Košice signed an agreement on cooperation with Toulouse, a French candidate for the title of European Capital of Culture 2013

Košice and Toulouse, two candidates for the title of European Capital of Culture (ECOC), represented by František Knapík, the Mayor of Košice and Vincentella de Comarmond, the Deputy Mayor of the city of Toulouse in charge of culture met today in the Historic Town Hall in Hlavná Street 59 Košice to sign an agreement on mutual cooperation until 2013. The subject-matter of the cooperation refers to creation of a network of contacts between the cultural operators in Toulouse and in Košice. This agreement commits both cities to cooperate for the entire period of their preparation for nomination until 2013. Košice has already signed an agreement on cooperation under the ECOC project with Lyon, another French candidate city.

After the signature, the representatives of cultural institutions from Košice and the French delegation had a discussion. “The joint projects will include a presentation of the city of Toulouse. Another interesting project is based on the invitation made for French artists to come to Košice, use their creativity and mould the shape of a heat exchange station, one of the SPOTs on the margin“, briefly commented the signature František Knapík, the Mayor of Košice. “I expect today´s discussion to make a precise definition of the genre or profile of the artist we will send to respond to the Košice´s commission. I think that besides the exchanger which will be arranged by the artist from Toulouse in his own image, another exchange project will take place soon. It will present a genre of street theatre which we are really good at“, added the Deputy Mayor of Toulouse. As expressed by Marek Kolárčik, the leader of the Košice nomination project manager, the purpose of the project is, among others, to achieve that the city´s assistance towards the costs of culture moves from the current half a percent of the city budget to the level of three percents until 2013. “We are in a completely different situation. French cities annually contribute 15 percents of their budgets for culture and they are founders of several cultural institutions in their cities,“ clarified Vincentella de Comarmond. The joint Slovak-French events include a mini-festival of Košice culture to be held at the bank of the river Garonne, a cultural event to take place in one of the caves situated in the Košice region, a street theatre or an organ festival.

In 2013, one French city and one Slovak city will bear the ECOC title. The pre-selection stage was successful for four Slovak cities, namely Košice, Prešov, Martin and Nitra. In France, it was Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille and Toulouse.

The city of Košice has devised a programme known as INTERFACE which aims to create an environment where people carry on a creative dialogue producing inspiring and innovative outcomes. Such an environment draws no line between creators and audience. All participants bar none become active component units of the INTERFACE. INTERFACE also serves as an educational environment teaching all groups of citizens to communicate with each other, with the city, region and the entire Europe. INTERFACE is also a creative environment where tradition communicates with new and innovative forms. Culture is no longer locked inside traditional institutions, but appears wherever its users and creators are. INTERFACE connects margin with the centre. This project´s ambition is to bring the marginal parts of the city to the spotlight and to make them places of encounters. Culture becomes a tool of interconnection, understanding and development. INTERFACE undergoes changes while accommodating its users in itself, and, then, in return, changes its users as well.

The City of Toulouse has prepared a project entitled “Toulouse, Europe of Roads”. The project´s aim is to transform the city and its surrounding region in the ambits of art, society and community lives, and offer the citizens a new model of development. Toulouse 2013 encompasses both political and community goals when promoting links between the city and society. Culture works as a key factor of strengthening social cohesion. This project gives creative operators free hands to chisel their environs into new shape. Such a dialogue may be entered by anybody who feels like taking a think to discuss resources of the space shared.

The following events have taken place in Toulouse and Košice as part of the cities´ preparation for nomination:

• December 2007-March 2008: Exhibition of the East-Slovakian Museum entitled as “Treasures of Eastern Slovakia” (Gothic and Baroque art) in Jacobin cloister Ensemble Conventuel des Jacobins v Toulouse
• May 2008: Exhibition of the Galérie Château d’Eau collections entitled as “Café de la Gare“ (views of French photography) as part of the French Culture Day in the East-Slovakian Gallery in Košice.

The following events are planned for 2013ujatia:

• “Garonne goes to sea“: A mini-festival presenting art created in Košice will be held in Toulouse and in another of the cities situated in the region along the river Garonne.
• “Caves“: A cultural event will be held in the Jasov cave and in one of the caves located in the Midi-Pyrénées region.
• “1000 tandems“: A cultural operator from Košice will take over direction of an event in Toulouse and vice versa.
• “Organ Festival“: The organ festivals organised in Košice and in Toulouse will develop cooperation.
• Féraille, an artist from Toulouse, and the Theatre Romathan, or the Puppet Theatre Košice, will prepare a street performance.

As part of their planned tour, the Toulouse National Orchestra will have several concerts in Košice.

• Other events related to ballet or modern art are now being prepared.

Text: Zuzana Lehotská