The past two years saw a noticeable dip in attendance compared to the pre-covid era. Significantly lower income, caused by declining and irregular turnout, combined with ever-rising costs, has been pushing our bank balance below zero for some time, despite a slight uptick in recent months.

We are in debt, running an economically unhealthy operation that has not been sustainable for some time. We owe a few months’ rent to our – very patient – landlords, and we owe money to several local providers of various services, many of whom are small business entrepreneurs or friends who’ve supported us over the years. If it weren’t for some personal savings, we wouldn’t have made it this far – but we can’t continue like this.

We are on the edge of closing down, and we won’t make it without you. We need your help.

There isn’t an easy answer.

Electronic dance music culture is changing fast. It’s a very different world than it was when Ankali first opened. We believe we’ve done well to adapt to the changing landscape: we embraced some of the trends, or cherry-picked the valuable bits, while staying true to our ethos. We evolve, try new things and sometimes we fail, but that’s the risk you take to keep things alive. However, it seems that there are greater powers against us, and we’re not alone – small independent venues are struggling left and right. The lower and irregular attendance seems to be a symptom of much deeper shifts: economic instability across the board, changing nightlife habits, and the unstable situation in the cultural sector.

For those not aware of the situation in Prague, life here is becoming a hustle. The Czech Republic has the least affordable housing in Europe, with its house price-to-income ratio topping the charts every year, and skyrocketing rents in recent years. The housing crisis is the thickest, yet just one of many layers of a broader issue. The overall cost of living in the Czech Republic has risen sharply in recent years, driven by inflation that reached a 30-year high in 2022. While it slowed since, prices for essentials like food and energy remain significantly higher than pre-covid levels.

Yet, wages – especially in the cultural and creative sectors – have lagged far behind. Freelancers, creatives, and cultural workers often rely on unstable contracts or project-based income, with average earnings well below the national average. Many are forced to juggle multiple jobs or side gigs just to cover basic expenses, let alone save or invest in their future.

It’s not just us. We hear about similar situations from peers across Europe’s clubland and beyond, and it seems the nightlife is reshaping. From Warsaw to Amsterdam, venues are seeing more cautious and selective crowds. The post-pandemic landscape has brought a shift in how, when, and why people go out. People are going out less spontaneously, often preferring bigger and more special occasions, or simply prioritizing rest, mental well-being, and personal space. The younger generation is more aware of the health risks nightlife can bring – from social fatigue or anxiety to disrupt sleep and burnout – and many are seeking different kinds of experiences. The classic all-nighter is no longer the default, which of course is not necessarily a bad thing.

Running a club must be quite profitable, right?It’s definitely a lot of fun. And a lot of learning, challenges, and satisfaction. But not a great business in the economical sense for sure. We never really intended to make a fortune, we only want to run a healthy project that can pay its bills on time. Every bit of extra income we’ve ever made has gone straight back into improving the space.

We do our best to keep the tickets affordable. 300 CZK (12€) has been the average price for a ticket sold on a regular Friday night since 2018. We started doing larger and more complex events that come with higher costs, but we offer multi-tiered presale pricing to give visitors a chance to buy cheaper if they plan ahead. We started raising the prices a bit recently, simply because we see no other way around it. But more on the ticket prices below.

But the club was full last time I went! While there are of course nights which fill the club, they’re not the full picture. The reality is that many nights aren’t packed. And not every event in our space is organized by us. Some are external rentals or collaborations where we only earn income from the bar — not from tickets. So even a full house doesn’t always mean we’ve made enough to cover our fixed monthly costs. Yes, a full night helps. But it doesn’t automatically mean we’re out of trouble — it might just mean we made it through another week.

Aren’t you spending too much? Running a space like ours is costly – especially if we want to maintain the standards we’ve set for ourselves: quality cultural programming, a professional working environment, fair pay for workers, and good service in a space that evolves both practically and visually over time.

As we grew over the years, the need for a stable professional team grew as well. In the beginning, the core team consisted of 4 people, now it’s basically twice as much, and a few more people take care of the club regularly during the week as well.

We keep pouring money, time, and energy – month after month – into how the space looks and how it shines in the dark. It’s just what we love to do, and that’s what makes it special, right? Our venue is DIY. We’ve never had the finances for a complete renovation, so we do it step by step, using whatever income we earn along the way.

But you get public funding, so wtf? We do and we are very grateful for that. We now yearly receive support from The Ministry of Culture Czechia – which contributes to booking-related expenses, and from Prague City Hall, which rather chips in to our venue’s operational costs. In the past our projects were also supported by Municipal district Prague 10 and Creative Europe.

To someone outside the loop, the support we receive might seem pretty generous – and in many ways, it is. But still it is only a fraction of our annual budget, and the contributions are decreasing year by year. In 2025 the funding covered approximately 10% of our total annual budget, but in 2023 it was almost 14%. 

Needless to say, public funding is not “free money”. Securing and administering these grants requires a significant amount of time and resources.

This emergency call is our way of saying it clearly: we’re in trouble, and we need your help. It’s part of our effort to stay transparent and invite our community to help keep this space alive. We’ve been here before – and you showed up for us – so we’re holding on to hope.

With our ears to the ground, we’ve rehauled our programming in the past year, and we keep rethinking it. We’ve added a bit more colour (#wubwub, Cunt), increased the temperature (Maldades, #necta_snakky), and we’re now trying to do something a bit more special once in a while (½ Weekender). Last but not least, we continue teaming up with a wide range of collectives – both fresh faces and seasoned crews – who bring even more spice and spirit to the floor.

As we’ve gradually upgraded the space, making the venue more multifunctional over the years, we’re now offering it for rent beyond club nights – basically whenever it’s not in use. People can book it for workshops, birthdays, screenings, weddings, afterparties, film shoots, conferences, yoga – you name it. We also actively promote it and search for new booking opportunities ourselves. You can learn more at anka.li/rent.

We believe in remaining accessible to different groups of people, whether it’s from an economical standpoint or by creating and maintaining an inclusive and safer environment.

We try to keep the tickets as affordable as possible. We usually offer multi-tiered pricing, with cheaper tickets for those who need them, and more expensive options for those who are able to support a bit more. We understand it as a way of sharing the load and keeping the door open for as many as possible. For almost a year we’ve been offering discounts for students, without any extra government backing.

Since Shella Radio settled in a studio in our garden last year, the space is regularly open to the public without a charge (and with a good soundtrack) on a regular basis in the summer.

In the past, we offered one event a month with free entry until midnight – a gesture to welcome new faces and reward early birds. We’re now bringing this practice back, this time with more intention and care. The next event with a free entry option will take place on June 6.

You read it many times, but here it is again since it’s essential: We want everyone to feel safe and cared for if any issue arises during their time at the club. Creating a safer nightlife environment is an ongoing challenge, and we have recently rehauled our safety policy and house rules: to be more approachable and better equipped to address risky, harmful, or violent situations when they arise.

First things first: we need to pay off all our debts. That’s the only way to move forward with less weight on our shoulders, clearer mind, and to keep our relationships – especially with the people and small businesses who work with us – intact.

Next, we want to build a financial buffer to give us solid ground to stand on. We need more stability to support all our future ventures, both creative and practical.

We also want to finally tackle some much-needed upgrades and maintenance. Our ventilation system has been running on heavy duty for years, along with our DJ equipment and sound system. The risk of technical problems and breakdowns is looming.

And then there are some distant visions to keep us dreaming. We could definitely use a proper kitchen to host community dinners, weekender brunches and food pop-ups. What about a green garden on the roof to extend our space? And who knows, maybe some day we’ll build a sauna.