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Part of the ECC selection board came to Košice – candidate city for 2013
Press releaseOn August 17, several members of the European Capital of Culture (ECC) 2013 selection board arrived at Košice for a 3-hour official visit. The board chaired by Sir Bob Scott of Great Britain, also included Gottfried Wagner – a member from Austria, Martin Kováč – vice-chair for Slovakia, Katarína Kosová – a member for Slovakia, Jacqueline Pacaud – an observer for the European Union, and Linda Kapustová Helbichová of the Slovak Ministry of Culture. “The visit was very short, so we tried to cover the agenda of highest significance in the course of three hours (16:00 – 19:00), and see all that is possible in Košice already. We have taken them to the heat exchange station, where we met with the representatives of non-governmental organizations, which are in charge of reviving this object. The delegation had an opportunity to meet with the representatives of independent culture scene and institutions at Barracks Kulturpark in an informal meeting. We took the board to the future Incubator of Arts and Independent Culture Centre,“ informed Marek Kolárčik, the head of the Košice candidacy team. The visit was concluded at the Historical City Hall, where it was accepted by František Knapík, the Mayor of Košice. “We have succeeded in convincing the board that we can unite old impressive cultural heritage with modern innovative thinking and projects in a sustainable fashion. We have presented our plans, visions, and dreams, but also initiated projects and determined people behind them – from non-formal initiatives to formal representatives of big companies and cultural institutions,” concluded Kolárčik. Košice’s final presentation withing the ECC 2013 competition will take place on September 8 in Bratislava. The results will be made public on September 9, after the presentations of Martin, Nitra, and Prešov. Zuzana Lehotská
Tibor Ferko: Who lived in Košice in the previous century, lived in four different states
Košice used to be the capital of the Hungarian Empire. What does it mean to you?The birthplace. The sins of youth. Maturation and sobering up. Blunders and their acknowledgment. City and its residents, as well as their history. Who lived in the previous century in Košice, lived in four different states without changing the place of residence. Political regime changed four times. It is not about figures; yet if we work with Umberto Ecco’s sentential that each hieroglyph is also a hieroglyph of something else, we can consider it in numbers as well: 918, 1938, 1945, 1989-1993 bear the same significance is everyone’s mind, but the impact they had is individual. The year of 1918 was the only one of them I had missed in the life history of the city. The question, whether I know what it means to me, is still open, since the city changes and I change with it. Even though I am a local patriot, I have always perceived that what the native and non-native Košice dweller have been bringing to Košice from other places affected the development of the city far more than the fact that it has been home to notable personas whom the city have recognized. I returned after a longer period, become I suffer from the “Švanda” complex. (Švanda is the bagpiper portrayed by Tyl who roamed the world but could not return to his hometown of Strakonice.) Even the birds come back but could not answer the question, why. It is a feeling, as one might say today.What makes Košice unique?Every city is unique in its own way. As one finds a whiff of a highlander mystique in sheep cheese, every city breathes its genius loci. In the case of Košice, it revolves around the system of sacral objects. Along the St. Michael’s Chapel, one could draw an imaginary boundary with the westernmost projection of the Gothic style. It transcends into European significance. Košice started writing his history jointly with the Abov comitat (1138 -1143). At this enjambment, I would start with one of the oldest Romanesque churches (1250) in Šebastovce. 451 years ago, the first play (Stöckel: Zuzana) was performed behind the walls of the Jesuit school here. 350 years ago, the first Universitats Cassoviensis was established, but even 179 years prior to that (1411), the Buda University of King Matej was transfer here, and remained for 17 years. The fact that the city’s coat of arms is the oldest in Europe is well known, and it is displayed in full view. However, there is no culture incubator present in the city – a public place to present everything of significance, such as, among others, the fact that 221 years ago, Ferenc Kazinczy translated Hamlet during his stay in Košice to Hungarian for the first time, and started publishing the first Hungarian literary journal Magyar Museum (1788), and Orpheus two years later. There are also other facts and phenomena, which are endemic to Košice. One can stumble upon acts of barbarism as well, such as the demolition of the Secession Grandholel Schalkház in 1873. If only that… What does the cultural infrastructure of Košice lack the most? I have already pointed it out. An incubator of