These are the questions that the Bad Ischl Salzkammergut region focussed on in 2024. For the first time, it was not a city but an Alpine region that was the European Capital of Culture. The countryside, which is so often the poor relation of politics and business, was seen here as an artistic space of opportunity that opens up new ways of thinking about the past, the future and current social issues – exemplary for many other rural regions in Europe. “Impetus” is the title of the picture and text book on this diverse series of Capital of Culture projects.

Mandelbaum Verlag Wien
436 pages, format: 17×24, English brochure, numerous colour illustrations
ISBN: 978399136-083-4436

The post Impulses appeared first on Salzkammergut 2024.

60 short essays, cartoons and literary and artistic opinion pieces offer a range of perspectives on the region and its nature, culture, history and people. Written by renowned figures from literature, the sciences and art, the essays are informative, educational, effusive, critical and witty, and give deep insights into the Salzkammergut.

Contributors include Bettina Balàka, Markus Binder, Isolde Charim, Conchita Wurst, Mareike Fallwickl, René Freund, Barbara Frischmuth, Hubert von Goisern, Andrea Grill, Rudolf Habringer, Gerhard Haderer, Angelika Hager, Bodo Hell, Johannes Jetschgo, Franz Kain, Günter Kaindlstorfer, Edith Kneifl, Julia Kospach, Sarah Kuratle, Nicolas Mahler, Stephen M. Mautner, Eva Menasse, Nick Oberthaler, Walter Pilar, Helga Rabl-Stadler, Hans Reschreiter, Andrea Roedig, Franz Schuh, Elfie Semotan, Magdalena Stammler, Liv Strömquist, Anton Thuswaldner, Bernadette Wegenstein and more.

Prestel Verlag
Hardcover, Pappband, 304 Seiten, 17 x 24 cm
ISBN: 978-3-7913-8016-2

The post Salt Lake Country appeared first on Salzkammergut 2024.

23 light people by the artist Isa Stein accompany the audience to the many places in the city where there will be celebrations: in churches, in the Alte Post, in Sudhaus, in the Lehár theater, in the Bad Ischl train station. Esther Balfe’s performance group heralds the start of the interventa Hallstatt 2024 building culture symposium. The art project SOLANGE #29 by Katharina Cibulka asks questions about equality. The spectacular animation Flood by Ruth Schnell and Martin Kusch (kondition pluriel) negotiates the Declaration of Human Rights.

Associations and musicians from the Salzkammergut region and abroad will make the opening night sound out loud and proud! Celebrate with us! With the Salzkammergut region, with Europe, with the world. We look forward to welcoming you.

→ Gallery

→ Other European Capitals of Culture 2024

On 26 January, Tartu2024 and Southern Estonia began their year as the European Capital of Culture. Following Bad Ischl Salzkammergut in Austria and preceding Bodø in Norway, the second largest city in Estonia ushered in the year full of 1000 events with a grand opening show “All Is One!”. An audience of thousands gathered in the heart of the university town on the banks of the river Emajõgi. The show, with a cast of over 100 actors, dancers and musicians centered on the importance of being with loved ones and building connections.

→ read more

The opening ceremony of Bodø2024 in Norway on 3 February culminated in fireworks followed by applause from up to 20,000 people in Molobukta. In an almost windless Bodø Harbor, the audience was embraced by a magnificent mix of performing arts, sound and light. From the stage out at sea, a half-hour journey into the new year in the north began. The opening of the first European Capital of Culture in a city north of the Arctic Circle was a success.

→ read more

The post Opening appeared first on Salzkammergut 2024.

With its four program lines, the European Capital of Culture provides inspiration for the specific encounter between citizens in Europe, strengthens the creative exchange between artists and supports international academic dialogue through shared projects. The 2024 European Capital of Culture Bad Ischl Salzkammergut deals with questions of the local and global present and future. What roles does the region play in Europe? How does rural Alpine space develop? Globalization has challenged Europe’s understanding of itself.

Inner upheavals and the geopolitical shifts are calling upon us to rethink Europe’s place in the world. The 2024 European Capital of Culture Bad Ischl Salzkammergut would like to make a contribution to positively shaping and living European culture in the future.

