Mademoiselle Maurice lives in Paris and creates her works mainly using paper and thread. As she says, she loves their malleability and the emotions which these pieces can induce if they are placed in a public area and disturb the city drabness. The old Japanese art of paper folding – origami – attracted her during her stay in Japan. In the country of the rising sun, she experienced earthquakes, a tsunami as well as the explosion of the nuclear power station in Fukushima. These tragic events, together with the story of the little girl called Sadako, who believed the old legend that if she folded a thousand paper cranes (orizuru) she will recover from leukaemia caused by radiation from the atom bomb, led her to create street art works using origami.

It isn’t just people from Košice, but people from the entire region who were given the opportunity to participate in her art.  Almost 20 Košice primary schools, secondary school students, university students accommodated in Košice dormitories, as well as clients from the DOMKO Košice social services home, ANIMA Michalovce and SUBSIDIUM in Rožňava, visitors to the Stonožka Family Centre, students from the School of Applied Arts as well as prisoners from the Institute for Imprisonment and Remand in Košice were involved in the origami. Also taking part were the management and Mayor of Košice, Richard Raši, who, as a former student of the Šrobárova secondary grammar school, went back to his alma mater and on Tuesday, 24 September, together with its current students, will be making origami for White Night.

However, the White Night team from Košice – European Capital of Culture 2013 is inviting everybody who would like to join in, “We really invite everybody. Due to the magnificence of this art piece, on Wednesday, 25 September at 5.00pm in the Barracks/Culture Park, we are preparing a public workshop where we are going to teach people how to create origami with us. Everyone who wishes to join in can do so. You can also apply via the email address alexandra.varcholova@kosice2013.sk and will be sent the necessary instructions,” stressed the Curator of White Night, Zuzana Pacáková.

Mademoiselle Maurice’s installation is being created thanks to the support of the Košice self-governing region within the Terra Incognita programme. “Cooperation with actors in the sphere of culture is very important for us. We don’t want the situation where the existence and development in this area is just in the hands of professionals who work and act in the area of culture,” stated the Head of the Department of Culture and Tourism of KSK, Jana Kovácsová and she clarified that this idea is perceived mainly as an opportunity to involve schools and social services facilities. “Especially if you realise that education via art is meaningful not only for the sick but also for the healthy. It is a tool for lifting the spirit and the mind as well as for developing skills and crafts. In our long term Terra Incognita programme, cooperation with those involved is crucial, including those who haven’t been involved to date. We are really looking forward to the results and we believe that we’ll be able to use this experience elsewhere since this is also a pilot project for us and we would like to build upon it. We are the founders of secondary schools, social services facilities and cultural institutions, and this is the potential which can be built upon,” added J. Kovácsová.

This work will be one of six created by French artists and can be seen during this year’s White Night in Košice also thanks to the fact that the main partner of White Night 2013 is the French Institute in Slovakia/Institut Français de Slovaquie. Alliance Française de Košice will also provide significant partner support as well as VSE RWE Group and EU Japan Fest.

PARTICIPANTS in creating origami for White Night/Nuit Blanche 2013 in Košice:

Primary Schools: ZŠ Gemerská 2, ZŠ Belehradská 21, ZŠ Tomášikova 31, ZŠ Bukovecká 17, ZŠ Kežmarská 30, ZŠ Kežmarská 28, ZŠ Bruselská 18, ZŠ Postupimská 37, ZŠ Krosnianska 2, ZŠ Mateja Lechkého, ZŠ Ľudovíta Fullu, ZŠ Námestie Laca Novomeského, ZŠ Trebišovská 10, ZŠ Spojená škola, Vojenská 13,

Secondary grammar schools: Gymnázium Šrobárova, Gymnázium Milana Rastislava Štefánika, Gymnázium Alejová,

School dormitories: School dormitory at Medická 2, Anton Garban School dormitory, Werferova 10, School dormitory at Považská 7,

Social services homes in Košice self-governing region: DSS DOMKO Košice, DSS ANIMA Michalovce, DSS SUBSIDIUM Rožňava,

Public figures: Mayor of the City of Košice Richard Raši, Deputy Mayoress of Košice Renáta Lenártová,

Others: Stonožka Family Centre Košice, School of Applied Art Košice, Institute for Imprisonment and Remand in Košice.

