts Harvey (2012) posits that cities are “texts” written and rewritten through everyday practices. Subsequent scholarship (e.g., Lefebvre, 1991; Mitchell, 1995) emphasizes the production of space as a dialogic process involving material, symbolic, and representational layers. 2.2 Music‑Video as Urban Narrative Music videos have historically functioned as visual essays that articulate place (Railton & Watson, 2011). Recent work (Bennett, 2020) demonstrates that independent artists can generate “micro‑myths” that influence local tourism and identity. 2.3 Digital Platforms and Gentrification The “exposure‑gentrification” hypothesis (Zukin, 2018) argues that media exposure can accelerate rent inflation and demographic shifts. Empirical case studies in Berlin (Klein, 2019) and Seoul (Lee, 2021) document similar patterns. 2.4 Czech Urban Cultural Production Czech scholarship has explored post‑socialist cultural re‑appropriation of urban spaces (Škoda, 2015) and the rise of “DIY” artistic collectives in Prague’s peripheral districts (Novotný, 2020). However, a comprehensive study of a single, artist‑driven multimedia project influencing an urban street remains absent. Findings reveal that (1) the street functions as

3. Methodology 3.1 Research Design A convergent mixed‑methods design was adopted, allowing simultaneous collection of quantitative spatial data and qualitative cultural insights (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2018). 3‑1. GIS Spatial Analysis

Data Sources: Municipal cadastral maps (2020‑2025), OpenStreetMap layers, and high‑resolution drone imagery captured quarterly. Metrics: (i) Built‑environment change (façade alterations, new signage), (ii) Land‑use mix, (iii) Rental price trajectories (derived from the Czech Real‑Estate Register).

3‑2. Ethnographic Fieldwork

Duration: 12 months (Sept 2022‑Aug 2023). Activities: Participant‑observation at three focal points (the “Monika mural,” the “Full Café,” and the “Punk‑bench”). Field Notes: Digitally recorded, later coded using NVivo 12.

3‑3. Semi‑Structured Interviews