Description
The aim of this interdisciplinary project is to enhance cultural dialogue and strengthen European identity by challenging the issue of environmental crisis and our notions of security. The project focuses on contemporary transformations of the landscape and the close connections between our civilization and nature. These themes are elaborated in terms of the geography and morphology of the three specific areas of central and northern Europe. The project includes creative residencies and workshops in selected areas of the Czech Republic, Iceland and Norway. It focuses both on emerging and established artists working with audio-visual media, time based art, performance, sound, and those who are reflecting the social and environmental content. The aim of these residences and workshops is to explore long-term transformations of the land, as represented for example in the industrialized landscapes of northern Bohemia, changes in the ethnic profile of the population, and the loss of historical structures. The workshops around the town of Alta in northern Norway and the east coast of Iceland take place in areas where the effects and traces of industrialization have been felt, for the most part, only in recent decades. The outputs of the project, in which 21 artists from the Czech Republic, Norway and Iceland will participate, will be presented at an exhibition in Prague. Documentation, new art works, interpretations and the results of 7 workshops will be presented. An exhibition catalog will include documentary videos and sound recordings, texts on contemporary art, ecology and the environmental sciences. The project is a joint initiative of the association Deai/setkání from the Czech Republic, the Atelier Nord from Norway and the Skaftfell Center for Visual Arts in Iceland.
Summary of project results
The project "FRONTIERS OF SOLITUDE" aimed at presentation of the contemporary art and culture to the widest possible audience and focused on transformations of the landscape and the close connections between our post-industrial civilization and nature. The project consisted of several interrelated activities: creative workshops and stays in the Czech Republic, Norway and Iceland, meetings and art residencies at locations in North Bohemia brown coal mine area, Iceland (Seyisfjörur) and northern Norway. The results of contributions from the field of contemporary art theory, ecology and environmental sciences were presented at The International symposium Frontiers of Solitude that took place in Prague in February 2016. The final exhibition summarized the results of cooperation, research and workshops and took place in Prague from February till March 2016. The catalogue was published and distributed with the video documentaries, texts from artists, essays of experts and contributions from the symposium and it is also available in the online version. Creative stays in remote locations of Czech Republic, Norway and Iceland were implemented with the best possible outcome. Creative workshops and the international symposium had a good response from the general public attended by, among others, students and experts on the topic and local organization. Personal and professional contacts among the participants of the artistic residencies and workshops between representatives of cultural and civic institutions were established. The final exhibition will be toured twice in the Czech Republic and in one of the partner´s organization in Iceland after the project is completed.
Summary of bilateral results
The project had 2 different partners from donor countries. Icelandic Skaftfell – Center for Visual Art and Norwegian partner - Atelier Nord. Both institutions were actively involved in the preparation and implementation of the project from the very beginning. Skaftfell contributed to the project by: selection of Icelandic artists, lecturers for creative workshops, logistics of the Iceland residency and transport of the participants to specific locations. Skaftfell also participated in the symposium and final exhibition and helped with the selection of Icelandic videos for the screening programme in Prague. The Norwegian partner Atelier Nord provided the selection of eligible participants of the project in Norway, invited the lecturers for workshops, supervised the logistics of the travel of the team to the north of Norway, helped with the publicity of the project in Norway and distribution of the catalogue in Norway. Atelier Nord also helped to select the works for the Prague final exhibition and screening programme. Further cooperation with partners is planned after the project's completion. The final exhibition will be toured in Iceland and also in Norway (2017).