NOTE: The list of origami creators is not complete as it is gradually growing to include all those to take part and like Košice White Night

For more about Mademoiselle Maurice go to:

http://www.mademoisellemaurice.com/

http://vimeo.com/50287305
http://www.doba.sk/2013/06/13/farebne-origami-street-art-diela-zaplavuju-ulice-francuzska/
http://www.doba.sk/2012/05/26/duhove-origami-z-parizskych-ulic/

The rich musical programme is varied; its aim is to cover multiple musical genres: “We have tried to offer interesting artists from different musical styles, which should please the wider public. We would like everyone to be able to find something they like in our musical programme,” says Daniel Franko, who is the main production manager of the festival. The programme of the festival puts rockers from Prague next to the provocative raging IAMX, the ethereal Iva Bittová with the Čikori group, Czech Hip-Hop legend PSH and more. The Slovak musical scene will be represented by famous artists such as Vidiek, Love 4 Money, as well as less well-known names like Purist, Frequency, From our Hands, Slow Flow, Talkshow. “We want to introduce visitors to the lesser well-known names, whose quality deserves space” explains D. Franko.

Entry is free to the initial Saturday triple-bill concert. It will be started off by the young rock ‘n’ roll group Walter Schnitzelsson, in the evening it will continue with a performance by rapper, Vec. The climax of the first day of the festival will be the concert by the group, Hex. Die-hards will be able to continue to the after-party with DJ Tomáš Hafner, which will take place inside the building.

“It is an interesting event because it attracts attention to the space of the Kasárne Kulturpark. We want people to understand its meaning and importance. It isn’t just a narrowly specialized cultural centre. On the contrary, it is a place for fusion and overlapping with all the levels of the Košice 2013 project. It’s exactly that overlapping that, unlike other festivals, shows what the Kasárne Kulturpark should be like in the future. This makes it a key event for future years. I believe that people will accept our invitation and come and look at this new place in the town and at the cultural program of the festival,” says the director of the Košice 2013 non-profit organization Ján Sudzina. This is one of the reasons why the accompanying program of the festival includes a debate on the Kasárne Kulturpark, its architecture and design, as well as its content and vision and cooperation with other projects, under the auspices of Košice 2013.

Even thought more important than the musical programme is the atmosphere of the festival, J. Sudzina has chosen according to his preferences: “I’m looking forward, more than to the actual event, to the whole atmosphere and the concentration of minds. I’m a connoisseur; I like to choose. I’ll definitely find time for the Quasars Ensemble and Dalibor Karvay and Pražský výběr. I’m curious to see them because it’s the music I listened to when I was young.”

Pražský výběr (Prague Selection) is one of the headliners at the festival. Košice will greet the original line-up led by composer, singer and community activist Michal Kocáb. Pražský výběr, which was banned by the communist regime in the years 1983-1986, returned to publishing albums and playing concerts in the second half of the 80s. After 1989, the group performed minimally, and broke up in 2006. As a new project they have been playing since 2012 and offer not only well-known hits, but also a colourful show full of props and costumes. This is confirmed by the words of bass guitarist Vilém Čok:  “We are looking forward to the concert in Košice. We have always had a good fan-base and if I recall, the last time we played there was eight years ago. Thus we expect “hungry” and excited fans. They can enjoy all the main hits from the career of Pražský výběr and some surprises too.” The Pražský výběr concert will be on 16 August at 19:00.

The organizers of the event have also prepared a rich accompanying programme. Visitors can find dance and musical workshops, a summer readings or rental of picnic blankets. There will also be an eye-catching exhibition by contemporary artists Milan Houser and Adam Szentpétery called Geometric Fields, hosted by artistic director of Košice 2013 Vladimír Beskid: “The exhibition opening will be held on Saturday at 17:00 in the Alfa gallery. The focus of the exhibition will also set the artistic direction for creative dramatics in Kasárne Kulturpark. Even the name itself, Alfa (Alfa is the name of the central building where the gallery is located, note. ed.), points to its focus on contemporary art and the emerging generation of artists”. This current artistic geometric dialogue can be viewed during the days of the festival, from Wednesday to Sunday, from 15:00 to 20:00.