tradition, where the first steps of the visitors would lead to acquire a sense of place. It also lacks a city journal to present the rich history and the present time of the city, not just the current affairs of the city establishment.What should the ECC event team work on?To make what the team does visible. It should present the projects and proposals in the city center, best at the lower gate near the State Library of Science, for city residents to evaluate. It could work to a minimal extent, even if Košice does not win the ECC title. I would use the fact that Košice’s significance extended to the entire northern-east part of the Hungarian Empire (Partes Superiores), and that Ferenc Kazinczy called Košice the capital of culture in the Hungarian Empire of the time, as an underlining thesis of the candidacy. Since we share common history with the Hungarian Empire, why should we not tie in on what had been artificially disrupted? Lastly, the city could present the 7 Best of Košice in printed form and on CDs.What way would like Košice in 2013 to be?I would rather not like to see Aupark on the city square, but I take it as an irreversible fact that is not worth any pointless debates. It still feeds a big civil discord, which unfortunately surfaced too late. The city should first find out what the opinion of the residents is on such big project, and then proceed with selling the plot, where the monument of the developers will be erected. I have nothing against them, they are doing their job. The problem is that the city establishment does not listen to its voters. I could envision a memorial to the victims of holocaust in a green park there for example; created even from collections within an international context. Paris has it, New York too, and Berlin erected it to commemorate the 60th anniversary of holocaust four years ago. The square was the place where 13 000 Jews were loaded into cattle wagons, 130 trains passed through the Košice train station, and there is nothing to commemorate such disgracefulness even after 63 years. I have already published something on that note, but it seems to be insufficient still for the city to be really touched by the memento.By 2013 the city will have changed for sure – there will be hotels, stadiums, multiplex cinemas at the shopping centers, which mark progress, but you can also find them in places where democracy has not has its home very long. Once the rain of stimulation starts falling on culture too, the prominent project plans within the military barracks could materialize. It is necessary to focus on projects worthy of notice even if the ECC candidacy is not successful.You lived in the times renowned for building boundaries. Would you support the thesis that political borders can copy the cultural borders of Europe?There have always been borders. But there were no spiritual boundaries even when the Iron Wall was in place. Nowadays, it is also all about possibilities (financial ones too), but also about invention in spiritual communication. Not everything needs to follow institutional channels. It is more important to form bonds (explore) in culture, and to draw impulses on an individual basis. Geographical borders are still real, but spiritual ones have always been fictitious and open. (The more a person knows, the more he/she sees.)You live in a city a few kilometers off the Schengen border, which is now under more security than during the previous regime. What feelings does it stir in you? I feel a sense of solidarity for our Slavic neighbors in Mukachevo and Berehov, whose inhabitants lived in six different states in the course of the 20th century without changing the place of residence. It is our mirror image until recent history. I feel the need to support Ukraine in its effort to move the Schengen wall further east.If you were to entice a foreigner on account of three themes of our city, what would they be?1. A perfectly mapped and visualized historical part of the city 2. Specific ballet and opera performances in the State Theater 3. Botanical garden and the zoo; technical and national history museums; and an excursion into the vicinity of the city in the extent of Abov in the least. I would definitely not present the images of new hotels – those are pervasive almost everywhere. What should we – as residents of Košice and as the ECC project team – always keep in mind?Altogether the same thing – that we know how to cultivate tradition, and that we listen to the legacy of the past. It should be noticeable in the city, too. Some things are visible; others are still waiting to be discovered. One prominent Czech historian said that “history is redintegrated by future.” Roman Sorger Tibor Ferko, theaterologist, dramatic advisor, publicist. Some published authorial works as follows: two parts of the Tatra triptych – Občan O(t)o, Lásky hra osudná; its last part Pokušenie starého kocúra is currently at the publisher. His radio monodrama Útrapy rozumu has been adapted as Niekto klope na dvere by Spiš theater. He has translated plays and written professional articles. His writes theater treatises, reviews, essays, commentaries, etc. for Slovak periodicals.
