For over fifty years no new museums have been designed in Poland. This summer, however, a centre for contemporary art opened in Torun. New exhibition buildings for Cracow, Lodz and Warsaw are at the design stage. However the boom in museum buildings raises questions in Poland that are not confined to architecture but also relate to the buildings’ contents. read on

Visar Geci, born in Prishtina, is a student of architecture in Graz (since 1997 he has also been an Austrian citizen), a barkeeper with his own television show, and the owner of a fitness studio – furthermore, Geci describes himself as a Kosovar patriot who would do anything for the development of Kosovo. read on

Bratislava is just 60 kilometres from Vienna and nevertheless in the minds of residents of the Austrian capital it could be 600 kilometres away read on

Little Slovenia is this year the first of the countries that joined the EU in 2004 to take over the EU Presidency. Reason enough for a short winter visit to sample the Mediterranean feeling in the capital, Ljubljana. read on

The town of Liberec in northern Bohemia is a special place. When you approach it on the motorway from Prague at first the outline of a mountain ridge appears with the silver tower of a television mast and a hotel on the hill called Ještěd, which belongs to the town. In the car you can then reckon for an hour what the weather is like down on the streets. read on

From the “limestone functionalism” of the 1930s to Estonian post-modernism in Estonia, like in hardly any other European country, the architecture utopias of the past century are connected with the idea of the Estonian nation. read on

A lawyer would define a public building as one that is commissioned by a local authority or other legal body in public law and that houses an authoritative administration. From the architect’s viewpoint other questions arise. How is our notion and the reality of “public” presently changing? How can architecture, as one of the important forms in which the notion of “public” is made visible, react to such changes? read on

Journalists in most of the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) do not have an easy life.A cliché? In Europe\'s largest country there is something resembling freedom of the press. read on

This year, the young Serbian fashion designer Bogomir Doringer was nominated for the Kontakt Fashion Award 2008. He sold his first fashion creations in the school playground. In the meantime, he has become successful on the international stage. Getting there has not always been so easy. read on

There was a lot of queuing in 1980s Romania: long, tiring, humiliating, maddening, in the cold, in the rain, sometimes with no outcome. Officially, there was no queue in Socialist Romania... read on

Susan Milford and Barbara Schmied-Länger, two experts on Eastern Europe, came up with the unusual idea of looking at the theme of expansion from a different viewpoint. The outcome is the cookery book "Europas unbekannte Küche". A culinary journey through (still) unfamiliar terrain. read on

Czech fashion designer Jakub Polanka is the winner of the “Kontakt Fashion Award 2008”, the prize awarded by Erste Bank for fashion design from Central and Eastern Europe. His fashion seems cool, but behind it there is a poetic concept. read on

Slovenia, the first new EU member state to introduce the euro, took over the presidency of the EU on the first of January of this year. However, price increases and political scandals are now threatening to disrupt the idyll of the small Alpine republic. read on

BridA,Saso Sedlacek,son:Da,Tina Smrekar read on

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We are in Ljubljana in January 2008.The sun is shining, the alpine peaks are glittering with snow, the sky hints at the nearby Slovenian Riviera. read on

In the night of 18th August 2007, the Slovak artist Jślius Koller departed from this life completely unexpectedly at the age of 68. The cause of death was a heart attack. A constantly active sportsman during his life, he leaves behind one of the most consistently distinctive oeuvres of conceptual art in the region of the former Czechoslovakia. read on

The obstacles to a joint east-west approach, or why Slovak artist Roman Ondák does not want to be noticed. read on

Under Tito, how did the intellectual class orient itself in world politics? Does there exist among writers a positive understanding of non-aligned Yugoslavia? read on

What does “the West” mean for Hungary and Romania?
Hungary and Romania are neighbouring countries. Within a space of three years both became members of the European Union, Hungary in 2004, Romania in 2007. For both countries membership of the EU means a return home to the western world. But what does this “West” mean for them? read on

“There’s never been anything like his before,” a common expression heard during my 72 hours in Kiev but one that was always meant with the utmost sincerity. It was true. Within less than a year there has been the opening of a contemporary art center, the inauguration of an arts competition, the steady blossoming of more focused spaces for engaged contemporary art projects and a revolution on hold; what more could you ask for? read on