More information about the event and the current programme can be found at www.letovparku.sk

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of cooperation and good relations between the Slovak Republic and Japan, European Capital of Culture – Košice 2013, in cooperation with EU Japan Fest – Japanese company to support the dissemination of Japanese culture in Europe, prepared a number of interesting events presenting Japanese culture fort the weekend of 25^th – 26^th May 2013.

Exhibition of the best Slovak bonsai

25^th May 13:00 to 18:00, and 26^th May 11: 00 to 18:00, foyer of the House of Arts, Moyzes Street 66.

Exhibitors:

Milan Rozkoš, Vranov nad Topľou;

BONSAI SLOVAKIA, Vladimír Ondejčík and Alena Ondejčíková, Nitra

www.bonsai-slovakia.sk

In addition to admiring the seventy beautiful bonsai plants, visitors have a unique opportunity to learn a lot from these experienced bonsai-growers.

Special guest Mr. Takahiro Mori (Tokyo, Japan) gives a lecture on 26^th May at 15:00 to demonstrate the treatment of bonsai.

Go and shogi – traditional Japanese board games

Traditional Japanese go and shogi games presented by Slovak experts (Slovak Go Association, and Slovak Shogi Association, Adam Skalný and Lukáš Vyletel).

Presentation, game: as part of the CardboardCity near Urban’s Tower (26^th May 13:00 to 18:00).

Duel between the Japanese professional go player Murakami Akihide and a Slovak player.

25^th May 15:00 – foyer of the House of Arts, Moyzes Street 66.

What is go?

Go is a board game for two players with more than a 2.500-year history and tradition. Despite its simple rules, the game is very complex and has an incredibly large nuber of variations. Chess grand champion Emanuel Lasker said about go: “The rules of go are so elegant, organic and strictly logical, that if there are any intelligent life forms out there in the vast universe, they certainly play go.” Fans of go in Slovakia participate regularly in national and international go competitions, where they train and exercise their minds and spirits, and also strengthen friendly relations and raise awareness about the game in other people.

http://www.sago.sk

What is shogi?

Shogi is approximately 1.500 years old, and it is part of Japanese culture. It is a little known traditional art, recently performed only by a small group of professional players in Japan. This Japanese board game belongs to the same group of games as our chess, Chinese xiangqi, Thai makruk and ancient Indian chaturanga. All these games are derived from a common ancestor, therefore shogi shares with the other games the same goal in the game – to give checkmate to the opponent’s king. However, it differs from the rest in several aspects.

The shogi board has nine by nine boxes with twenty pieces on each side. Unlike chess, where a pawn can be exchanged for another piece only under certain circumstances, in shogi almost all pieces can be promoted and thus gain new freedom of movement. Undoubtedly the most interesting difference is adding. In shogi, disqualified pieces are imprisoned by the opponent, and he can later return them to the game as his own pieces. Mainly due to the adding, shogi became a dynamic game that rarely ends in a draw.

www.sogi.sk

Other events:

25^th May at 18:00 at the Historical Town Hall: Japanese farce back in Košice.

Shigeyama Motohiko, Kyoto-based professional actor of the Okura school, ambassador of the Japanese Ministry of Culture in Europe in 2013, together with the ensemble of the Little Kyōgen Theatre Brno (Czech Rep.). perform 3 kyōgen farces (traditional Japanese theatre form):

Susugigawa (“Large linen”) – in Czech,

Yobikoe (“Voice behind the door”) – in Czech,

Chacubo (Tea vessel) – in Czech and Japanese.

25^th of May, at 21:30: Shut up, Play! / Original Tempo (JP), Hlavná Steet 20, yard (as part of the USE THE C!TY festival).

26^th of May, at 19:00: concert by the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, State Philharmonics, Košice, Moyzes Street 66.