23 communities within the Salzkammergut region will network with each other and thus prove that working with each other while maintaining one’s own singularity is both a strength and signal that a Europe with selfaware regions is space for the future, just like rural space. With countless partner cities through Europe and beyond, with more than 200 art and culture projects and an additional 100 associated projects, we are giving culture the importance that it deserves with which a future can be built and a civil society can be made possible. The baton will be passed, so-to-speak, every 14 days during the year 2024, placing the respective focus on a specific community. Each community is the European Capital of Culture, together we are all the European Capital of Culture.

The post Relay handover appeared first on Salzkammergut 2024.

• Parastou Forouhar, artist and activist born in Tehran/Iran and now living in Germany
• Manuel Gorkiewicz, artist, who graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna with a degree in painting and graphic arts and studied social anthropology and philosophy at the university there

The source of inspiration

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716), the universal mind of his time, developed the idea of the mind game. He argued that marvelling and wondering about things and processes is essential for learning and that the interaction of several disciplines can expand their capacities.

The scholar dubbed his vision of an all-encompassing worldview a “drôle de pensée”, although he was just as serious about this as he was about his endeavours to found an academy of science.

In 1675, the scholar was living in Paris and attended an astonishing demonstration on the Seine, where an apparatus was being demonstrated that made it possible to walk on water. Stirred up by this spectacle, he runs home and writes an enthusiastic and chaotic text in which he outlines his ideas for an academy of games. He is convinced that wonder and amazement have an inherent productive power and so he wants a popular exhibition with curiosities, fascinating automata and machines, animal dressage, theatre performances and fireworks, with games, with cabinets of art and rarities, with games of chance and lotteries. This is where the universal science that Leibniz had in mind takes on a popular form, where it becomes clear that he is striving for a discourse space for “all inquisitive minds” – and wants to make it useful for the future of science and thus the world. At the core of these considerations are perception and cognition and – also observation – as principles and prerequisites for creative work.

The post Academy of Games appeared first on Salzkammergut 2024.

From July 19th to 21st, timeslots will be offered for 15 participants per day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. . Anton Auer, professional clay builder and workshop leader, and the project artists Josseline Engeler, Ruth Größwang and Robert Angerer will work with the visitors to build the N.E.S.T. with a COB mixture of clay, sand and straw. The preparation of the supporting structure made of wood, the processing of the material and the actual plastering of the supporting structure are taught professionally. The N.E.S.T. is both – a mediation site and an artistic spatial installation. It is craftwork of artwork. An artistic research station with a focus on its experimental and symbiotic character.

The post N.E.S.T. appeared first on Salzkammergut 2024.

In summer 2024, a photo exhibition entitled “Women’s football and the patriarchy” is planned in public spaces by football activist Lara Krampf in Bad Ischl.

The post Women’s and girls’ football in the Salzkammergut appeared first on Salzkammergut 2024.

The post Fermented landscapes appeared first on Salzkammergut 2024.

The post Arena of human rights appeared first on Salzkammergut 2024.

In this way, the presentation of processes of landscape development creates awareness for a responsible approach to our living space. The landscape is also the basis for the socio-economic orientation and the development of tourism in the region. Pioneering achievements and special features tell of visions and entrepreneurial initiatives in the region and their significance in the present and future with examples from tourism, business and agriculture. The radio age began 100 years ago, changing communication for good. To mark this anniversary, a representative selection of artefacts will also be on display, illustrating the radio and information technology of the last 100 years right up to the digital age. Another focus is on the company history of Radio-Mandl, a small business that pioneered the spread of this medium in the Gröbming area from 1931. Local and global identities, the fascination, benefits and value of living traditions (Thomasnikolo Gams near Hieflau, Nikolo games, handicrafts) are told in the “intangible cultural heritage” section.

This participatory exhibition project – also conceived as a “work in progress” during its term – sees itself as a space for discourse and critical examination of local and global issues.

“Think global, act regional”

In view of the fact that regionality is clearly seen as the opposite of globalisation in economic, political, social and cultural practice, the question of identity, authenticity and the creation of new spheres of influence arises, especially in rural regions. As a regional museum and department of the Universalmuseum Joanneum, Schloss Trautenfels has the task of collecting, preserving, researching and communicating the cultural and natural history of the Liezen district. In keeping with this commitment and expertise, the “uniqueness of the central/special in the periphery” – the Enns Valley and the district of Liezen – is told in the context of the regions of Europe and presented in scenic displays across a range of themes.