In the woods on the border of the Czech Republic the Slovak social worker Ludmilla Irmscher ­battles against women traffickers, ignorant “customers”, insulted authorities and everyday naked violence. Sometimes she gives women who have been forced to become prostitutes a new life. read on

It began with the notion of waste separation. Plastic with plastic, paper with paper, the remaining rubbish with the remainder of the rubbish. Then came the separation of glass. Bottles are sorted according to colour: green glass with green glass, brown with brown, white with white. When I heard about bulky waste I was both shocked and delighted at one and the same time. What self-discipline these Europeans must have and what patience!... read on

Exemplary architect/client configurations in Alpine regions of Vorarlberg, no. 1 read on

Exemplary architect/client configurations in Alpine areas of Vorarlberg, no. 3 read on

Exemplary architect/client configurations in Alpine regions of Vorarlberg, no. 2 read on

Real hardcore Modernism in the tradition of the nineteen twenties is rare in Austria. It is the part of the development in Austrian culture that has been almost completely cut out. read on

In many ways, the house Martin Scharfetter built in Lans in Tirol is exemplary of the changes in Austrian architecture. read on

The collective AllesWirdGut started out with a series of projects that confessed to modernity in the most outspoken way. read on

It is strange that the current blossoming of Austrian architecture goes almost unnoticed outside the country. read on

On friendship in architectural criticism. Axiom 1: architectural criticism is not a science but literature. Axiom 2: it is easiest to write about architecture and art when one does not know exactly what one wants to write about. Axiom 3: the architecture most suited to the architectural critic is architecture without architects.
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There is hardly any other architect working in Austria at present who is so highly esteemed and so little known as Sepp Müller. read on

At first no quotation seemed fitting for Pichler & Traupmann’s industrial building in Güssing (1992–2002): I had wanted to borrow an impressive statement by a universally acclaimed architectural theorist to honour this excellent building that initially seems so unspectacular and has been erected in the provinces, in a part of the country where, until recently, contemporary architecture was hardly to be found at all but which now is about to become a model region of a new culture of building: the Austrian federal state of Burgenland, in architectural terms a new Vorarlberg. That would be a good thing, it is conceivable, it is about to happen.

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Semiramis was the name of the beautiful woman from Media who pined for the mountains. Recently at least three new residential housing complexes in Vienna have been given a highly promising product description commemorating the Persian Princess Semiramis: the Hanging Gardens in Wiedner Hauptstrasse by Rüdiger Lainer, the Hanging Gardens of Vienna by Günter Lautner and Nicolaj Kirisits, built on the Wienerberg, and the Hanging Gardens of Favoriten, in Alxingergasse, by Kenyaeh and Markus Geiswinkler.If one adds the residential housing complex built by Michael Schluder in the Simmering district of Vienna , which has real gardens on the roof, then there are four of them. read on

Vienna-based architects Gregor Eichinger and Christian Knechtl have long been a part of the avant-garde. read on

Good is better

In the rather young Austrian architectural scene ARTEC Architekten form an almost separate world of their own.
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For the production and development of architecture location and identity have always been an important factor and impetus. read on

Austria is famed both for its mountains and its cultural monuments. Curiously enough, in the 21st century these two rarely occur as a pair. read on

A highly subjective (and discursive) thesis about a small project

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What meaning can “regional” architectural tendencies possibly still have in a global age? read on

INNOCAD, the energetic young practice from Graz with the rather dry name, has followed its own path since 1999. With these guys nothing is inhibited – but everything is planned. A market strategy with allotted roles. read on

The Mittermaier House reveals many allusions, say to Philip Johnson’s single-space glass box house, to Richard Meier and to the Müller House in Prague.It is differentiated, it is authoritarian, conservative, functional, and completely without vanity.

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Why did I pick these particular contemporary artists from the Kosovo? Well, I like the fact that in... read on

Lulzim Zeqiri,Edi Hila,Jakup Ferri,Sokol Beqiriand Gentian Shkurtia in Portrait read on

The Marxist dictum according to which cultural development follows economic development does not seem to be entirely correct here. Here, in Kosovo, the (former) tinderbox of the region, where every second employable person is jobless and the average annual income amounts to just about a thousand Euros, the most vibrant artscene of the Balkans is in the making. By Antje Mayer. read on

XYZ,Július Koller,
Anetta Mona Chisa,Roman Ondák,Denisa Lehocká and Laco Teren in Portrait. read on

