#Creative Europe

[marcogiovenale]

da settembre 2024 a giugno 2025: "the next real", a cura di sineglossa

THE NEXT REAL Mostre ⧫ Talk ⧫ Laboratori su Arte, Intelligenza artificiale e società settembre 2024 – giugno 2025  | Bologna a cura di Sineglossa a settembre 2024 a giugno 2025 l’organizzazione culturale Sineglossa presenta The Next Real, una rassegna di eventi su arte, intelligenza artificiale e società, diffusa in varie location della città di Bologna, da Salaborsa a Dumbo, fino al Tecnopolo…

[bspoquemagazine]

VibeLab: Night School week is over

[downthetubes]

Comic Art Europe's "Living Together" exhibition opens next month, heads to the UK later this year

A special exhibition from Comic Art Europe gets set to tour the continent, starting at the Lyon BD Festival

This June, you will be able to visit Comic Art Europe‘s newest exhibition for the first time, as part of this year’s Lyon BD Festival. Back in 2022, together with four organisations, including the UK’s Lakes International Comic Art Festival, CAE launched an open call on the theme “Living Together”. Artists were invited to reflect on their interpretation of “Living Together” in the modern world…

[sguardimora]

Eva Giannakopoulou in residenza per “Ichthyolatry”

01 Dicembre 2022 - 15 Dicembre 2022 

Inizia oggi la residenza creativa per la ricerca e la composizione del nuovo spettacolo di  Eva Giannakopoulou. Eva è l’artista selezionata per questo quinto tandem di produzione che vede coinvolti come coproduttori PCAI Awareness Raising (Grecia), ARTEMREDE/Torres Vedras Municipality (Portogallo). La selezione è avvenuta attreverso una call lanciata il 10 gennaio 2022 e chiusa il 28 marzo 2022 per artisti residenti in Grecia.

Ichthyolatry rappresenta la quinta tra le 12 produzioni internazionali che verranno realizzate e coprodotte da altrettanti tandem produttivi nella cornice del progetto europeo Stronger Peripheries. L’arboreto – Teatro Dimora, tra i partner, è stato scelto per la sua esperienza e l’unicità della sua vocazione come principale luogo di residenza creativa per sette di queste produzioni. 

La teorica culturale Astrida Neimanis nel suo libro “Hydrofeminism: Or, On Becoming a Body of Water” (2017) inventa il concetto di “Idrofemminismo”, proponendo un’inedita prospettiva eco-femminista: l’acqua, il genere femminile, i corpi incarnati e la cura dell’ambiente e della biodiversità dovrebbero fondersi e creare una nuova etica ecologica. Apprendere la “fluidità” tipica dell’elemento in costante movimento potrebbe contribuire alla nascita di una nuova coscienza ecologica, politica e poetica, attraverso una lente femminista? Se l’acqua è l’elemento da cui derivano tutti gli organismi, come potremmo tornare a questo remoto stato della nostra esistenza, abolendo i limiti tra evoluzione e storia, natura e cultura? Come creare alleanze trasversali tra generi, specie e ambienti in una prospettiva post-umana? La risposta a queste domande potrebbe “colmare il divario” esistente tra passato, presente e futuro, tra esseri umani e non, tra una medusa ed un cane. Mentre siamo diretti testimoni di epidemie, guerre, catastrofi ecologiche e crisi energetiche, potrebbe essere interessante ripartire dall’acqua, in un orizzonte etico post-umanista, per incoraggiarci a pensare orizzontalmente, al di fuori degli interessi della nostra specie, abbandonando una concezione del mondo narcisista, e prendendo sul serio gli interessi e i diritti di tutto ciò che non è umano. Ichthyolatry è il tentativo di collegare il Pireo (GR), Torres Vedras (PT) e Mondaino (IT) attraverso “percorsi d’acqua e di etica dell’acqua” sperimentando con le comunità locali, la natura e i rispettivi contesti urbani.

