EXTRA EUROPA: Recap and Summary
Press Information
Monday, 04 May 2009
The centerpiece of the entire EXTRA EUROPA project was the “Europe question”: Who is Europe? What is Europe? Is there a European identity and culture? The approach to these issues was “through the back door” so to speak—that is, by focusing on three non-EU-member states: Norway, Turkey and Switzerland. A consideration of this group of “strange bedfellows” made it possible to obtain novel perspectives on Europe as a whole and these non-EU-member states in particular. Over the course of several weeks, EXTRA EUROPA offered a multifarious setting for the three featured countries to present themselves politically, culturally and artistically in Europe’s 2009 Capital of Culture.
Attendance at all EXTRA EUROPA events totaled approximately 16,000. About 330 artists and creatives from the three countries appeared in Linz.
The project’s key partners and patrons were the Swiss cultural foundation Pro Helvetia and Istanbul 2010—both worked closely with the EXTRA EUROPA staff over the past two years to develop the project’s lineup. Particular mention should be made of the successful collaboration with Pro Helvetia, whose efforts have, from their very inception, aimed to establish long-term relationships and a sustainable network with Linz institutions and impresarios including the OK Center for Contemporary Art, afo architekturforum Upper Austria, the Brucknerhaus, Posthof, Ars Electronica Center, StifterHaus, Wissensturm and the Crossing Europe Film Festival. One upshot is that several of the Swiss productions including THE SHIP and A PLACE FOR THE KING will also be performed in Switzerland this coming fall as a sort of “return engagement.” The Turkish program was oriented right from the start on a process of exchange and building bridges between two capitals of culture. These ties will be intensified during Istanbul’s reign as Capital of Culture in 2010—for instance, with an exhibition by Linz Art University students at Yildiz University in conjunction with EXTRA EUROPA’s “InspiringStanbul” project.
EXTRA EUROPA got underway with a two-day symposium in Linz’s Wissensturm facility. The list of prominent participants was headed by Austrian President Heinz Fischer and Swiss Minister of Cultural Affairs Pascal Couchepin. The symposium’s mission was to approach “Europe” from an out-of-the-ordinary perspective—that of three non-EU-member states: Norway, Switzerland and Turkey. The focus was on the question of whether there’s a European identity and culture, how “European” these three non-EU-member states feel, the grounds for their not joining the EU, and their relationship to that organization. 30 experts from Norway, Switzerland and Turkey convened in a series of panels with their counterparts and colleagues from Austria (an EU member state) to discuss foreign policy, security issues, economic matters, art & culture, expectations of the EU, and its future prospects in the year 2020. The panels were moderated by leading Austrian journalists.
Parallel to the symposium, 70 students from the EXTRA EUROPA countries as well as France, the Czech Republic and Austria held a European Youth Parliament. For five days, they got together in small groups to discuss the same topics the symposium participants were wrestling with. The young people also regularly visited the symposium itself, where they demonstrated a high level of commitment by actively contributing to audience Q&A sessions. These events were accompanied by a high-energy cultural program including an opening party with three bands at the Rothen Krebsen, EXTRA EUROPA DJs at the Frühlingserwachen event at Linz’s Landestheater, and a marvelous performance by Turkish star percussionist Burhan Öcal and his Istanbul Oriental Ensemble in Hafenhalle09.
The EXTRA EUROPA cultural festival presented a multifaceted lineup that ran the genre gamut: dance, theater, literature, comics, graphic arts, performances, discussions and educational presentations. The various artistic formats were equally diverse.
The program included three co-productions: THE SHIP by Sgaramusch, A PLACE FOR THE KING by the Dalang Puppet Company and DOKUMAN by Taldan’s Company. Theatergoers were also treated to outstanding work by local talent in PARALLEL and THE FIRST TIME. PARALLEL by Kompanie 10+ was staged by immigrants to Austria (and was recently invited to appear in Istanbul). THE FIRST TIME, a play by Switzerland’s Théâtre en Flammes, featured a Linzer cast.
Among the top musical highlights were sold-out concerts by Burhan Öcal & The Istanbul Oriental Orchestra and Ahmet Özhan & The Dancing Dervishes in Hafenhalle09. A total of six events were staged in cooperation with Linz09’s Good Night Stuff series, and Norwegian composer Magnar Åm gave six mini-concerts in St. Mary’s Cathedral. There were big turnouts for the Swiss-Austrian band evening and the Poetry Slam in Posthof. The list of very well received productions also includes two concerts in the Brucknerhaus with the Vienna Art Orchestra, Daniel Schnyder & musicians from Bruckner University, and three concerts in conjunction with the Norwegian series entitled Transborder Café. EXTRA EUROPA also contributed productions to the Crossing Europe Nightline and Jazzatelier Ulrichsberg.
Graphic arts exhibitions entailed collaboration among the OK Center for Contemporary Art, Linz Art University, Yildiz University in Istanbul and the Paradigma Art Association (“InspiringStanbul”).
Over the course of three days, EXTRA EUROPA festivalgoers could experience the extraordinary, boundary-transcending cultural work being done in and around extreme northern Norway. The group Pikene På Broen subsumes its endeavors under the title Transborder Cafés. In Linz, 44 cultural creatives, artists, musicians and scholars from Norway, Finland and Russia intensively dealt with borders and staged a wide-ranging program about the Scandinavian minority in the Barents Region.
The 2009 Crossing Europe Film Festival also focused on the three EXTRA EUROPA countries. A third of the films screened at this year's festival were from Norway, Switzerland and Turkey. The 2009 artist-in-residence was Norwegian filmmaker Inger Lise Hansen, who will also be involved in Linz09’s “Höhenrausch” (High-Altitude Euphoria) project. Tribute was paid to two French-speaking Swiss filmmakers, Ursula Meyer and Lionel Baier. Turkey took center stage in the festival’s Young Turkish Cinema program. Crossing Europe’s two evening Nightline lineups also featured entertainment from the three EXTRA EUROPA countries. Attendance at EXTRA EUROPA events at the Crossing Europe Film Festival totaled 6,000.
And that’s not all! There’s a great lineup of EXTRA EUROPA events set for early summer 2009: Trio Accanto at Festival 4020, sound sculptures by Swiss artist Andres Bosshard, contributions by two Capitals of Culture, Stavanger 2008 and Istanbul 2010, to LinzFest09 and UmLinzRum. Plus, Switzerland’s Gotthard Tunnel will be one of the featured locations of the “80+1. A Trip around the World” project, and Antoine Chessex’s artistry will be on display in CIRCUS.
Facts & Figures
Attendance Total: 16,000 including attendance at the Crossing Europe Film Festival: 6,000
Participants in EXTRA EUROPA Total: 576(Artists: 330)