It is the commitment of individual producers of culture and inofficial networks that keep Bratislava’s contemporary art scene going from strength to strength. It is only a question of time till it gets established on an international level as well. By Manuela Hötzl and Antje Mayer read on

Jasmila Zbanic,Braco Dimitrijevic
Maja Bajevic and Jusuf Hadzifejzovic read on

It’s said of the “City of Martyrs”, Sarajevo, that its inhabitants were hit by something the size of the Berlin Wall. How could such a calamity improve the city’s capacity for art? Antje Mayer reports from Bosnia. read on

Ivan Moudov, Kosta Tonev, Alla Georgieva, Pravdoliub Ivanov and
Krassimir Terziev in Portrait. read on

Sofia is a conglomeration of architecture, style, religion and people with a small contemporary art scene. It is fighting for survival. And succeeding. This year’s accession of Bulgaria to the EU has almost nothing to do with that. By Antje Mayer read on

An Essay on Art in Russia,Alternative Sight Seeing and Tips to spend your weekend
by Vladimir Salnikov read on

Following the Roma revolts in eastern Slovakia earlier this year, the media scrambled to out do each other with sensational reports on their catastrophic living conditions. Most Roma have long been integrated in the larger community. Nonetheless, they are still subjected to daily racism. A younger generation is now rising to their feet, in their own way. read on

Where solidarity is nothing more than a farce, dividing things equally is the only practical form of fairness. read on

Capsizing boatloads of refugees or weakened Africans clambering out of rudimentary vessels onto the beaches of Tenerife or Lampedusa have become part of everyday presentations on our media this summer. Hereby the fact that most of the illegal immigrants to the EU enter across the eastern border is often overlooked. read on

Serbia’s hopes of a gradual approach to the EU, which appeared realistic after the end of the Milosević era, the declaration of independence in June 2006 and the separation of Montenegro, have been shattered once more. Serbia has shrunk to a small state in the Balkans. Its many borders (to Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina) only make the isolation of the people in this country more evident. For the population of Serbia, strict visa regulations make Europe a distant continent. read on

In earlier times, the Gorals were independent, self-reliant farmers in the mountains of southern Poland. They remain a proud people but today they seek their fortune in Vienna, Rome or Glasgow. read on

The state ideology imposed by Moscow was hated in Hungary not only on account of the terror and restrictions to freedom but also due to its core that was felt to be a lie. This was, namely, the promise to make all people equal and happy. "A communist always tells lies" is therefore the slogan of moderate and radical anti-communists alike in Eastern Europe, and it was also to be heard during the Budapest protest demonstrations on Parliament Square in autumn 2006. Disputes between the left, the right and the liberals are splitting the country at the moment and the week-long demonstrations on Parliament Square after the "lie speech" of socialist Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány seemed like a predictable accident. Nevertheless, their official labels do not correspond with the real contents of the individual parties. An analysis of the events, the confusion and the historic backgrounds. read on

Extremist right-wing tendencies appear to be a national matter in European politics. read on

Since 1989 Slovene society has been one of waiting for the end of socialism, waiting for independence, waiting for international recognition, waiting for economic prosperity and political democracy, waiting for the “normalization” of the rest of the ex-Yugoslav states, waiting for NATO and EU membership, waiting for the implementation of the Euro... read on

The fact that women are leaving to earn money to support their families, while the men do the housekeeping. This experiment in swapping traditional gender roles was born out of a crisis, and conflicts are never far removed. A report. read on

This article from September 21, 2006 is the last that Anna Politkovskaya published in the ­russian newspaper “Novaya Gazeta”. She was murdered on October 7 in her apartment building. read on

The RUS CLUB has been rocking once a month since the end of last year with bands, DJs, art, and fashion from the former Eastern bloc. The motto of this easygoing exchange between East and West taking place at alternating venues: “Kak pa masslu”: Things are going swimmingly! read on

With her warm voice, the American singer Dianne Reeves lends old jazz standards a briskness that makes them as poignant as ever. Her current CD A Little Moonlight attests to these powers. read on

In its 59th year the Prague Spring Festival celebrates masterpieces of Leoš Janáček and Antonín Dvořák with national and international luminaries. Prague remembers its place as one of the true Central European capitals and honours the beginning of a new epoch. read on