Design Match 08 has come to Košice
After a great success that the exhibition titled Design Match 08 marked in Prague and Bratislava, its third stop has been in Košice. It was opened on August 12, and it will last until September 14. Design Match 08 is a unique platform, building an establishment for itself with time. It presents Austrian, Hungarian, Czech, and Slovak design and confronts the works of individuals within a concurrent dialogue that is directed at the viewer.Design Match 08 is a biennial event confronting design of various countries. The choice of countries or designer is not coincidental: it is based on a common concept and theme. The concept of this year’s exhibition comes from the tradition of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, which comprised of the present Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary and Slovakia. The presented works reflect modern art. For more information, visit www.designmatch.cz. The exhibition presents works of 120 artists, displaying design ranging from „kitchen utilities “ – chairs, appliances, gadgets, decorative glass and porcelain – located in the bath section, through lamps of various shapes and technical design, music instruments of non-conventional materials, all the way to exterior design.Design Match headed for success in the National Gallery in Prague in March 2008 with thousands of visitors. Bratislava was the second stop on the map, where the exhibition was organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and alliance with the city. Design Match here went hand in hand with the exposition of jewelry in the Czech Center. Over 18,500 people visited the two venues in total. Košice, the candidate city for the European Capital of Culture 2013 title, was chosen to host the exhibition next. The exhibition has been situated in the newly opened complex, facilitated in collaboration with the city, dedicated to independent culture and modern art directly in the center – KulturPark/Independent Culture Center. It is the initiative of IC Culture Train and multiple other projects joining efforts also with the city to transform the former military barracks into a center of modern art of European significance. After a brief break, Design Match 08 will travel on – to Hungary and Austria. To follow up-to-date information, visit www.designmatch.cz. The content of the exhibition is contained in a catalogue, which is available at the venue.Jana Vinšová, exhibition managerjana.vinsova@czechdesign.czwww.designmatch.cz
Suburban monsters were a pleasant surprise
The first workshop at the heat exchange station on Ružínska ulica at the Košice suburb of Terasa exceeded the organizers’ expectations. Several dozen children were able to turn the dingy façade of a typical suburban building of concrete into the center of attention of the passers-by. The project involved children from the children’s home on Uralská ulica and small children center goers with their moms from Terasa suburb. The activity left neither local children nor adults indifferent. “What we initially planned with Rado Repický, exceeded our expectations. The children took on the role with such passion. It was pleasant to watch them as they ran around the façade with paint brushes and cups of paint,” said one of the organizers of the first creative workshop Suburban monsters by Richard Kitta from Pectus association. The activity that used up 30 kilos of various paint produced results you can see in the photographs.The heat exchange station, which is now hard to overlook, will liven up again at 2 pm on Thursday, August 14. Experienced musicians such as Rado Zeleňák, Martin Skuban and lyrics writer Dalimír Stano will teach the participants of the workshop how to compose and write songs, and play the African congos under their direction. Both events have been organized by the local literary association Pectus in alliance with the project team of the European Capital of Culture 2013 candidacy.Zuzana Lehotská
The New York Times: Once Soviet Gray, Now a Colorful Mix
DOWN a dingy alleyway lined with beer gardens and hookah bars, an Afro-jazz funk band took the small stage at the Piano Cafe, a smoke-filled lounge in the center of Kosice.It was not exactly what a first-time visitor expected to find in a Central European town of steel factories and Soviet-era apartment blocs. But as the beat of African samba filled the cramped cafe, an arty crowd of young Slovaks in metal-rock T-shirts and bookish glasses sat in rapt attention, slow-sipping their Mojitos and ignoring the techno music downstairs.For decades, Kosice, a city of 250,000 in eastern Slovakia, was considered an industrial backwater — if it was considered at all. (Bratislava, Slovakia’s capital, got the attention.) But in the past several years, a beautifully refurbished center has emerged from behind Kosice’s ugly veneer of gray concrete and steel, drawing artists, entrepreneurs and a growing number of tourists.Hlavni Namesti, the city’s newly renovated Main Square, now gleams with intimate art galleries, white-tablecloth restaurants and upscale hotels equipped with wine cellars. Dormant mines and military barracks have been refashioned into studios for underground artists. And a hilltop collection of unused warehouses is being converted into a site for open-air festivals, electronica parties and laser shows.“It’s really booming,” said Michael Hladky, 27, a local architect who specializes in new urbanism. “It’s no longer the case where public art gets decided by old guys from Communist times. A younger generation is coming in.”The transformation was no accident. With its steel factories slowing down, Kosice, a former Soviet Bloc city, decided in the late 1990s to restore the town’s cobblestone center. The idea was to stimulate culture and the arts.