The Foundation for Contemporary Arts Prague, together with the Centre for Contemporary Arts Prague, o. p. s., is continuing with the activities of the Soros Center for Contemporary Arts Prague (1992-1998), founded by the Open Society Institute N.Y. under the patronage of philanthropist George Soros. SCSU Prague, was founded in the fall of 1992 as part of a network of similar centers emerging in former communist bloc countries. In 1998, this network included a total of twenty centers. The main sponsor was the Open Society Institute, Inc. New York, established by Mr. George Soros. From its establishment until June 1994, SCSU was part of the Central European University, from July 1994 to April 1997 it was part of the Open Society Fund Prague, from May 1997 it was a separate foundation, and from 1999 it was a foundation registered under the Act on Foundations and Endowments, 227/1997 Coll.
The division of what was originally a single institution into two separate entities - the Foundation and the Centre - responded to the new wording of the Act. From the programmes of the formerly single institution, the Foundation was given the programme of annual distribution of grants aimed at supporting creative and mainly presentational artistic projects. The other projects of the original SCSU (documentation, residencies, its own exhibition activities, and library) were entrusted to the Centre, whose legal status is that of a public benefit corporation.
From the beginning, the activities of both institutions in the field of visual arts have been influenced by the idea of an open society, the idea of developing civic initiatives within the framework of a democratic society.