The post People, the World and Things appeared first on Salzkammergut 2024.

gmunden.photo2024
White Noise: exhibition Good mood for Baukultur
City of Ceramics at the Blauen Butter
Bioregional Assembly

The post KunstQuartier Gmunden appeared first on Salzkammergut 2024.

For this applied research laboratory, a temporary, changeable work and action space will be created on the Laudach. The structure is intended to facilitate community-building practices, strengthen social interaction and promote experimental approaches.

The starting point for the collaborative process is the exploration of traditional artistic, cultural and craft practices from the Salzkammergut as well as stories and themes around the river space of the Laudach.

ko-ko.org

The post KOKO – Collaborative constructions appeared first on Salzkammergut 2024.

An indoor installation in the Brauhof gallery in Scharnstein will show films in which light moves at the speed of light over a tree, wood and forestry equipment. With exposure times of less than a billionth of a second, these films illustrate the dynamics crucial to photosynthesis on a time scale 20 orders of magnitude different from the 1000-year exposures. Exactly in between is the moment when humans make decisions – decisions that can have repercussions for centuries to come. These installations therefore highlight the need to think beyond man’s natural time horizon – a challenge that has never been more urgent than it is today.
Accompanying the project, a brochure will highlight the historical relationship between wood and the European salt industry, and a map will be produced leading to the millennium camera in the Alps.

Woodpassage – 40 steps from the tree to the house

The tree grows in the forest – the tree becomes wood – the wood becomes the house. The woodpassage, a “wooden sculpture for outdoor spaces”, memorably conveys this process in the Salzkammergut Capital of Culture region. The passage conveys the transformation from tree to house in 40 stages using simple pictogrammatic signs. This transformation is depicted as if cut out of large blocks of wood, slice by slice.

The result is a sensually tangible woodpassage consisting of 4 wooden gates measuring around 4 metres wide, 4 metres high and 5 metres long in total. Even from a distance, it conveys a strong, three-dimensional message. Walking through the illuminated passage, it becomes a playful mouthpiece for the ecological benefits of using wood and timber construction.
Further information on the subject of forests and wood: proholz.at/woodpassage

Location of the woodpassage (incl. Millenium camera Temporal Forest):

• 25/05 – 25/08/24: Marktplatz, Bad Goisern
• 31/08 – 03/11/24: Almsee, Grünau (near car park)

The Woodpassage project is subsidised by the Austrian Forest Fund. The initiator of the project is the cooperation platform Forst Holz Papier, which is managed by proHolz Oberösterreich.

The post The Temporal Forest & Woodpassage appeared first on Salzkammergut 2024.

In highly concentrated salt brine, visitors are immersed in the silence of outer space. The strong buoyancy of the warm brine creates a state of weightlessness and deep relaxation – this enhances the immersive effect of the high-resolution 360° projections of space travel and the external view of the globe.

The International Brine Space Harbour integrates a brine suspension system in a geodesic dome (fulldome) with high technical precision, and is complemented by video projections that are precisely tailored to this environment. Such a facility is unique in the world and is now open to the public for the first time in Bad Ischl.

The interplay of architecture, technology and the state of the brain during weightless floating creates an immersion effect: this means that the perception of oneself in the real world is reduced and identification with oneself in the virtual world is increased.

Floating in the fulldome

Floating is a relaxation technique in which you float in a pool of warm salt water, isolated from external stimuli. This method promotes deep physical and mental relaxation and is used in medicine, psychotherapy and wellness. Floating makes it possible to achieve a state of deep meditation.

To achieve optimum buoyancy, the concentration of brine used for floating corresponds to the salt content in the Dead Sea (30%). For comparison: In the bathing area of thermal baths, the salt content of the water is usually 3%. The raw brine for the SOLENAUT*INNEN’s space harbour (sodium chloride / saline solution) comes directly from nearby Altaussee.

Space films specially developed for this environment are shown in the hemisphere of the fulldome, simulating three-dimensional perception. The 4K 360° video projection system, consisting of 5 Barco laser phosphor projectors, is comparable in quality to Zeiss projectors in planetariums. A special projection surface of the indoor screen enables perfect reproduction of the image material in daylight and ensures independence from weather conditions such as rain or wind. The combination of these two technologies enables an impressive visual experience and has established itself as an innovative solution for planetariums and immersive experience spaces.