“We want to be an incubator for young artists,” said Marek Kolarcik, project manager of Kosice 2013, a public task force lobbying to have the city named a European Capital of Culture. “We’re lagging behind Bratislava, but in two years’ time, the boom will come.”Its historic diversity may help. Thanks to its location along the border of the Hapsburg Empire, Kosice has Slavic as well as Magyar roots. The region’s only Roma theater can be found there, and bookstores carry both Slovak and Hungarian magazines. Locals also like to point out that in 1968, when Moscow sent tanks into the country to suppress the reform movement known as the Prague Spring, some of the Czechoslovak intelligentsia were hauled off to work in Kosice’s steel mills, laying the foundation for the city’s renaissance in culture.On an intermittently soggy afternoon last fall, the beer gardens along the main square were emptied of their regulars — a mix of university students and steel workers — but the sidewalks swelled with the rush of passersby. A pair of elderly women fed pigeons in the park as faint elevator music could be heard from a nearby singing fountain.A fog lifted over the towering spires of St. Elizabeth’s Cathedral. Begun in the late 14th century, it is Slovakia’s largest church, and its gargoyle-studded exterior leaves one wondering if Quasimodo is hunched over its Gothic entranceway. The top of the cathedral’s clock tower offers panoramic views, and the crypt below lets you mingle among the tombs.Next to the church stands the medieval bell tower of St. Urban. Its vaulted interior has been turned into a tacky wax museum devoted to hometown heroes like Andrej Varchola — otherwise known as Andy Warhol — who has familial roots in the region. His wax likeness, complete with the signature shock of white hair, stands next to a general and other heroes from Slovak history.Indeed, Kosice seems to have embraced its quirkier side. Filmmakers and media types descend on the town each June to hand out a documentary film award called the Golden Beggar, which depicts a vagrant tipping his hat.Nor are locals above showing off their pro-Americanism. Slovak-style spaghetti is served at the Bill Restaurant, named after — who else? — Bill Clinton, but a waitress said he never stepped foot in the place. The entrance features a cartoon cutout of the former president sporting a wide grin, and the cavernous interior features kitschy American memorabilia splashed across its orange walls, including, of course, a saxophone.But Kosice’s hammer-and-sickle past is never far away. Lurking around the corner is Krcma Nositel Radu Prace, a dive bar straight out of the cold war. A group of blue-collar men cluster around tables, singing what sounds like Soviet songs and washing down cheap Topvar beer, while portraits of Lenin and Marx peer from the peeling walls and an angry-looking babushka tends bar. “This is a place for the unemployed, not tourists,” said Milan Seliga, a truck driver, before downing a shot of vodka.Attempts to shed Kosice’s provincial image have not come easily. Part of the problem may be Slovakia’s reputation — not entirely unfounded — for poor service and lack of foreign language skills, a holdover from its Communist days. “They go to hotel school for four years but learn to smile on the fifth,” said Richard Gibbs, a retired teacher from England, who was visiting the High Tatras, the mountains dividing Slovakia and Poland.But walk past the Piano Cafe down an unmarked alleyway known as club row, and you might encounter a gregarious man with a mullet haircut tending bar at Diesel, a kitschy bar, and teenagers in hoodies eager to chat up out-of-towners between puffs of Marlboros.That bonhomie is perhaps most clearly felt by the city’s artists. “This place is what I imagine New York was like back in the 30s,” said James Austin Murray, 38, a painter from New York City who visits Kosice occasionally. “There is this sincerity that comes with the lack of ambition toward money.” NEXT CAPITAL OF CULTURE HOW TO GET THEREFlights from the United States require a stopover, in Vienna or Prague. A recent online search found a Czech Airlines flight from Kennedy Airport, with a plane change in Prague, starting at $1,176 for travel this month. Kosice is about five hours by bus or train from Bratislava or Budapest.WHERE TO STAYThe 32-unit Hotel Bristol (Orlia 3; 421-55-729-0077; www.hotelbristol.sk) offers cathedral views and a Roman spa, with singles starting at 3,300 Slovak korunas, $171 at 19.65 korunas to the dollar.The Hotel Bankov (Dolny Bankov; 421-55-632-45-22; www.hotelbankov.sk) has some of the most lavish quarters in town, with park views on its summer terrace and a Finnish sauna. Rooms start at 2,950 korunas.WHERE TO EATFor traditional Slovak fare, head to Twelve Apostles (Kovacska 51; 421-55-729-5105), where diners sit around wooden pews in a tabernacle-like room.The menu includes chicken breast with cherry (385 korunas) and steamed salmon with grilled vegetables (450 korunas).Bill Restaurant (Hlavna 117; 421-9-07-970-863) serves American-inspired fare.Another popular hangout is Diesel Pub (Hlavna 92; 421-55-622-2186), which offers greasy but good food. Tamas Dezso for The New York Times By LIONEL BEEHNERPublished: August 10, 2008 www.nytimes.com
Design Match 2008 Košice
You are warmly welcomed on the exhibition of Design Match 08 project in Kosice, second biggest city in Slovak Republic. The exhibition will be held in Old Barracks – Culture Park / Independent Culture Centre (Kasárne Kulturpark / Nezávislé kultúrne centrum), Kosice Slovakia. This is a third stop of Design Match 08: after Prague’s and […]
ANDY WARHOL MUSEUM of the MODERN ART in Medzilaborce
ANDY WARHOL MUSEUM of the MODERN ART in Medzilaborceand WARHOL PARTNERS GALLERY, Member of the ANDY WARHOL SOCIETYinvites you to the Afterparty during exhibition9.8.200815.00 – 21.00hin ART CAFE FACTORY MMUAWAndy Warhol Street 749/2606801 MedzilaborceSlovakiaProgramme:Discussion with artists and curators about exhibition /rootVideoart and documentsJAZZ concertLectures:Martin CubjakOliver TomášOrganised by Warhol Partners Gallery, Member of the Andy Warhol Society
