White Night 2013 will bring a record 41 installations and will be written in history as also having several firsts

There are several firsts and records connected to White Night/Nuit Blanche 2013, which is due to start in Košice in a few days’ time, on 5 October 2013 at 7.00pm. The city will be alive with multi-genre art until at least 2.00am and items used by the artists will include 22,000 metres of specially-produced thread, 30,000 pieces of origami, 500 metres of optical cable, 3,000 fresh flowers, 40,000 carton rolls and 400 lanterns. There are 25,000 illuminating dots ready for visitors within the collection for next year’s White Night. All these have not previously been seen in the four year history of this project in Košice.

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Around a hundred artists from ten countries and three continents will produce unique installations in a record 41 stations in the city centre. The dramaturge and curator of White Night, Zuzana Pacáková, has “mixed” a colourful programme consisting of 16 genres of music and fine arts. There will also be creative workshops for children and for the first time, apart from visual arts, visitors can look forward to concerts. The Barracks/Culture Park will entertain ambient house music enthusiasts with the British group, The Orb, and those who wish to have fun until morning can go to an Afterparty with 14 DJs.

“As always, all artistic installations can be seen free of charge. Tickets will only apply to musical events. Simply, some events can’t take place without an entrance fee being charged. A ticket for The Orb will cost €5, the Afterparty €3, but those who buy a ticket to see The Orb will have free entry to the Afterparty. A new event will also be a silent disco, a party with headphones. People can try this from 7.00pm to 23.00pm in Aupark and from midnight at an ‘afterparty’ in the Barracks/Culture Park,” said Z. Pacáková. As she emphasised, the entrance fee will contribute towards preparations for White Night in 2014.

“New this year will be engaging the public to ensure that an event in this format will remain in Košice and still attract world quality art and remain free of charge. In cooperation with the Košice – Tourism organisation, we have established the White Night Civic Association and we have also organised a public collection. The motto of the campaign is A Dot for White Night, since each visitor will receive an illuminated dot when they make a voluntary contribution. People will therefore become patrons of this event and will show that they are willing to support quality art in this form,” she added.

The collection will start during White Night and the illuminated dots will be available at the seven infopoints marked on the map, as well as from volunteers with special collection boxes who will move around the route. However, it will also be possible to support White Night until September 2014 via a special account, and the public will be able to continuously monitor and check the balance. “I would like to publicly thank the main partners who have supported us to date – The French Institute in Slovakia/Institut Français de Slovaquie, Alliance-Française in Košice, Košice Self-Governing Region, VSE/RWE Group and EU Japan Fest,” reminded Z. Pacáková.

 

IMG_9601Several personalities and guests who do not miss White Night include the General Director and Chairman of Východoslovenská Energetika a. s. (East Slovakia Energy Company), Thomas Jan Hejcman. “The VSE/RWE Group has been lighting up Košice night for more than 80 years. Therefore, of course, we are also a proud partner in this unique project for the second time. I believe that White Night, as a mega-successful project, also means a new light of hope for blossoming culture in Košice and the whole of Eastern Slovakia,” said the spokesperson for Východoslovenská Energetika a. s., Andrea Danihelová.

According to Z. Pacáková, due to their diversity, all the installations deserve the attention of visitors and she therefore concentrated them into one “line”.  “It starts next to the Tabačka Kulturfabrik and finishes in the Barracks on Kukučínova St. A small diversion is the City Park where, after a year’s break, we have returned with an interesting water-light installation called Drops by the Košice studio, ShowMedia, and Košice native Braňo Bernár. It has been created thanks to support from the VSE/RWE Group and I strongly recommend that you visit since it ranks amongst the top pieces this year,” she said.

Amongst around a hundred artists who will breathe life into the city night will be six artists from France and, for the first time, artists from Australia and Japan. Unique works will also be introduced by artists from England, the Czech Republic, Italy, Hungary, Slovakia and Spain. “I’m extremely happy that for the third time we’ll have the opportunity to adore the fragile art of the French Elise Morin, who will present monumental site specific installations called Golden Age and Ex-Vivo. They are made of 22,000 metres of gold thread, specially woven for us in Lyon,” said Z. Pacáková, who emphasised the fact that this artist preferred White Night in Košice over Paris. “For me, it is a great honour which doesn’t happen often,” she confessed.

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The appreciation for Pacáková’s efforts in bringing contemporary art to the city, which was unknown to the city just a few years ago, is also the participation of James Tapscott, the young Australian from Melbourne. He waived his considerable fee for the chance to come to Košice. “For James, this is his first visit to Slovakia and, since last week, he has been creating a site specific light installation in the Barracks/Culture Park, made of optical cables and called Transference Field,” informed the Curator. “A holographic object called Mol by the renowned Japanese artist, Ryoichi Kurokawa, one is one of the top contemporary artists, will be presented in Košice for the first time. It is a piece which is technologically and financial very demanding and we are able to present it thanks to the support of EU Japan Fest,” she explained.

Popular 3D mapping in an innovative form will be introduced in Košice by Italian Luca Pulvirenti, a Professor of New Media from Sicily. He called his work Landmarks of Memory and Signs and will present it on the rear façade of the historic State Theatre. Another untraditional piece will be the interactive, illuminated wall, Water Light Graffiti by French artist, Antonin Fourneau. Visitors can try the very popular interactive painting with water, which triggers light points.

IMG_9564Thanks to this project, anyone can create graffiti on a wall using LED diodes with a simple environmentally friendly sprayer. Using water which has no shape or colour to create a painting using light is a magical experience regardless of a visitor’s age or artistic perception,” explained Z. Pacáková.

Equally, for the first time since installations were created for White Night, the public will be involved via so-called participatory works, created by people in conjunction with the artist, Mademoiselle Maurice. She is preparing an installation for which she needs over 30,000 pieces of origami and this work will be situated on the wall of the Executioner’s House next to Mikluš Prison. These pieces of origami are currently being produced by clients of social services care homes and students from schools around the Košice Self-Governing Region as well as the wide public, including city management with the Mayor of Košice, Richard Raši.

2 Responses to White Night 2013 will bring a record 41 installations and will be written in history as also having several firsts

  1. New design of this website is horrible… And it is comin´ at the end of the year? Easy money for horrible website… One post per month in English? What a shame…

    • Košice 2013

      The price for the website is 0.00 €. Translation is for the money. Regards. Košice 2013.

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