*****************************************************************

Eva Giannakopoulou è cresciuta a Itaca, in Grecia, e attualmente risiede con suo figlio ad Atene, dove lavora. In passato ha vissuto a Napoli, Barcellona, Istanbul, Berlino e in altri luoghi a seconda delle circostanze. Ha presentato spettacoli in vari siti non convenzionali, tra cui spiagge, piazze, fiumi, parchi e stadi improvvisati nello spazio pubblico. Il suo lavoro è stato esposto in musei, istituzioni, gallerie e festival, tra cui la Onassis-Stegi Foundation (Kin Baby, FUTURE N.O.W, 2021 e Kivotos Channel, 2021), il Museo Benaki (“The Same River Twice”, 2019; “The Equilibrists”, 2016, entrambi a cura e organizzati dal New Museum, New York e dalla Fondazione DESTE), il Kultursymposium Weimar (2019), il Goethe-Institut Athen (“Weasel Dance”, 2019), la Biennale di Atene AB6: ANTI (2018), the Athens Biennale AB5to6: OMONOIA (2016), the Material Art Fair (Mexico City, 2017), the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation (Berlin, “Autonomy Help ME!”, mostra personale, 2015), MPA-B (Berlin, 2014 e 2015), Action Field Kodra (Thessaloniki, 2012) e la National Bank of Greece Cultural Foundation (MIET) Thessaloniki Center (in occasione di un evento parallelo della terza Biennale di Arte Contemporanea di Salonicco, 2011). Ha studiato storia dell’arte in Italia e belle arti in Grecia sotto P. Charalambous. Eva ha ricevuto la borsa di studio IKY (State Scholarships Foundation) e Vikatos per i suoi Master “Space Strategies” presso l’Accademia d’Arte Weiβensee di Berlino. Ha co-curato e co-organizzato numerosi progetti artistici ed eventi performativi, mentre nel 2013-2014, è stata collaboratrice del MPA-B (Month of Performance Art, Berlino). Nel 2019 ha co-fondato “Most Mechanics Are Crooks”, una band artistica e curatoriale che mira a reclamare l’insincerità come strumento di discorso progressivo. Eva è candidata al dottorato presso l’ASFA (Athens School of Fine Arts). Il titolo della sua tesi di dottorato è: “m-otherness. Verso un’indagine sulle voci materne e sulle rappresentazioni attraverso tattiche sovversive”.

[mapsontheweb]

Old Persian carpet from Iran depicting the geopolitics of Europe

[sir20]

Spiral staircases at the Chaban-Delmas bridge, Bordeaux by sir20

[capt-zjaybird]

Kick could've gotten his callsign for something cool like downing an enemy like this video.

But knowing the military tends to give clever callsigns that remind the soldier of a bad memory, he also probably could've gotten it from a shitty experience with old tech he needed to work with and he just kicked the stupid machine in the side and it worked.

Kick, opening up his old portable laptop for a mission: "C'mon ol' reliable, be good for me again and don't get me killed."

[matilda-jugs]

”You are a language I am no longer fluent in but still remember how to read.”

-unknown source

[ilphotograf]

Shadows and a moon, Venice ❤️

[soapdispensersalesman]

[marcogiovenale]

settembre 2024 - giugno 2025: "the next real", a cura di sineglossa

THE NEXT REAL Mostre ⧫ Talk ⧫ Laboratori su Arte, Intelligenza artificiale e società settembre 2024 – giugno 2025  | Bologna a cura di Sineglossa a settembre 2024 a giugno 2025 l’organizzazione culturale Sineglossa presenta The Next Real, una rassegna di eventi su arte, intelligenza artificiale e società, diffusa in varie location della città di Bologna, da Salaborsa a Dumbo, fino al Tecnopolo…

[itsagrimm]

Writing Castles and Palaces

Every once in a while I see reverences of castles in writing with stories set there and characters frolicking through castle gardens. As someone growing up in a region with a castle on basically every bigger hill and at every corner, I would like to offer my support how to write stories in Castles and castle-like buildings:

Pick a place

Depending on the region and time the story is set in, the castle and its conditions will look very different. Castles or fortified buildings with some military or representative value are a near global phenomenon. So it's important to think of a place to set the castle in: is it a castle from Europe like the Tower of London? Is it a Castle like the one in Osaka, Japan? Maybe a fort in Africa like the Cairo Citadel or Chapultepec Castle in Latin America?

2. Pick a time

Castles changed a lot in their appearance depending on the time frame they are set it. In Europe the early medieval castles had a high military value and were an expression of feudal power. That meant those castles were not build to be comfortable but primarily military bases. Later post-medieval castles function more as representative palaces yet often get called Castles in English as well. Those types of Palace-castles tend to be more liveable but also often lack the militaristic purpose. Outside of Europe the time of the castle build also matters a lot. Is it a castle build by Locals? Is it Europeans with an imperial intend? Or is it some rich guy replicating a castle on his private island?

3. Pick a function

As aforementioned Castles changed a lot during time and space they are set in. But they also look very differently depending on their function. If it's a prison or holding a vault the Castle will look more intimidating and there will be very little regard for its living conditions except for possible guards or high value prisoners. If it's a military installation it will hold more comfortable living quarters for personnel as well as more workers to maintain the fighting force. And if it's a representative building like a kings castle then there will be a lot of pomp and splendor like elaborate decorative gardens, various buildings with entertainment purpose, plenty of nice living space for the higher class, and living quaters for the personnel. Obviously functions can overlap - a military castle can also serve as a prison, a representative Palace can also include military installations. If those functions are combined they affect the appearance and liveability of the castle so that needs to be kept in mind when writing those.

Medieval European Castles

To show you how time, space and function impact a castles conditions, I'll stick to European Castles bc that's what I know most about and bc I know those castles and can describe their feel.