STANISLAV RAKÚS: Košice is one of the two principal cities of my life
Literary scientist and prose writer Stanislav Rakús comes from Western Slovakia. He made his way to Košice via Prešov where he studied philology, specializing in Slovak and Russian. He acknowledges Košice as one of the two principal cities of his life.You were not born in Košice. What ties you to this city?My relationship with the city started developing at night, namely during long night walks. I originally wanted to tackle my starting obesity this way, but over time my predilection in nightly scenery of the city won over my initial intent – its silence, twilight and lights, serenity of the streets in southern and northern parts of the city, but also quiescent housing estates, empty roads, stores, and building in the historical city center. I used to experience a sensation of the peculiar, somehow monumental solitude on my long walks down the streets meeting nobody far and by. In a motionless quietness of the nocturnal scenery, which climaxed around three in the morning, I was perceptive to things I might have not noticed at another time. What did you find in Košice and what could other people of Europe look for here?Antiquity, lyrical atmosphere, fascinating south-to-north position, resembling the archetype of nascence and death, charming city scenery in seasonal transformations, quiet and lively urban zones, but also positive historical and modern diversity, thanks to which I am able to perceive (and exceptions confirm the rule) Košice as a city of serenity and liberality. People of Europe could look and find architectonic beauty, unison of natural and urban elements, but also tolerant human environment.You have lived most of your life in a regime, which often liked to underline the importance of borders. What is your stand on the phenomenon of borders, or the lack of them? Even though I belong to an unfortunate type of people, who do not like to travel (which makes Košice so much more important to me, since I spend all those years here without a vacation away), the world without borders affect my consciousness in a resurgent manner.How do you view the subject matter of borders in professional literature?Borders of factual, inner, and symbolic significance can carry painful thematic energy, and can become a source of strained dramatic stories.Could the political borders overlap with the borders of culture?Each truly value, including cultural and artistic ones, tries to do away with borders, to outstep them, and reach a more common humanistic validity despite diverse human identity and various nature of cultural institutions. It should really also be valid in politics, which while it preserves plurality and diversity of opinions, it should retain the ability to communicate and lead cultural dialogue.In one of your books on Košice, you mention that is it a city of panorama and perspective. Could you clarity this view of the city to our readers please?I meant it literally – one can effortlessly view Košice’s housing estates built on hills and conversely see the old town and its modern surroundings from the hills. On a tram ride passing Moldavská cesta and heading to one of the two main squares, it is hard to resist the extensive area covered mainly by family houses. One suddenly sees everything lying open in front him – little streets, tree alleys, roads, sidewalks, yards, gardens, bungalows, two- or three-storey houses, restaurants, a miniature shutdown factory, offices, churches, even the old, yet still fully utilized hospital buildings. Sándor Márai, in a different time and space, had a similar feeling when, after visiting Rozália cemetery, he exclaimed “Peace to the dead! I look at the city and make my way to the living.” Such visual, even mythical vitality of the city could attract people here.If Košice wins the European Culture Capital title in 2013, what would you like to see and hear here?I would like Košice to retain and develop this inner creative profile and potential using new investment projects instead of becoming a superficial territory for show.You teach at university. You have entered general discussion on the significance of education at primary and secondary schools. How should cultural projects contribute to education process?I will try to demonstrate it in teaching literature, which is my profession. The entire system should lead to naturalness and functionality of this sphere, which can only be achieved by teaching literature as an art. The main emphasis should be placed on teaching critical reading, in which the student learns to discern value from the lack of it. Every cultural project must keep the innermost nature of its subject matter in focus. That is the only way it can become a contribution and retain its human quality.How can the education process and creativity team up in your opinion, and how can one stimulate creativity?Creativity can be stimulated by paying greater attention to researching predispositions and differentiating aptitude. Once the identification has been completed, the process, in which the individual is given an opportunity to develop his/her natural abilities all his/her life, should be initiated. If a person does not and cannot assert his/her talent, it can lead to frustration and cause, as Viktor Emil Frankl called it, “existential vacuum”.Roman SorgerStanislav Rakús (1940) – a Slovak prose writer, literary scientist and university teacher. He was born in a family of a tailor. He acquired his education in Trnava and Prešov, where he majored in Slovak and Russian at Vysoká škola pedagogická in 1957 – 1961. He taught in Trebišov and Košice. He worked as an external dramatic adviser at Štátne bábkové divadlo in Košice in 1966 – 1968. He has worked at Filozofická fakulta Prešovskej univerzity since 1969. He completed his PhD degree in 1973. He acquired the CSc. title in 1981, and the DrSc. title in 1996. He lives in Košice.He started publishing in 1960s, when his short stories and a novella, but also reviews, articles on literature and literary science studies came out in several magazines ( such as Slovenské pohľady, Mladá tvorba, Romboid, Matičné čítanie, etc.). He has focused to his professional attention in literary science on modern Slovak prose (Peter Jilemnický, Rudolf Jašík, Milo Urban, etc.). He was awarded the prize of Dominik Tatarka for his Nenapísaný roman in 2004, and the prize of Asociácia organizácií spisovateľov Slovenska.Source: www.wikipedia.sk
