Three days long meeting is mainly focused on people of from 15 to 30. There will be 12 organizations offering opportunities and programs to work and study across EU. Among those there institutions such as Slovak Youth institute, Ministry of Education, Research, Science and Sport, Thematic Youth Centre, Kosice, Europe Direct Kosice, EURES – The European Job Mobility Portal, Eurodesk Slovakia, SAIA – Slovak Academic Information Agency, ESN- Erasmus Student Network, Directorate- General of Interpretation, Pavol Jozef Safarik University in Kosice, Alliance Française, SAAIC – Slovak Academic Association for International Cooperation.

 „Erodesk is European information network and its main goal is to provide information and advises that concerns young people a all those, who work with them. During the event, all the visitors will have the chance to talk with foreign voluntaries that came and work in Slovakia about possibilities of European voluntary service,“ Izabela Széplaki from Košice Erodesk office explained.

This is also why SAAIC – Slovak Academic Association for International Cooperation became one of the organisations, that are active in the event. Its chief of executive Katarína Košťálová said, that association is dealing with the study and research international programs for students, university teachers and researchers for more than 23 years and therefore aims of EC initiative Youth on the move are vital part of their everyday work. „Our aim is to provide to the widest number of people interested in educational and research opportunities in abroad as well as in Slovakia with all available information. We also in many individual cases provide together with Ministry of education financial support for such stayings,“ said K. Košťálová.

Apart from exhibitors’ visitors may look forward to discussions with vice president of the European Commission Mr. Maroš Ševčovič, Mr. Jan Truszczynski Directorate General for Education, Training and Youth of the European Commission or Samuel Abraham and Katarína Brychtová- European Year of Citizens 2013’ Ambassadors in Slovakia.

Initiative Youth on the move took place for the first time in 2010, since then it visited more than 60 European cities. It came to Slovakia in the past, organizers prepared the event at known musical festival Pohoda in Trenčín in previous year.

Initiative of EU‘s Youth on the move is connected with the programs focused on fields of education and employment of young people in Europe. It is part of EU’s to enhance skills and employment in Europe.

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

Košice is gaining a new place and new possibilities for properly presenting contemporary visual art as is the standard in the rest of the world. The Kunsthalle/Hall of Art, known to Košice people as the old swimming pool hall, is one of the most architecturally interesting buildings in the town. It stopped functioning as a swimming pool after structural damage caused by the diversion of the River Hornad, an arm of which had flowed close to the building.

One of the investment projects of European Capital of Culture Košice 2013 was to save this monument and create a multi-cultural area. The original architectural layout make it ideal to use for organizing international exhibitions and workshops. The aim of the project was to maintain a connection of the world of culture with that of water both indoors and outdoors to build on its original historical function, but also to have a significant contribution to building the city. Water will be used in the form of dance and performing arts and new media.

“The refurbished Kunsthalle / Hall of Art is primarily an exhibition hall for contemporary visual arts on the international scale. For this year, we have prepared three presentations. The main exhibition is of British sculptor Tony Cragg, working in Wuppertal, a twin city of Košice. Another will be the exhibition of Constantin Brancusi, a classic in the world of modern sculpture, but whom we present as a photographer. The third exhibition is devoted to one of the key figures of the European Capital of Culture 2013 project, Argentinean multimedia artist Gyula Kosice, a native of Košice. He is generally regarded as a co-founder of op-art and hydrokinetics. He is linked to his hometown not only by his artist-name, but also by a work titled Statue for Košice, which will stand in front of the refurbished Kunsthalle / Hall of Art in Košice,” said artistic director of the Košice 2013 non-profit organization, Vladimír Beskid.

In September, Košice will play host to International Triennial of Contemporary Art, which should impact on the wider cultural infrastructure in the city. The main presentation will be at Kunsthalle / Hall of Art, Kulturpark and the East Slovak Museum in Košice. The accompanying events will be at the DIG gallery, Vojtech Löffler Museum and the ŠUV Rotunda exhibition hall. This should be one of the highlights of creative art for this season. During the Triennial in late September there will be a world congress of AICA – art historians and curators. In November there will be an exhibition of contemporary British art after Warhol, British Express, in partnership with the British Council.

“In the upcoming period, we would like to maintain a similar program and the standard we have set as well as the communication in the international environment. Our ambition is to create a strong new cultural point in Central Europe with a preference for contemporary art trends, but also intermedia and multi-genre events, where there will be periodic activities such as Triennial of Art, Days of Sound (Sound City Days), etc. Kunsthalle / Hall of Art is a very unusually laid out space with the possibility of using water directly in the main hall, therefore, it will require specific approaches and exhibition projects specifically designed for this space. The water level falls into one of the main project lines of Košice ECOC 2013 called the Košice elements – water, light, sound and new media. The main carrier of these will be, for the next three to five years, Kunsthalle / Hall of Art,” said V. Beskid, presenting his vision for the coming years.

]]> http://www.kosice2013.sk/en/kosices-hall-of-art-offers-particularly-contemporary-visual-art/feed/ 0 http://www.kosice2013.sk/en/convergences-with-the-hiliard-ensemble/ http://www.kosice2013.sk/en/convergences-with-the-hiliard-ensemble/#comments Mon, 15 Apr 2013 10:32:14 +0000 http://www.kosice2013.sk/?p=8144 Convergences bring to Košice an exclusive consert of British vocal ensemble The Hiliard Ensemble and an unusual rendition of Maori music.

International chamber music festival Convergences takes place in Košice for the fifth time between 8^th April and 2^nd June. The Convergences opening concert is on 8^th April at the VojtechLöfflerMuseum at 18:00. Pianists Ivo Varbanov and Fiammetta Tarli, and cellist Jozef Lupták will perform the works by Johannes Brahms.

Renowned British vocal quartet The Hiliard Ensemble will give the last concert of their career in Slovakia. After successfully hosting twice at Convergences in Bratislava (the Officium novum project with Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek, and the Bach programme Morimur), the ensemble accepted an invitation to the festival in the European Capital of Culture to present their renditions of the works by English Medieval and Renaissance composers on 1^st June. The concert in St. Elisabeth’s Cathedral will interestingly include the Slovak premiere of Cadman Requiem by contemporary English composer Gavin Bryars. Bryars´ composition will be accompanied by the world concert premiere of Vladimír Godár’s new composition, written upon a request from Convergences for The Hiliard Ensemble. Slovak musicians Igor Karško, Peter Vrbinčík and Jozef Lupták will perform together with the world-famous vocal ensemble in both compositions.

However, the festival begins two days earlier by the rendition of Silvester Lavrík’s literary-musical project Confidential Contract or Finding the Political Will (30^th May). Then, the festival continues to celebrate chamber music. Three excellent Slovak musicians – Igor Karško (violin), Jozef Lupták (cello), Nora Skuta (piano) – will perform the works by Leoš Janáček, Ernest Dohnányi, Dmitrij Shostakhovich and Johannes Brahms. Both events take place at the VojtechLöfflerMuseum.

Convergences often transcend genre boundaries. In the current year, the festival dramaturgy features the attractive programme Waiora by New Zealand composer and performer Horomon Horo (31^st May), whose performances blend elements of traditional Maori culture with different cross-genre inspirations. On 2^nd June, the festival ends with a performance by American string quartet Fine Arts Quartet with famous British cellist Robert Cohen. The ensemble performs the works by Rachmaninoff, Brahms, and Efrem Zimbalist (1889 – 1985), in Slovakia virtually unknown violinist, composer and conductor.

Tickets for the concerts and festival season tickets are on sale now at www.konvergencie.sk, and in the Ticketportal network.