“genius loci - poetry of space and spirit of networking”
V4 AND OTHER NATIONS NETWORK at LOD 2006
16th INTERNATIONAL ART SYMPOSIUM,
world culture heritage site FERTÖRAKOS
14th July - 29th July 2006

“So the question in the arts is how you break through this wall that we all have, this mediatised wall that prevents most of us from engaging in our real environment and changing it, entering it directly, experiencing it totally, not through a membrane but actually touching. Actually saying we're all here for each other, and whatever needs to be changed or fixed or adjusted in the world is the same thing that always needed to be adjusted. ...”  Peter Sellars, Cultural activism in the new century, 1999

Promotion of communication, exchange of ideas and collaborative art practice of artists, architects, students and cultural actors of V4 nations, also initiating contacts and exchange between V4, other European and overseas nations by participation at the arts and architecture workshops of the symposium. Elaboration of sustainable architecture concepts, considering the sensitive cultural landscape, the genius loci of the world cultural heritage site, which Fertörakos forms part of. Special emphasis is directed to active networking processes at all levels of the project.

Fertörakos, the Hungarian municipality at the lake of Neusiedl, forms part of the world cultural heritage as it has been a meeting point of different cultures for eight millennia. This cultural landscape distinguishes itself by its unique atmosphere, sensitive and archaic, and an outstanding cultural infrastructure.

LOD 2006, the International Art Symposium, will attempt to discover, reflect and visualize the poetry of this space through its workshops and artistic approaches. The engagement with the genius loci, the spirit of the place, the intangible, will also be manifested in a spirit of community. A community physically assembled by the symposium both in interaction with the local environment and in a spirit of openness and cross cultural exchange. The symposium grounds itself on active networking processes which bring together artists, cultural actors and architects, students and participants from V4 nations and other countries for an exchange of ideas and art practice leading to further cooperation and collaboration in the future. Furthermore, single workshops will incorporate specific networks of action, interconnecting initiatives, projects, institutions, individuals in order to create an optimized platform of communication, cultural cooperation and exchange.

The symposium consists of residence weeks, interdisciplinary workshops in the fields of painting, drawing, photography, video, architecture, design and performance and is supplemented by presentations, evening lectures and a dense cultural fringe programme. The studios will be located at the castle of Fertörakos, a former episcopal see.

The symposium is being organized by the Austrian-Slovakian association KulturAXE since 15 years and has been hosted on different sites in Slovakia, Hungary and Poland. Since 2005 it is implemented in Fertörakos where it is planned to remain for reasons of sustainability and the development of local and regional architecture projects.

Artists, architects and students from V4 nations will be invited both for workshop direction and participation. The prospective participants of each V4 nation will be students/artists proposed by the respective V4 partners (Academy of Fine Arts and Design, Bratislava; Academy of Fine Arts, Katowice; Brno University of Technology; MEDIAWAVE International Visual Art Foundation, Györ; University of Crafts and Design, Budapest). The workshop programme of the Symposium is directed by renowned artists with extensive teaching and lecturing experience, from universities / academies / institutions from V4 and other European and non-European nations.

The symposium will host presentations by the artists and workshop directors on their works and respective initiatives. A special focus will be directed on art presentations and performances of V4 nations. The roman quarry is a unique example of architecture in Europe, with impressive halls and an inbuilt theatre. The symposium plans to enhance the cultural activities at the quarry in summer.

The artworks produced will be presented in Fertörakos and documented by video and on CD. These documentations will be shown at each partner institution in the respective V4 nations.

Prospective participants:
Possess self-motivation for the programme, and are ready to take part in an intense working atmosphere - without forgetting a sense of humour and playfulness ...- interested in a transnational exchange and in communication with other participants. Curious to learn more and to experiment, they can be artists, art students or come from other fields of interest.

International Visegrad Fund
This project is supported by the International Visegrad Fund, IVF, www.visegradfund.org. The Governments of countries of Visegrad Four (the Czech Republic, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Poland, and the Slovak Republic), guided by the provisions of the Visegrad Joint Statement signed on May 14, 1999 in Bratislava, agreed to establish International Visegrad Fund with its seat in Bratislava in June 2000. The purpose of the Fund is to promote development of closer cooperation between the V4 countries through supporting common cultural, scientific and educational projects, exchanges between young people, cross-border cooperation and tourism promotion.

Institutional cooperation / network partners:

Municipality Fertörakos / HU,  www.fertorakos.hu
Mediawave, International Visual Art Foundation, Györ / HU,  www.mediawave.hu
Academy of Fine Arts and Design, Bratislava, SK,  www.afad.sk
Academy of Fine Arts, Katowice / PL,  www.aspkat.edu.pl
Technical University, Brno, Faculty of Fine Arts, Faculty of Architecture / CZ,  www.vutbr.cz
Széchenyi István University, Architecture Faculty, Györ / HU,  www.sze.hu
University of West Hungary, Sopron, Faculty of Wood Sciences / HU,  www.nyme.hu
Citylab, Bratislava / SK,  www.citylab.sk
fea - forum experimentelle architektur, quartier21 / Museumsquartier, Vienna, www.mqw.at
Imfundiso Skills Development, South Africa
New Design University, St. Pölten, Austria,  www.ndu.at

FIGURAMA network (life drawing workshop):

Academy of Fine Arts, Bratislava; TU Brno; Academy of Fine Arts, Prague; University of Applied Arts, Vienna; Technical College, Mainz;

University Pilsen

Ministery for cultural heritage, Budapest,  www.mag.hu
Pro Kultúra Sopron,  www.prokultura.hu
Collegium Hungaricum, Wien,  www.collegium-hungaricum.at

Kultursignale, Castle Deutschkreutz, Burgenland / A,  www.schlossdeutschkreutz.at
KunstundKeller, Horitschon, Burgenland / A,  www.kunstundkeller.at