Can you already feel the hustle and bustle and cultural upheaval just before the prestigious title is taken over in Maribor? In Maribor, especially in Vetrinjske dvor, the headquarters of the Maribor 2012 Institute, one can of course already feel special excitement and anticipation, as the final preparations for the January opening event are underway. In many who...
Can you already feel the hustle and bustle and cultural upheaval just before the prestigious title is taken over in Maribor?
In Maribor, especially in Vetrinjske dvor, the headquarters of the Maribor 2012 Institute, one can of course already feel special excitement and anticipation, as the final preparations for the January opening event are underway. Many who are already part of the project have a great desire to see the project succeed in its entirety and come to life with the city.
Cities that become European capitals of culture are chosen primarily for their vision and diversity, what is Styria's vision for next year?
Our vision is connected to Maribor as well as to all partner cities and the North-East cohesion region. We hope and believe that Maribor will experience an acceleration of development in all areas, not only cultural, as a result of the vibrant cultural creation, and the bearers of this development will be the creative citizens. Success will be experienced by all partner cities, the northeastern cohesion region and, last but not least, the country of Slovenia, as this is also an opportunity for our economy, which will be more innovative, and the self-confidence of individuals will undoubtedly be higher. In fact, we can say that the whole society will be more creative, more open and penetrating.
Many partner cities participate in the EPK project; due to its compactness, does Slovenia have the advantage that EPK covers more than just (one) city?
I think that this is a big advantage, because EPK is a big project that connects all the partner cities and the entire region on the one hand. It also gives the opportunity to present itself to other regions externally, it invites visitors from other regions to itself, as well as foreign guests who will get to know the diverse Slovenian landscape, its customs and habits, the cultural and other pulse of several cities. On the other hand, it is precisely the dispersion of event organization into smaller projects in individual cities that brings about a wider success story.
The European Commission has been awarding the prestigious title and task to selected cities for just under thirty years; can you single out a city that has benefited from the title beyond expectations in the selected year?
From the point of view of the visitors, in 2003, the EPK in Graz, Austria, was very successful. Its goals were to promote innovation and creativity, arouse and spread interest in culture, emphasize city pride and trust. Graz presented virtually everything that is part of their identity: performing and visual arts, film, literature, architecture, design, fashion, music, history, new technologies, city festivals, sports, science, religion, children's and youth projects. They also catered for all ages and almost all social groups. EPK Linz 2009 is also one of the few EPKs that realized all the set goals. Accordingly, Linz as EPK is also awarded as a good practice for all European Capitals of Culture projects.
In what context will the element of Europe be present in Maribor and partner cities; how are Maribor, Slovenian and European cultures connected?
In the project, in almost all areas of artistic genres, we emphasize intercultural dialogue and encourage cooperation at all levels. With the participation of many European and non-European countries, the Cultural Embassies program will focus on different cultures. The University of Maribor is definitely of special importance for the city, the entire region and EPK, which represents great potential for development. We are extremely keen on the development of the Academy of Arts in Maribor, as we believe that development at the educational level plays an important role in the sustainable placement of the city in the wider cultural space.
Can you perhaps point out some events and artists that will excite most of us in the next year?
Within the framework of individual sections and entities, various events and events will take place in various forms. Thus, the events will take place in theaters and concert halls, in exhibition halls and in other closed traditional spaces, as well as outdoors, in squares and on the streets, and last but not least, we will also use the shop windows of bars. The events that will bring the city to life are definitely of great importance, from the House of Science to many exhibitions. The highlight of one of the most important gallery houses in the world, the Tate Gallery from London, is very important, which will put on display the works of the biggest names in fine art from its collection of global modern art, hopefully already in the new gallery. Furthermore, many co-productions with SNG, operas and ballets, among which I should point out, for example, the opera Black Mask. For children, it is undoubtedly necessary to point out the lively events in the Puppet Theater with guest appearances by Japanese artists, as well as the creative festival of international dimensions, Art Kamp, which caters for all generations with a wide spectrum.