For five years now the Prague and New York-based culture organisation, Tamizdat has been making a name for itself as a kind of central switchboard for labels, bands and distributors from the so-called Eastern European reform countries. What started off in 1999 as a non-profit making project has turned out to be so eminently suitable for development that one or two investors could potentially make a small fortune out of it. read on

There are some who speak about the eastern expansion of the European Union and there are others who are actively engaged in it. The people at Project East! go a step further: getting people to dance together, as a form of applied cultural mediation. read on

"Music expresses what cannot be said but which it is impossible to remain silent about", French writer Victor Hugo once said. read on

On the music scene in far-off Asian Russia, an email impression between artist Anna Ceeh, who lives in Vienna, and musician Evgeny Beresnev in which the latter tells about his life as an artist on the fringe of Russia, Vladivostok. read on

The development of the independent music scene in Ukraine has always depended on the enthusiasm of a number of individuals. read on

Estonian Delights, Their Limits Set by the Search for Identity and Their Export beyond Boundaries. About the Music Scene in Estonia read on

As the young composer Artūras Bumšteinas tells us, everything developed from the enthusiasm of the people. ”It is difficult for somebody from the West to imagine how one can organise a whole festival with hardly any money. But everybody wanted to do it, some people even invested their own personal money in it. The Contemporary Art Centre helped too; it was a unique, big collaboration.” read on

The arrest of the rock group “Plastic People of the Universe” at a concert in February 1976 led directly to the formation of Charter 77. The Viennese author Sebastian Fasthuber and the former confidant of the band Abbé Libánský spoke and drank for Report with the two band members Jiří Kabeš and Vrata Brabenec in Prague. read on

I would like to rethink some methodologies in terms of organizing exhibitions in the context of globalization. Documenta 11, from 2002, is the most prominent case, although a variety of other exhibitions in search of this or that (the "Balkan", for example) have recently taken place in Europe. I would like to give some possible answers to the following question: through what operations of exclusion/inclusion in relation to the notion of hegemony does this new European world itself emerge? read on

Every language has its own emotional code. Whoever can decipher the code of a foreign language can then understand the mentality and the culture of the people who use it. A literary essay. read on

Until 1989, in most of communist Europe the writing, printing and distribution of literature had been suppressed or outright banned by censors. read on

Istorija Evrope

Mladi ljudi u Beogradu read on

„Bis zu dem spannenden Ende, wo man sich entspannen kann,
lobt man ohne viel Umstände den blendenden Panenka“

(z autorovy kampaně při volbě nejlepšího fotbalisty Rakouska za rok 1983) read on

The best part of a party is the moment when it's over. You go out, the clean air makes you a bit dizzy but you manage...
A short story by the young Czech author Jaroslav Rudiš. read on

“Each of us can tell so many fateful stories that the only thing that makes sense is to tell and to continue telling”
(Željko Ivanković, Serbian writer 1968–1995) read on

So, as you’ve now crossed over the border, and will shortly have your first encounter with Polish people, there are a few things that you should know. read on

In the compartment sits a young man, unusually well dressed for a second-class carriage: exclusive shirt, expensive shoes, brand name bag and elegant white jacket. He is reading a hardcover book in English. A young woman approaches along the corridor: a rocker, black leather jacket with studs, black boots, black leather miniskirt, black arm bands with silver studs, her face is heavily made up. She has a black rucksack on her back, a red sleeping bag peeps out of it. A passenger closes the door to prevent her entering his compartment. She sticks her chewing gum to the door. She looks at the compartments, taking a close look inside a number of them as though she were looking for them. When she arrives at the compartment where the young man is sitting she is obviously delighted. She pulls the door open. read on

East becomes West. West becomes East. read on

A short anecdote to start with: recently the head of a band of counterfeiters was arrested in Vienna. The police had no end of trouble with him, as they could not work out where he came from. Not only had he several forged passports from different countries, he also spoke four eastern European languages without an accent and so fluently that none of them betrayed his true identity. read on

Of passionate collectors in modern Russia and the former USSR. An associative collage of observations by the Lithuanian composer, psychotherapist and collector Richardas Norvila. read on

Do you, like US economist Jeremy Rifkin, also have a European dream? read on

It is already starting to get dark in Viseu de Sus. Dampness rises up from the river, and a cool wind comes down from the woods on the mountain slope. The hens are already asleep; only the cats are still roaming softly about the yard. Then, suddenly, the yelling starts. read on

There are some days in your life when you have the feeling that you are at the right place at the right time. 23 October 2006 was one of those days and the city of Budapest was the place. read on

The contemporary art platform tranzit has been dedicated to forging art and culture networks between East and West since 2002. But who are the persons at the bottom of tranzit? Here we present a portrait of the curator Vít Havránek.