Space for all

“We came all this way to explore the Moon, and the most important thing is that we discovered the Earth”

Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders, December 1968

Astronauts report that actually looking at the Earth from the outside creates the profound new experience of realising oneself as part of humanity and the planet. This creates a physical realisation (not just an intellectual understanding) that we only have this one home planet and that there is nothing else like it far and wide. As a SOLENAUT*IN, it becomes possible to approach this planetary perspective, the overview effect.

The post SOLENAUT*INNEN appeared first on Salzkammergut 2024.

The winning projects

“The Bat Bomb“

Bats as bombs, a dentist with a crazy plan and a secret military site: Based on a true story, “The Bat Bomb” follows the unusual plan of Lytle S. Adams, who, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, suggests to the President in a letter that bats be used as living incendiary bombs. Roosevelt’s approval leads to the establishment of a military site in New Mexico and the formation of the “X-Ray” team under the leadership of Doc. Adams: dentist, inventor and patriot. In May 1942, the team tests the cooled bats equipped with self-triggering incendiary bombs. But the bizarre endeavour takes an unexpected turn when some of the bats wake up from their cold rest and fly away.

“The Bat Bomb” takes a humorous look at an insane invention and its historical circumstances. The mass devotion of the American population offers a peculiar insight into the dynamics of war patriotism. Infected by blind hatred, a people develop absurd ideas regardless of the consequences.

“GOLDAUSTRUD’L or `The shrinking city'”

based on the libretto “The shrinking city”

The Shrinking Town tells the story of a holiday resort whose inhabitants are confronted with the absurd effects of a mysterious substance: Their small town is shrinking! Everyday life becomes increasingly bizarre – and the residents ask themselves: Where does the substance come from? What is it trying to tell us? And above all: How can we get rid of it?

People who have never even listened to each other before now have to pull together in the same direction. It’s not without humour, and everything goes better with (allusive) music anyway!

“L’écosystème humain?“

“L’écosystème humain?” is an operetta that analyses the discourses of the currently growing far-right movements in Europe from a decolonising Latin American perspective. The operetta combines elements of sociology, micronarrative, humour, criticism and the potential fusion of text and musical composition, creating a third concept of expression. Based on the concept of the “nano” as a compositional axis, a minimal fugue point with great complexity, we aim for a dramaturgy, scenography and music based on multiple dualities. The libretto will quote excerpts from speeches of far-right movements across Europe to show the violence and paradox of their narratives. With the global growth of far-right movements, we believe it is crucial to reflect on political discourses in order to understand which political direction we are taking, why and how we can counter them – both by constructing and deconstructing discourses. The genre of “operetta” offers us the opportunity to explore, parody and constantly question the potential “human ecosystems” we create in order to develop possible artistic responses.

The post Short Operetta Festival appeared first on Salzkammergut 2024.

interventa Hallstatt is a multi-genre and intergenerational symposium that should take place biennially in the Salzkammergut. interventa Hallstatt is a laboratory, in which theory and practice combine to generate applications and knowhow. It is an experimental think tank that addresses the socio-political importance of Baukultur. Hence, the key factors include the ways in which people build, use buildings, and modernize the existing, the art that they create and the music that they listen to, and how they dance, dress, consume, and communicate. In this context, aspirational architecture and sustainability are not contradictions but, rather, sources of innovative ecological and topographical answers. interventa Hallstatt 2024 is rethinking Baukultur to ensure that it is fit for the future, on the multinational and regional scales, analogically and differentially, as a means of generating practicable ideas. 

The subject

The 1st interventa Hallstatt in 2024 is devoted to questions of Tradition and Innovation. 

The Salzkammergut is shaped by its history and spectacular landscape. And these have a defining impact on its population. Across four consecutive days, interventa Hallstatt will generate answers, new questions, and innovative approaches centered on identity and living environment, landscape and architecture and related issues from traditional meaning to the components of continued building. The choice between excessive and sustainable forms of tourism affects the entire region. The tourism of tomorrow demands respect for the landscape and Baukultur and a responsible approach to permanently evolving parameters. And the Baukultur of tomorrow is a culture of awareness that addresses our working methods, constantly changes the apparently permanent, and is focused on creating a tolerable future for a region, a nation, and a shared world. 

