Description
The proposed project will improve the knowledge and mutual understanding of topics related to gender equality or to work-life balance, as they are connected or spring from different border-related phenomena, in a strongly meaningful border area between Slovenia and Italy. The projectwill cover topics that need deeper understanding, that is, to be treated in artistic ways, such as trans-border migration for work or leisure, culturally mixed marriages and other family relationships, language barriers, cultural and historical links and cleavages, political micro-geographical and territorial issues, naturally as well as architecturally manifest border phenomena etc. BoB - BALANCING ON THE BORDER will share both daily-life and academic experience, increase and stratify knowledge, as well as build on know-how and technology – especially in the realm of ICT supported academic course design, programme implementation and international production in the arts and (crisis-stricken realms of) creative industries. The participants, both mentors and students, of 3 schools will work together, also with local inhabitants, for shared results in research and to produce widely disseminable artistic reflections of the boarder phenomena, as they relate to the topics of gender equality or work-life balance. The proposed IP project aims at increasing the extent of cooperation between countries’ institutions firstly among universities and secondarily among production facilities and NGOs connected to each of the mentors’ professional background. Cooperation among individuals will be sought at an interdisciplinary level, connecting the art-production realm with research in (urban and cultural) sociology, psychology, history etc.
Summary of project results
The main topic in the IP, the border phenomena was developed and researched in different context: trans-border migration for work and survival, culturally mixed marriages, language barriers, happening across the border, political, historical, geographical and territorial issues etc. In the second edition of the IP (2015) appeared additional research topic considering actual developing refugee and migrant crisis has been: "New walls in Europe?" The main objective was focused on balancing on the border, living on the border and life around the border/s. The main objective was to create widely disseminable works that carries a specific inter-cultural reflection quality and contribute to a better understanding to the topics. Participants from two guest universities came to Slovenia to creatively research gender equality or work-life balance within a border region in Nova Gorica, the city born because of a newly drawn border 60 years ago, struggled with this border ever since. The students from three different universities and ten different countries with different cultural backgrounds came together in groups and each group was making their film. The students developed interdisciplinary collaboration skills and ethic in team work, learned to creatively collaborate trans disciplinary and trans culturally, developed their competences in creative production settings, preproduction and postproduction methods and work-styles and developed a critical, post-modern sociological and psychological perspective in cultural heritage, architecture and urbanism.
Summary of bilateral results
School of Arts University of Nova Gorica as project coordinator had the main responsibility for organization, coordination and promotion of all stages of the IP and all activities related in both editions. Starting with the implementation – videoconference of all partners, the working process continued with online developing concept, topics, structure of the programme and selection of the students. The IP was carried out in the University of Nova Gorica premises and UNG was responsible for technical support and all organization activities needed in the process of production. As a result of the intensive programme, the collaboration between countries’ institutions increased and is strengthen, also will continue in the future. After the finishing of the first edition of the IP, the representatives of the School of Arts University of NOva Gorica visited Westerdals School in Oslo and discussed of the possibility of cooperation on the production of new joint master program. Students in 5 mixed groups in first edition (2014) produced omnibus of five short (animated, fiction and documentary) films. Students in 6 mixed groups in the second edition (2015) produced 2 animations, 3 short films and 1 interactive installation. The movies were shown in cinemas in Slovenia and Italy and also shown on different festivals in Europe because of the attractive of the topic.