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In a small hollow between the embankment and the main traffic artery, Slovenska, and within a few walking minutes distance of each other, traditional Slovene art in the Narodni Galerija and in the Narodni Museum collides with contemporary art in the Moderna Galerija. read on

In Russian and Serbian the term "contemporary art", like "Coca Cola", is generally written using the Latin and not the Cyrillic alphabet. "Contemporary art" is usually employed as a label, an import that is precisely defined by the "West". read on

At the symposium "authentic structures" in Prague (8 -12 December 2004) art mediators, theorists and artists from Eastern and Western Europe recently discussed whether (and if so how) the art scenes in Eastern Europe could and should follow a path "authentic" for them in the mediation and production of art. After the fall of the Iron Curtain does there exist such a thing as a common "cultural landscape"?
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As the word itself implies, “tranzit” is the act of passing over, across, or through something. The word also refers to this process - “tranzit” as a conveyance, a vehicle for movement. read on

In cooperation with the International Program of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Goethe Institute in Prague, tranzit.cz will host a symposium entitled “authentic structures,” that took place in Prague from Dec. 8 - 12.
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We introduce the people who devised this trans-disciplinary subsidy programme and those who organize and curate it. read on

Four times annually tranzit.at will issue invitations ... to a small social event held in the evening next year. read on

A portrait of the Czech artist Jiří Skála, who was taking part in the artist-in-residence programme of the Museumsquartier in Vienna 2005. read on

Admit it, you do it too! Everyone does it in their own way, some excessively, others furtive or even compulsively, until it becomes an illness: do what, you ask? Collect, of course. read on

An exhibition about saving as a part of everyday life in Austria, held in the Österreichisches Museum für Volkskunde, in cooperation with the DIE ERSTE Österreichische Spar - Casse Privatstiftung read on

The era of constant complaints seems to have come to an end; the art markets in the post-socialist countries are starting to take an upturn. With its focus on Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe the ViennAfair art fair (21st - 24th April 2005), which was starting up this year, is responding to this fact.
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With the onset of cool autumnal temperatures, the heated season of events, exhibitions, openings and festivals begins. For us, however, there is reason to stop for a brief moment. read on

It is in human nature to push the idea of death aside, to eliminate it from life. Thus each time it confronts us at close reach it strikes us as unexpected, shocking, saddening, painful, and unjust. This is all the more true when somebody as extraordinary as Igor Zabel, a unique combination of a warm personality with subtle humor and a gifted professional versed in numerous disciplines, passes so prematurely. It is a loss of a friend and respected colleague that leaves behind an immense, unimaginable void. read on

Tales of unfulfilled dreams in the far north of Russia.A portrait of the artproduction and artists in Murmansk.
By Seva Dymodel, Kirill Junolainen and Sergey Mombus. read on

The Erste Bank Group’s economic expansion into central and south-eastern Europe is taking place hand in hand with the building up of the new art collection. read on

Of the gallery owners that were present at last year’s viennAfair the majority were satisfied – but most of these were from Austria. There were international visitors, but only a few of them. The galleries from Central Europe, above all the younger ones, were able fill their address books but were less successful as regards sales. read on

“Ja” in Czech means I. On an invitation that was sent out in May by the Prague Futura gallery (a centre for contemporary art) the word “Ja” was placed in front of all the artists participating in the exhibition read on

Since its beginnings, Sanja Iveković’s artistic endeavor has moved in the field of diverse “politics of performance” that the theoretician Peggy Phelan identifies as strategies for a critique of the ideologies of the visible: “Performance, insofar as it can be defined as representation without reproduction,” she writes, “can be seen as a model for another representational economy, one in which the reproduction of the Other as the Same is not assured.” read on

The Motovun Film Festival (MFF) and Artfilm place emphasis on creating as undogmatic an atmosphere as possible and on a programme committed to the idea of film. Whereas many visitors are expected in Motovun at the end of July, attracted not least of all by the picturesque nature of the village, Artfilm at the end of June is advertising the additional tourist attraction offered by its thermal baths.
This additional value is also the factor that distinguishes these two events from famous festivals, similar as regards location, such as those in Pula or in Bologna. MFF and Artfilm with their special rural qualities are radically different to global megaplex architectures. The emphasis here is on the synergy between tourism and the art of film. read on

