Culture News Week 26

What’s Slovak in Karlovy vary?

The 57th Karlovy vary International Film Festival opens on Friday in this Czech spa town with a high number of Slovak co-productions. Moreover, the screening of the digitalized film Dragon’s return shot in the 1960’s will be attended by its director Eduard Grečner. Also in the festival section Out of the past, the brand new documentary about Grečner will be premiered in the debut by documentarist Maroš Brázda. The unconventional documentary All men become brothers by internationally recognized director Robert Kirchhoff will present from a different perspective Slovak political icon Alexander Dubcek. The Slovak co-production entries to the main competition section at the Karlovy vary festival include the drama A sensitive person as well as the detective story We have never been modern. The future generation of Slovak filmmakers will be represented by Monika Mahútová and her “stylistically inventive“ graduation film Standing still. All of that until 8 July.

Walk into the miracles

On the 1st July, the biggest site specific festival entitled Into the Miracles starts in the spa town of Dudince, southern Slovakia. The 79 kilometre long route from Dudince to Bátovce will consist of several sites housing more than 35 art projects by over 60 artists, performers, actors, musicians, authors and designers from Slovakia, Czechia, Norway, Lichtenstein and Iceland. Visitors can decide if they walk all the 79 kilometres or become hikers walking a daily distance of 20+ kilometres. The event is focused on audience development, the support of artworks, the presentation of contemporary art and building partnerships on a local, national as well as international level. The artworks will be created over the course of the festival and thus performed and exhibited in their premiere. The concept of the event has no equivalent in Europe.

Nominee exhibition for Biennale of Illustration Bratislava

Bibiana, the international house of art for children has opened the nomination show for the international exhibition known as the Biennale of Illustration Bratislava 2023. The show presents Slovak illustrators of books for children that were released in the past two years. Out of the 43 artists, an expert jury chose 10 to represent Slovakia at the international competition of the Biennale. It is possible to see their works as well as projects by other illustrators in Bratislava until 3rd September. The international competition will open on 4th October.

Good taste for fashion in Banska Bystrica

And one more exhibition that is open to the public as of Thursday, 29th June. Central Slovak Gallery in Banska Bystrica recreated the project entitled Magical world of outer appearance that was run in 2020 by the Eastern Slovak Gallery in Kosice. The show in central Slovakia was augmented by the local context. It maps the impact that industrial revolution had on fashion design. Focusing on the break of 19th and 20th century in Upper Hungary which is now Slovakia, it presents the importance that good taste in fashion had in connection to social status of nobility and bourgeoisie. The exhibition demonstrates the presence of fashion design in the works of artists that were active in that period in this region. Just to name a few - Elemír Halász-Hradil, Maximilián Kurth, Ľudovít Čordák, Leopold Horovitz and Dominik Skutecký, among others.