The protagonists

International and regional experts analyze and research, on the ground, the connections and interfaces between Baukultur and the traditions that shape identity and structure everyday life. These experts come from the fields of architecture, ecology, philosophy, sociology, and the humanities, as well as the visual and the performing arts. Activists for a paradigm change that involves all the senses, they illustrate what this could mean and experimentally investigate, in areas ranging from science to art, from slow food to traditional rites and customs, the possible context of this paradigm change and its impact upon landscape and tourism, in order to develop pioneering perspectives and creative approaches. 

Location

Illustrative for the entire region, Hallstatt should become an inspiring hub of local and international networking and interdisciplinary exchange. Hallstatt will be a platform, upon which theory and practice can combine to generate applications and knowhow as a means of shaping future synergies and alliances.

Formats

For four days, typical problems and questions will be addressed with the help of theatrical, performative, classical, and unconventional formats with a huge communicative range. Quintessential, investigative, and full of humor, these formats are able to reach multiple target groups, identify sources of trust and mistrust in the rural context, and detect the alien in the familiar. 

The post interventa Hallstatt 2024 appeared first on Salzkammergut 2024.

The platform “Salzkammergut bewegt” connects regional initiatives and associations, just as the Capital of Culture increasingly links the region with Europe and the world. With this cooperation, the European Capital of Culture Bad Ischl Salzkammergut 2024 would like to support the initiatives in further expanding their supra-regional and international networks while supporting the local structures. Together we invite the world to run and move in the Salzkammergut!

The Salzkammergut in the heart of Austria offers with its mountains and lakes, with culinary and tradition a multifaceted cultural landscape and has become a playground for endurance athletes through this unique framework with a series of great sports events .

Exchange and joy of movement

Whether you are a marathon runner or a runner for pleasure, a road bike cruiser, a gravel biker or a mountain biker, a trail runner or a mountain climber – the region has the right event and the right distance for every outdoor athlete. The solidarity of many sports organizers in the Salzkammergut should lead to the use of synergies and after demanding years with our events to send a strong sign of life to all movement lovers. The goal of his initiative is to exchange information, to use existing resources and to make people want to compete. Last but not least, these sporting events represent a significant economic engine for the entire region.

The post Salzkammergut moves appeared first on Salzkammergut 2024.

In the project implementation, KinderUni workshops (approx. 10 in schools or on open dates) will be held for 6-12 year-olds, which are designed according to principles of inquiry-discovery learning: Own questions on topics such as regional Salzkammergut and global sustainability are developed and multidimensional answers are explored with the help of different methods (observe, collect, experience, …).

Professional artists then support the children in KinderUni creative workshops in the implementation of the play, in particular the stage design, video sequences and parts of the music are developed.

The post KinderUni Salzkammergut appeared first on Salzkammergut 2024.

What is the importance of small-scale farming today and in the future? What makes the farming world diverse, liveable and desirable? What are the problems and potentials? What is needed to improve the situation of smallholders?

The community events will be held at seven farms with experts in 2023 and spring 2024. The aim is to give visibility to communal living models and non-family farm handovers as well as queer rural life. It is a process in which the next generation must be actively involved in order to open up future prospects for them in rural agriculture.

The one-day conference offers a platform for farmers, committed citizens, cultural workers and food artisans to engage in a comprehensive dialogue on agriculture, food and the environment and to develop concrete measures to improve the situation of small farmers.

The post Microfarmers Conference appeared first on Salzkammergut 2024.

From the exhibition in the Villa Pantschoulidzeff – built by the famous architect Theophil Hansen – with a magnificent view of Lake Traunsee and Traunstein, this expedition takes you by boat across the lake to the “wild” Salzkammergut: the destination is the Karbach quarry, an industrial site in the middle of a picturesque mountain world on the secluded eastern shore of Gmunden. On their tour, guests are accompanied by experienced guides and encounter a symbiosis of nature, industrial culture and works of art.

Where the real and the bizarre meet, “bizarre realism” comes into the world. This term was coined by the Ebensee writer Walter Pilar. At Villa Pantschoulidzeff, he and other artists are showing works of unconventional power. Pilar’s main work “Karbach-Hochalter” can be admired in the garden room. In the Salon, Bedroom and Cabinet, guests can experience works that are fascinating and irritating, humorous and serious at the same time. On display are dives, root worlds, headstands and an endless necklace.

