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Description
The aim of this project is to boost mutual inspiration, cultural exchange and artistic cooperation with Iceland, Norway and other Scandinavian countries and to acquaint Czech audiences with their valuable work.
The genre focus will be on current trends in jazz, electroacoustic music and sound art. By combining these branches at one festival, a synergistic effect and space for international interdisciplinary discussion will be created.
The project will include residencies with cooperation on works on environmental topics associated with the residence (Brno). Artists will be invited for the residency in cooperation with our Norwegian partners or selected through an open call.
Works created during the residencies will be presented together with works by other artists at 2 music festivals in spring and autumn, and in a simultaneous exhibition of sound art.
Spaces within Brno were negotiated for concerts and exhibitions: Moravian Gallery in Brno, Kino Scala, Industra, Divadlo na Orlí; the city administration recommended spaces for installations in the public space. The residency''s outputs are also to be presented at the Motvind festival in Oslo, and according to the outputs at other suitable events or exhibition spaces.
The most valuable performances will be recorded and mixed for Ponava Radio, where interviews and podcasts with artists will also be presented. The selected performances will result in high-quality music videos, which will be published on Youtube and Facebook channels of our organization and of our partners.
The project also includes a series of workshops taking place during the festival and as a part of regular accredited university education with the participation of the public (musicians and sound artists). The workshops will be led by residents and performing / exhibiting artists.
If it is necessary to restrict activities due to COVID, the exhibitions will be organised outdoors, and workshops and performances will take place online.
Summary of project results
The project was needed to open the Czech scene to the influence of Norwegian (not only) jazz and electroacoustic music and sound-art and to strengthen the position of more experimental or avant-garde genres in the Czech Republic.
First, the project was reorganized in light of the Covid threats, high inflation and the manager''s illness. This made the project successful despite these circumstances. We developed the programme and visuals for the first wave of the festival, which enabled success of the event made it a name. The first wave of the festival and workshops took place, presenting the music to the public and expanding the participants’ competences. The residencies resulted in international works and partnerships, which were then presented. Similarly with the second wave, which added a sound-art exhibition. The visitors were introduced to sound-visual works and the local position of sound-art was strengthened. Czech and Norwegian musicians realized a residency and a concert in Norway, thus strengthening Czech-Norwegian relations. Documentary media about the project was produced and published, thus strengthening the awareness of the presented works and the brand of the festival.
The project was a meeting of CZ and NO cultures in the context of the global scene, in the field of innovative music and sound-art. Collaborations of artists and organisations have begun and they will be followed up. The participants of the project were made aware of environmental issues and led to reflect on our civilization and lifestyle. Workshop visitors have expanded their competencies in music and sound-art disciplines and this will continue to be reflected in their work.
Summary of bilateral results
Thanks to our collaboration with Andreas Hoe Roysum, we have created a colourful programme featuring top artists from the Norwegian jazz scene, both in their own projects and in the specially created Czech-Norwegian FAUN Ensemble, which created and then performed thematic compositions during their residency in the Czech Republic. Mr. Roysum, together with dramaturge Radim Hanousek, coordinated the composition and rehearsal of the pieces, and also coordinated and implemented the logistics of the Norwegian artists. Thanks to his involvement, we created an original program and compositions and established CZ-NO artistic contacts.Thanks to the cooperation with Norsk jazzforum, we have had discussions about the contemporary Norwegian jazz scene and contacts have been established between other CZ and NO jazz circles, a joint project tailored for the Czech Republic with Stavanger Kitchen Orchestra is planned, as well as a specific installation tailored for Prague or Brno. Thanks to the established cooperation with NJF, an improved audience development strategy has also been developed and valuable Norwegian groups (Emmeluth Amoeba, Maca Conu, NOCZ) are playing more often in our country.