On the occasion of Viennale we will place a focus ourselves and therefore in the current fourth issue of our magazine we investigate the exiting theme of film in Central Europe, like Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia and Croatia.
But there is a problem here. If there is no audience then cinema makes little sense. In all 25 EU countries, also in the ten new member states, in recent years people tend to go to the cinema less often when European productions are playing. "Europe is under a cinematic local anaesthetic " is the diagnosis of Stefan Grissemann (head of the culture section of the weekly journal Profil). The film economy is particularly anaesthetised in the former communist countries, asserts film critic Otto Reiter, who is familiar with the scene there. read on

When the Iron Curtain fell in 1989 an initial euphoria prevailed on all sides, but the mists of enthusiasm were soon dispelled. At that time a Slovak film colleague asked me how long I supposed it would take until his country reached the same economic standard as Austria. Ten years at the least, I told him; he looked at me dubiously and laughed at me as an excessively sceptical optimist. In the meantime fifteen years have passed, a number of our neighbour countries are now members of the European Union but with massive restrictions, above all as regards the free movement of labour. There are still border checks, and nobody is even thinking about a currency union at present. read on

Once upon a time there was a country called Yugoslavia, which suddenly no one wanted to remember any longer. Set on fire by professional political criminals and left to its fate by too many reasonable people. This sounds like the start to a fairy tale and yet is nothing other than the greatest European tragedy since the Second World War.
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Even in the old days when Czechoslovakia still existed there were Slovak film visionaries who opposed the official ban on speaking out: Elo Havetta, Dušan Hanák and Juraj Jakubisko. Elo Havetta chose suicide; Dušan Hanák silence and Juraj Jakubisko saved himself during years of being prevented from working by making drawings for the Red Cross. read on

Vera Chytilova was one of the first people to insist immediately after the velvet revolution in Prague that state institutions in the area of film should not be relieved of their responsibility. It was not by chance that she, who had provoked the Party bureaucracy and patriarchy in the sixties with cheeky films such as Sedmikrasky and was consequently banned from working in this field and from travelling abroad in the 1970s, should make such a demand. She recognized at an early stage that the fine new, free market economy also had its own special interests that could obstruct and prevent a number of things. It took years before she was understood.
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In the 1980s it was director Istvan Szabo, who made Hungarian cinema impossible to overlook. His historical trilogy ("Mephisto“, 1981, "Colonel Redl“, 1985 and "Hanussen“, 1988) travelled to festivals on all continents, starting with the guest appearance of "Mephisto that attracted worldwide attention at the Hollywood propaganda machinery event known as the Oscars. His most recent international works have all been flops; the privilege of being so well-known is more of a hindrance than a help to Szabo. Too many different financial backers that all, naturally enough, have their own particular interests and too many self-appointed, well-meaning advisors could be the reason for this. read on

Bert Rebhandl in conversation with Ivan Jachim, director of the film festival Finále Plzeň that shows annually all the feature films made that year in the Czech Republic, about the developments of the film scene in his country, its political origins and the involvement of the private economy. read on

For the southern regions of the former Yugoslavia the Slovenian north was an economic model as well as a kind of indicator of the (prevailing?) mood in the country. An extremely high suicide rate with an equally high level of economic achievement, similar to the situation as in Denmark, Austria and Hungary, was however a carefully veiled taboo theme. One did not talk about it, one wanted to survive. read on

The palais donaustadt cannot be found in any guide to Vienna and it will not survive the oncoming winter. The temporary art space of the group theatercombinat and its director Claudia Bosse is first of all nothing more than 10,500 square metres of still undeveloped space between the Vienna headquarters of the United Nations and the Danube river that, between June and the end of September, offered a short summer of reflection on the theory and practice of performance in public space. read on

The accession of ten new countries to the EU on 1 May 2004 will bring major changes not only to the European Union but to Europe as a whole. Although business and politics are setting the tone, Brussels has also employed the catchphrase “cultural diversity.” Yet what exactly does this slogan mean? The following report from Bratislava explores this question. read on