The journey to the Karbach quarry is made by boat. White limestone was quarried here from 1890 to 2005, “the mountain was transported across the lake” (according to Pilar) and processed into soda in Ebensee. The route leads to the plant near the lake, where guests encounter artistic interventions – such as an alchemical laboratory in the workshop, a sound performance with singing stones in the sorting plant or an alpenglow underground.

The post Villa Karbach appeared first on Salzkammergut 2024.

In addition, the students from the three universities focussed on different production methods, approaches and approaches. The students at the University of Kassel have developed and realised installations with steam-bent larch wood, joints that can only be dismantled and AR technology. The University of Innsbruck worked with rammed earth technology for the realisation of their two installations. The designs by the UCL Bartlett School of Architecture are based on extensive research from two PhD theses, which focussed on acoustics, space and performance.

The concept and design were developed in the winter semester 2023/2024. In the summer semester 2024, six of the designs were finalised and finally built. During excursion weeks at the Gomde Centre, the teachers and students from the three universities immersed themselves in Buddhist meditation rituals and got to know the centre’s residents as well as local experts and craftspeople.

Participating students

University of Innsbruck: Angela Ballheimer, Beyza Aksoy, Carlo Spadaro, Cora Nill, Elias Brunmayr, Felix Murken, Filip Bernát, Finn Rothmann, Jonas Rachbauer, Julia Gasse, Leonard Bies, Lilly Schneider, Luis Meyer, Mara Ruperti, Maximilian v. Strachwitz, Pia Miedtke, Rosanna Meininger, Sophia Mertelseder, Vincent Devens, Vincent Reinhardt.

University of Kassel: Adrian Sohl, Till Steyer, Sunijia Wang, Alina Ditenbir, Aaron Warkentin, Jonas Baumann, Chiara Nickolmann, Emmelie Schwegmann, Evelyn Kozlov, Meryem Nisa Demirel, Edwin Koch, Max Schulz-Helbach, Sara Fee Panzer, Malin Dettke and Mansoureh Khodadad, Abdulrahman Sibai, Lina Arlt, Sarah Mustaffa, Aaron Warkentin, Reham Alhadidi, Chiara Nickolmann, Musaddiq Aljirbi, Larisa Rosic, Sophie Sauer, Rico Pfleger, Juman Qawaf, Gawad Kayal

UCL Bartlett School of Architecture: Bhagyashree Amle, Jr-Yun Lin, Bing Lu, Pranayita Myadam, Julia Zhu

The post Gomde: Sites of Transformation appeared first on Salzkammergut 2024.

The project is conducted annually with the goal of eventually photographing all 47 prefectures. Organized by the NGO EU-Japan Fest Japan Committee, it seeks to promote Japanese art and culture in Europe and foster intercultural exchange. The photographs taken each year across various locations in Japan are published the following year in European Eyes on Japan | Japan Today and exhibited in Japanese cities as well as in the European Capitals of Culture.

For the 24th edition of European Eyes on Japan | Japan Today, Austrian photographer Susanna Hofer and Norwegian photographer Aurora Haaland Stenersen photographed in Nagano Prefecture on Japan’s main island.

Susanna Hofer created photographic works featuring self-made objects crafted from everyday materials. The sometimes humorous and charming appearance of these objects is striking, yet her works contain complex references that explore art history and photography, such as Surrealism, snapshots, and Straight Photography.

“I was curious to see how Susanna Hofer’s method—which gently questions the original function of materials and our preconceived notions about them—would develop in Nagano, a culture entirely different from Europe. Thanks to the support of Ms. Kamisawa, who runs a contemporary art gallery in Chikuma City, the photographer was able to connect with artists living in Nagano and experience their traditional culture, such as the Shimenawa technique. Susanna Hofer’s works capture the Japanese view of nature, as seen in bonsai, ikebana, and daily life, and contrast it with the natural landscape of Nagano, with its steep mountains and vast forests.”

