Distillery is a former Brno distillery founded in 1851, whose operations ceased in the early 1990s. The building was subsequently abandoned and fell into disrepair.
Since 2004, the property has been owned by two private proprietors, who in 2015 made the premises available to the architectural studio KOGAA. The studio established a multifunctional centre called Distillery Social Reactor, serving as a venue for co-working, corporate and artistic events, and design studios. After the architects decided to leave in 2019, the owners carried out essential maintenance works and, together with other young architects, initiated new studies exploring possible future uses of the site.
Today, the former distillery offers space for a wide range of activities and collaborations. Permanent residents include the screen-printing workshop BrnoTiskne and the experimental dance and movement association ORBITA. The building is also frequently used for exhibitions and presentations by students of the Faculty of Fine Arts BUT, the Secondary School of Art and Design Brno (Husova), and Atelier Kroužek.
In 2023, Distillery formed part of Brno Art Week and hosted projects such as Reality Research Lab, Divadlo Láska and Festival ošklivé hudby.
Since 2025, Galerie FaVU has been temporarily based here, having relocated due to the reconstruction of the Faculty of Fine Arts at Brno University of Technology. The gallery operates as an open platform for the emerging generation of artists and curators, fostering dialogue between the academic environment and the wider public, with a focus on presenting high-quality contemporary work by up-and-coming artists.
