This weekend the city of Bratislava will once again turn into an exhibition space for the contemporary art festival Biela Noc (White Night). From Friday evening (October 3) to Sunday midnight (October 5), courtyards, squares, abandoned buildings, unusual interiors, parks and the waterfront will be turned into a multimedia experience gallery. In addition to the domestic scene, the festival will present diverse work by authors from France, Belgium, Spain, Ukraine, Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary. The program at more than 50 locations will begin on Friday at 7 p.m.
A rich and varied program has been prepared for all generations, during the three days they can expect digital projections and light design, popular mappings and site-specific installations, concerts and performances, as well as an unconventional fountain or objects, exhibitions, illustrations and creative workshops for children. Festival director Zuzana Pacáková also highlighted new locations that will appear during the festival. For example, Vydrica will be part of the popular water route leading from the Eurovea shopping mall, which will also have a stop at the Faculty of Arts of Comenius University and the Slovak National Museum. “I always enjoy new locations because they are new possibilities for working with architecture and history. We will have four works here, and there will be an immersive light installation in the cascading park,” Pacáková explained, adding that the first work of the White Night, which the author Nina A. Šošková has named Mainly Smile! has already been installed.
The festival map will also feature the Chapel of St. Ladislav in the courtyard of the Primate's Palace, where the interactive object OKO by Czech artist Antonín Kindl will be located. According to Pacáková, this is a highly technological installation working with an AI camera. Students and teachers from the Academy of Performing Arts will also join the White Night, and visitors will be able to visit several normally inaccessible buildings, including the entrance hall of a former bank on Štúrová Street, which will house Viktor Frešo's lava lamp of friendship.
Due to the huge audience interest, the multimedia project Synchroscope will also return to the program, which last year was the first of its kind in Slovakia to combine synchronized swimming with dance, light design, music and sound poetry.
This year it will be shown in the renovated Pasienky swimming pool. "This year's White Night is a probe into the work of artists from the Slovak and international scene, bringing many topics that are currently important in society - ecology, war, interpersonal dialogue, freedom of creation, and public space. We are very excited to bring 53 art projects from ten countries," Pacáková said about the multi-genre event, which will also offer live dance performances, interactive sound installations, literature, textile design and music.
Source: TASR