Mikiko Kikuta, Curator of European Eyes on Japan | Japan Today

Aurora Haaland Stenersen’s photographic work stands out for its treatment of light. It is not “light” that reveals something in daylight but rather a “soft light” that illuminates Nagano’s trees, mountains, and inhabitants, sometimes revealing them and at other times letting them fade into obscurity. Like this light, the photographer doesn’t assert Queerness loudly but seems to coexist with a diversity that cannot be captured in a single term. Through various contacts, Mikiko Kikuta reached out to LGBTQIA+ individuals in Nagano to ask if they would be willing to participate in Aurora Haaland Stenersen’s photography project. The photographer’s persistence and genuine approach helped engage local participants in the project, as Japanese society still often feels discomfort addressing LGBTQIA+ issues.

“Aurora Stenersen was the youngest of the shortlisted photographers, but I felt that her photos have a distinctly defined visual language. This is largely due to her clear vision of what she wants to express through her photos. She chose to explore the visibility of Queerness in rural areas, a theme she had previously focused on in Nagano.”

Mikiko Kikuta, Curator of European Eyes on Japan | Japan Today

The exhibition was initially shown in European capitals and later in Japan. The photographic works, developed as part of the residencies, reflect thematic and processual diversity and were showcased in European Eyes on Japan | Japan Today, curated by Mikiko Kikuta, at the exhibition space in the Eggenberg Castle Brewery. After completing the exhibition circuit, the works will be donated to the prefectures where they were captured and to Higashikawa in Hokkaido (home to the Higashikawa International Photography Festival) to become part of the cultural heritage for future generations.

The post European Eyes on Japan | Japan Today appeared first on Salzkammergut 2024.

The goal is to identify a comprehensive survey of vacant properties in all 23 Capital of Culture communities, which has not been compiled in this curated form before. This will result in an extension of the already existing compendium of the working group from the preliminary research in Q1/2022 and ultimately a complete overview of the entire Capital of Culture 2024 region. In addition, the comprehensive presentation of the vacancy and spatial potential under the aspects of the European Capital of Culture 2024 and a cross-section of the building cultural legacies should help “municipal decision makers”, in regional development and especially art, culture and creative industries to an awareness of unused opportunities for spatial use and visibility.

The post Curating Space appeared first on Salzkammergut 2024.

Forum Zukunft denken – Think Tank #1 – The Renaissance of Empires after their Supposed Disappearance. Looking back (by H. Münkler) – The central question of the panel is how a renaissance of empire is to be assessed and evaluated and what dynamics and pressures to adapt will emanate from it in the 21st century. The two follow-up panels will tie in with this in terms of content.

Forum Zukunft denken – Think-Tank #2 – The Renaissance of Empires after their Supposed Disappearance. Present (by H. Münkler)

Forum Zukunft denken – Think-Tank #3 – Die Renaissance der Imperien nach ihrem vermeintlichen Verschwinden. Future perspectives and strategies

The discussions of the young adults and international experts within the three dates will result in a joint manifesto, which will finally be presented in the Imperial Stables in Bad Ischl and discussed with the involvement of the public. Participants will be selected via an open call with short texts (3000-5000 characters) on the question: “How to think the future”.

The post Forum Thinking the Future appeared first on Salzkammergut 2024.

In our all-or-nothing decade, it is time for all sectors to act and contribute to climate action to strengthen climate security, resilience building, prevention and precaution efforts. All sectors should do their part and find their own path of sustainable growth. As numerous evidences show, there is a fundamental link between cultural practices and the greening of our societies. Culture plays a crucial role in driving societal change and fostering innovation. In this context, the cultural and creative sector (CCS) should play a leading role in the green transformation of our societies. However, the full potential of the cultural and creative industries to drive green transformation in Europe is currently not being realized.

How can the full potential for green transformation be harnessed and unleashed? How to enable change within the cultural and creative sector and how to in-spire change outside the sector? The Big Green project has brought together a wide range of partners from across Europe to find answers to these questions and to focus, align and amplify green transition efforts through large-scale collaboration. The long-term vision of the project is to transform the utility of the cultural and creative sector by promoting its new role in Europe’s green transition.

The Big Green Project also produces scientific texts that deal with the connections between nature and culture. Philipp P. Thapa’s text deals with key questions such as “How can the cultural sector become more ecologically sustainable?”, “How can artists and creatives become catalysts for social transformation?” and “What can society learn from creative practice?”. His specialty is philosophical research, and his most recent text deals with creative paralysis and confusion as productive elements of creative work. 

The post The Big Green Project appeared first on Salzkammergut 2024.