INTERFACE succeeded in the press contest
The photographs of Pavel M. Smejkal advertised in the INTERFACE project prospectus have won the bronze medal in the press contest held by the regional organisation of the Slovak Syndicate of Journalists in Košice. “To participate in the contest, I chose the INTERFACE project and such pictures which, in my opinion and according to the acceptance of my colleagues, had a chance to score. One of the images was practically caused by order of the graphic designers who required shots that would be showing the city´s dynamics and movement. The other two images were taken in Kojšov, the village my mother comes from. It is a picture of my aunt, and it is to show, in a symbolic way, the arrival of new technologies even to such a remote place as Kojšov is. The shot with a mirror is a still-life rendering an undertone of religiousness in the region. The most difficult job to do when treating the finished pictures is to do their selection. There are always several alternatives. I like to see that particularly this combination of images eventually became successful,” said the author of the bronze-medal photos who is among the composite photographers cooperating on the creation of the INTERFACE project prospectus. The publication is designed for the international committee of experts to judge the content and presentation of the application project and to decide on September 8 whether Košice deserves the nomination as European capital of Culture 2013. Besides the principal city of the Eastern Slovakia, there is also Prešov, Martin and Nitra applying for the same nomination. “We had to praise the photographs. The works of this author stood out from the others. So the jury inclined to appreciate these shots as fine art photography. This third place was awarded for the author´s professional artistic adaptation,” commented the collective decision of the expert jury Ján Sand of the Slovak Syndicate of Journalists. Zuzana LehotskáPhoto: Awarded shots by P. M. Smejkal
French Projects to be tasted as early as this autumn
At the turn of June and July, the project team headed by František Knapík, the Mayor of Košice, Marek Vargovčák and Jozef Filipko, the Deputy Mayors, took a tour of the French candidate cities for the title of European Capital of Culture 2013. The visits to Marseille, Bordeaux, Lyon and Toulouse brought about lots of interesting inspirations and dozens of projects. One of the first agreed projects is to be carried out as early as this autumn. MarseilleNegotiations of the Košice ECOC 2013 project team and Lieux Public, the association of artists from Marseille specializing in public art, ended in a joined project with the Košice theatre known as Divadlo na peróne. This year the Slovak performers will join other international participants to the Lieux Public project to present art in public areas. “The association has offered us to participate in some residence visits, and next year the theatre Divadlo Actores and its leader Tatiana Masníková, who is also a member of this French association, are supposed to organize a festival of street theatre in Rožňava,“ said Roman Sorger, the dramatic adviser to the Košice ECOC team. Under the Interface 2008 project, Košice is to host artists of the ARTONIK association to present their art as early as this autumn. The association is engaged in experimental performancias given in public places. LyonKošice has been cooperating with Lyon for a long time. That´s why the last visit to the city was aimed at establishing links with the institutions which seemed attractive in the view of the ECOC project, however, the city has not been involved with yet. “We met with the representatives of the Institute Lumière, and agreed that two of our film makers might take part in the film school to be held in September provided there are still vacancies available. As part of their film festival, the school is going to be run by Quentin Tarantino this year. In the 2008/2009 season, the institute is going to make a presentation of Slovak documentary films. To this end, we have approached Slovak Television to prepare a selection of the documentaries to show.”The representatives of Lá Hors De who have already appeared in Košice when presenting their project Something is Red and the Košice project team are working together to prepare a joint project intended for the largest Roma housing estate in Slovakia known as Luník IX which is situated in Košice. “Apparently, the intention to cooperate has not remained a wishful thinking of the top representatives of this city, but emerged out of determination of both cultural communities to make use of the two cities´ potential and give rise to some joint innovation projects,“ said Jozef Filipko, the Deputy Mayor of Košice. BordeauxWe agreed with the architecture studio Arc en rêve centre d´architecture from Bordeaux to organise a large-scale encounter of architects in October to discuss European architecture. Bordeaux is to join the project run by the Košice Self-governign Region, which