A military Castle

Altdahn: build in the 13th century in Palatina-Rhine as part of the defense for the Diosese of Speyer. It is part of a group of castles surrounding the town of Dahn. The castle saw military action several times, got burned, rebuild and adapted a lot during its time of use. It also served as a family manor for the von Dahn family line however they relocated in the 15th century into a more liveable palace. Like most military Castles Altdahn had 2 courtyards and a belfry tower. Also it's always very cool up there in the rooms with wind and the massive stones making it very unpleasant to be in for a longer period. Since glass was expensive, it's likely than not all rooms had proper windows so in plenty of rooms it would have been cold or dark from closed window shutters. Living there must have been hell, especially in winter. So those who had the misfortune to be there all the time must have dressed up very warmly and likely picked every chance to get down into the town or were able to invest in the expensive logistics of constantly carrying up firewood up there as well as opting for expensive carpets and tapestry to add warmth. (picture below)

A prison Castle

Fort Königsstein: Most of its time in service the fort was used as a garrison, prison and vault due to being situated on a plateau high above the surrounding area. The fort is far away from bigger cities like Dresden and used to be somewhat isolated in the mountains before the building of modern infrastructure. It went through several changes over time to make it more palace like and nicer to live in. However, even the cultivated forest on the fort plateau served as a reserve in case of siege; the bleak stone walls and the massive entrance complex make the forts purpose as a militaristic and isolating prison abundantly clear. Königstein was known as an infamous prison during the reign of the Saxon kings and even after the end of the kingdom of Saxony in 1922 the fort held prisoners of war up until the end of WW2 in 1945. Depending of the part of the castle the feeling is pleasant to isolating and cold due to the wind and the thick stone walls. Also walking there from the next bigger settlement takes a while. (picture of Königsstein below)

A Palace-Castle

Castle Schwerin: While some form of fortification existed on this spot since the the 9th century as part of a Sorbian settlement, the castle in its now existing form hardly passes as a pragmatic military fortification. Remodelled from 1844 to 1857 it served as the main residence and representative Palace for the Mecklenburgian dukes and Grand-dukes. The Castle is in the middle of the town Schwerin and surrounded by grand gardens. Its previous fortified outer walls have been mostly removed. The Castle still has a courtyard and towers. Yet those do not serve any primary logistical or military purpose. The castle rooms were regularly lived in by the duke's family and serve now as the local parliament halls. It's very pleasant and warm inside with the castle being a more modern build and not as exposed to the elements. The throne room and ministerial offices were within the castle. The building includes enough space to house not just the family and its servants but also higher guests, their entourage and castle guard. The castle feels fairytale-eske because it's supposed to as a rich and pleasant representative residence for the feudal family right in the middle of the city. (picture Castle Schwerin below)

Honourable mentions of European Castle types and similar buildings:

Hunting castles - serve no purpose except to house hunting parties.

Fortified Churches - a Church that doubles as a military sanctuary in times of (medieval) need.

Monasteries - were sometimes fortified.

Villas and Manors - depending on the build they serve similar functions as castles. Often excluded when using the label of castle.

[theknitpotato]

Entrance Hall of Antwerp Central Station, Belgium. Designed by Louis Delacenserie. 1905.

Photo by: @joethommas [IG]

[leroibobo]

inside the tykocin synagogue in tykocin, poland, built in 1642. jews first arrived to tykocin almost a century earlier and turned it into a famous jewish intellectual center. after being desecrated during the holocaust, it was restored in the 1970s.

[wannawrite999]

[dora-papp]

Two years ago in January I was working on a book about a Hungarian neopagan "viking" guy's adventures in Europe, when I heard that something terrifying was boiling in Russia and in Ukraine.

I stopped writing for a while.

And realized that I wanted to write about the invasion.

Not specifically about the invasion of Ukraine, rather about its effects that rippled through the youth of Europe. I was extremely angry with the reaction of Hungary, meaning our government. They do NOT represent how all Hungarian people feel about the war in Ukraine.

I was torn for days whether to even start the rewrite, for this subject had to be approached very carefully. I wanted to show how young people of the EU became part of the fight through social media. I made the Hungarian protagonist living in Berlin one of the leaders in this fight.

I felt like I had to do my part, and my part as an author was to explode from the grief and shock and guilt I felt. I wanted to assure my younger readers that their confusion and sadness was valid, and that the trauma they have seen on social media needed to be processed.

Norbi, the protagonist of Rúnatánc (Runedance) has the Tiwaz rune tattooed on him, which, in his Germanic neopagan faith, represents Tyr, the god of war, justice and courage. The story is about his internal struggle caused by the anti-vax movement, the war, and his reappearing ex.

I guess I had to write these things down at last in English. Norbi wouldn't have gone far without his English knowledge and his international friends. And he is partly of me.

Photo credit