is known as Terra Incognita – Vine Route. This line of the project is to ponder wine as a drink as well as a communication channel and artistic inspiration.Marek Vargovčák, the Deputy Mayor, was truly interested in the subject of financing culture in France, esp. in the role and position of the municipalities in the establishing and operating of cultural institutions. “While Bordeaux yearly spends EUR 270 per capita, in Košice the same spending only amounts to EUR 4. We would like to increase the allocation from the city´s budget committed to culture from the current level of 0.5 % to 2-3%,” added Vargovčák.ToulouseThe presentation of Košice´s application project for nomination as ECOC 2013, which was given at the international conference entitled Europe, Culture and Development held by the Toulouse 2013 project team, was very well received. “Over thousand participants to the conference, representatives of the European cities including Jacques Lang, the co-author of the ECOC idea, appreciated our presentation with applause. Most viewers seemed to be impressed with the heat exchanger project,” disclosed the Deputy Mayor Vargovčák. Marek Kolárčik, the Košice candidacy project team leader presented the joined projects of Košice and Toulouse which also include the Garonne 2013 project. “Next autumn, Košice will be given a river boat to its disposal to cruise the river Garonne and make stops in the port towns. Košice will have thus a unique chance to present its culture on some floating stage to several French towns during this week-long journey,” Kolarčík gave some details on one of the joined projects of the two cities. Zuzana Lehotská
Košice citizens to transform SPOTs – cultural sites on margin
An unused heat exchange station is going to be made available to the citizens of Košice to be transformed as they like. The first public meeting took place on July 24 at 5 p.m. at the site of so-called “pink heat exchanger” in Obrody Street at the housing estate Terasa. The former heat exchangers are supposed to make a network of cultural sites on the margin, so-called SPOTs. The project is among the major pillars of the application of Košice for nomination as European Capital of Culture (ECOC) 2013.The objects of the heat exchangers built in the 1960´s and 1970´s used to serve to supply hot service water to the housing estates. Since 1990´s the technology of the stations has been overridden and the buildings of the heat exchangers became fully or partly vacated. They are now not used any longer and are becoming to deteriorate. Their total number is 156 throughout Košice.The unused heat exchangers redeveloped for cultural sites on the margin – SPOTs are to become venues of artistic and cultural activities, spare-time activities, encounters and communication. “As part of the pilot stage, we intend to transform seven heat exchangers. The plan is to redevelop five objects every year. We find it important to forge cooperation with the present operator of the heat exchange stations, the heat management company of Tepelné hospodárstvo (TEHO). Their job is to guide the process of modernisation so that we could manage to carry out one transformation project, at least, at each housing estate,” said Richard Kitta of the citizen´s association called OZ Pectus, one of the idea promoters. To get involved in the first project in Terasa the following entities have been approached for co-operation: OZ Pectus, OZ Community Development Centre and Chair of Architecture Faculty of Arts Technical University in Košice. The architectural and project designs are to be worked out by the end of September 2008 when the building operations are expected to launch. Under the pilot stage to last by 2009, the city will carry out a project of three small stage theatres and four studios, or mini galleries. The total investment costs amount to EUR 1.6m. In capacity of investor, the city will contribute 5%, while the remaining part is to be covered from the EU structural funds.OZ in collaboration with the ECOC 2013 head office will create a cultural programme of the SPOTs. “This is a year-round programme aimed at integration of visual art, music, dance, literature, film and photography into the “grey” every-day life of the communities living in the housing estates on the outskirts. The execution, designing and planning of these activities will involve the population of the local community, the formal and non-formal groups and NGOs operating in the community,” Kitta added some details of the scope of the programme.OZ Pectus is active in the literary and artistic sectors and carries on publishing. Recently, the association has also been carrying out some cross-sector projects engaging inter-media, contemporary visual art and music. As part of the application of Košice for nomination as ECOC 2013, the members of Pectus made in 2007 a unique internet portal to serve for interactive poetry writing. OZ Community Development Centre is a non-governmental organisation carrying out their activities and projects in order to afford facilities for the city people, mainly those living in large housing estates or Roma communities or at otherwise disadvantageous locations to take active part in their own social, economic and cultural development. Information:OZ Pectus, Starozagorská 7, 040 23 Košice, 0918 814 875, riso.kitta@gmail.comOZ Community Development Centre, Hlavná 68, 040 01 Košice, 055/ 622 31 30, blanka@ckr.sk
Zuzana Psotková – SOMETHING IS RED was an Adrenaline Experience – under Control
Multimedia project Something is Red was underway in Košice for almost two months. First, there was the stage scene. Then, the actors were getting accustomed to the cultural space of military background. The French were learning Slovak and the Slovak were absorbing French. On April 29th, the experience with unconventional type of stage performance enriched hundreds of spectators as well as the actors of Divadlo na peróne. Actress Zuzana Psotková alias The Red Riding Hood shared her impressions with us. What was it like to act with your French colleagues?It was fabulous. We were a well-coordinated team. Everybody knew what to do. The collaboration with them was seamless. We hit it off well outside of work too, and we spent a lot of time together. It is important for an actress to know her partner, to trust him/her, to be able to rely on him/her, to make sure they are on the same wavelength. In this regard, the project was successful. How long did it take you to learn the French parts of the script?In the end, it worked out like this – I can speak French a bit and I did not get any French speaking parts, just one children song, while some colleagues, to whom this language is like Latin, had many texts on their hands. I think we managed well. How much time they spent drilling, remains their secret. On the other side, the French did not escape Slovak language either.Simon had to deal with a lot at the beginning, but in the process, Natali (the director) decided to cut away a great deal. Najip was doing very well and he learned the script quite quickly. We had a lot of fun together as we checked and corrected each other. In the end, they were easy to understand, and they learned many Slovak phrases they did not use in the play itself. They really liked the language and tried to use it wherever possible.What impressions did this project leave with you?It was another very positive experience. We have already worked with an international team when we had worked on two of our plays, but we had never worked on such an extensive project in large space before. We were glad that Divadlo na peróne was a part of it and that were are equal partners to our French colleagues. We view the completion of this project as a good start to similar future residential stays in the military barracks, in which we would like to take part once again. How was Something is Red inspiring for you?We had not worked with direction for quite some time. As we do author-based theater, direction is mostly a matter of joint effort, even though it is usually Peťo Kočiš (actor of Divadlo na peróne) who usually takes the reigns. This time, we had to let ourselves be led. We had to become a part of something that had not been ours from the very beginning, which rose many questions and issues. The methodology of work was inspiring in itself. One had to be ready to react on any given impulse. It was vital to stay in the game and always bring in something fresh. Do you think Slovak spectators are ready for performance art?It is one thing whether they are ready, and quite another thing what their individual experience is. This was the first time people in Košice and its vicinity were able to encounter it. We had been asking ourselves what the reactions would be. The response was positive. All the spectator needs is to keep her/his eyes open and to let themselves be carried away, surprised, absorbed… The reaction of the spectators proved that despite minimal or no previous experience with this genre they were ready and curious.What is the primary difference between a regular performance and performance art?Performance, with which the majority of spectators are familiar, works around a staged script with a more or less invariable structure that can be acted out repeatedly at any given time while it is principally the same show. The spectator is reserved a role of an observer who is separate from action the stage. Multimedia performance art in Something is Red unrolled two hours of unrepeated sequences. We, the actors, would not be able to act out identical performance again either. It was a process that was completely live as it was conditioned by momentous impulses between actors, and the interaction with the audience. The spectator was not a mere observer seated in his/her place. Instead, they were a part of the performance art, the changeable element of the play – they could decide where to go and what to see, thus influencing the rhythm of the play in an indirect way. Was it more demanding?We had to be ready for everything. We did not know what we would come across in the course of the two hours – what ideas our colleague or we would get. We could not foresee how the improvisation would come off. None of us knew what our colleagues in other rooms were doing, what was happening there, and what the effect it would have on what we were doing at the time. It was an adrenaline experience really – the one when you never know what will happen next but you always have it under control. The preparation and the performance itself were demanding physically as well. Yet, we felt truly happy during the work. Did you manage to observe the reaction of people while you were acting?The reaction of the spectator was important. We based our movement within the space on it. There was an older lady who fabulously reacted to a whisper of a French actor with a conspiring wink – she let herself be absorbed and daringly became its part. In the course of the two hours, I met the same people in various rooms several times. It filled me with joy. It was clear the spectators were curious and they wanted to see it all even though it was impossible. Would you please describe the story of the performance, or at least its major theme?The project’s director, Natali, would be able to reply exhaustively. In principle, the performance was pointing out the relativity concerning the position of a victim vs. brute in the well-know fairy-tale. In the course of the performance, the spectators, among others, saw wolfish Red Riding Hoods, docile wolves, or a granny who was close to both. The whole show created one big live scene, through which the spectators could walk and discover many things.zuzana.lehotska@kosice13.sk