The designer and architectural group “Platforma 9,81” (Damir Blazevic, Dinko Peracic, Marko Sancanin and Miranda Veljacic) from Zagreb is one of the four partners in the project “Zagreb-Cultural Kapital of Europe 3000“. This initiative has dedicated itself since 2003 to strengthening the free arts scene in Zagreb. read on

“We eat ice-cream when its 30°C below outside and drink vodka when it is 30°C above. Are there any people on the planet more exuberant and stronger than the Russians? Come visit us and see for yourself: Welcome to Moscow!” (Petlura) read on

Boris Ondreička, who was born in 1969 in Zlaté Moravce (SK), laughingly remarks that in his particular case it would be completely misleading to talk of a vocation to be an artist. He explains that he became an artist because following this profession seemed to him the easiest thing in the world. " read on

A wonder is a mystery, a phenomenon that essentially lies beyond our reason or understanding. It also contains something invisible which is generally positive. People bow before a wonder and acknowledge their ignorance. A wonder is not something visionary, not utopian; a wonder is amazement at a possible reality that lies beyond our momentary powers of imagination. It is only when we are prepared to wonder that we reach insights lying far beyond our familiar range of experience, and it is also only then that the assertion, "everything that can be imagined is feasible“ made by Funder GesmbH in the preface to the catalogue "Wonderland", becomes valid.
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The debate about the future of Europe has erupted in a more impassioned way than ever. The direct rejection of the EU constitution in France and the Netherlands, the deadlock in the budget negotiations and not least of all the impassioned speech by Tony Blair in which he outed himself as a "passionate pro-European" have again focuses attention on the question of Europe's identity. read on

"Six Pack", an architecture exhibition of six young Slovene architects practices, started its European tour at the beginning of 2004, shortly before Slovenia joined the EU.
Petra Čeferin explores in our magazine the way the exhibition and the projects were received and analyses the search for differences and the local aspects.
Not only a Slovene, but also a European problem. read on

Abou new urban planning: The city today in its new constellation as an urban region in a globalized world produces an enormous challenge for all actors in the field and notably for architects. read on

A Commend on the last exhibition "Territories, Identities, Nets" in Ljubljana of the Slowenian curator Igor Zabel (1958-2005).
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Czech products in the 1960s and 1970s between reform and normalisation read on

In Moscow at least, Aleksandr Ilich Lyashenko, otherwise known as Petlyura, was for many years an underrated and controversial member of the movement known as »current Moscow art«.
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In her work The System: prêt-à-porter Barbara Holub addresses the shifts in economic structures and the technical circumstances of communication associated with them in the changing "western" cartographies. A review.
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Appropriately, for the 6th festival of fashion from Unit-F (www.unit-f.at) we have clothed ourselves in a new, more contemporary design. Not just better looking, but above all more functional and easier to follow so that, dear readers, we can offer you better service as well as more information and content. Have a look and surf through ...
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Exile Bulgarian Petar Petrov is, alongside Wendy&Jim, the great new hope among young Austrian fashion designers. We asked him about the fashion scene in his own country. read on

I know a sensitive child who can imitate the sounds of a tramway from the beginning to the end of the ride.
Luigi Russolo, 1916

Maybe nowhere else you are tackled with two realities that are so different from each other like in Russia: The moloch of big cities confronts its inhabitants with chaotic noise whereas in the width of inner Russia the only sound is the streaming of one’s own blood making noise in one’s ears. A metropolis like Petersburg or Moscow is an accumulation of electromagnetic waste that crawls out of each crack that the big legacy of Constructivism, Futurism and lived socialism left in the vodka-clouded post-Perestroika-disenchantment. It is here that Industrial music makes historically, ideologically and socially sense, at least as much as in the UK. Nevertheless, as Alexei Borisov (of F.RU.I.T.S.) emphasizes, the axis »Enthusiasm« (Dziga Vertov) – Art Brut – Industrial as omnipresent blueprint had to be re-imported to Russia via Throbbing Gristle, SPK, Esplendor Geometrico and Sergei Koryokhin. Did the elaborats of Kafka, Solshenitzyn and Hugh Ferris not fit into one bag? If Glasnost caused some musical outcome than it was the re-positioning of »Resistance«-attitudes. The strenghtening of neo-Fascist groupings was a source of new friction but the common »Anti«-consensus of communist times was history.

»For me politics is like sports or theatre – it’s simply a way of masking the real decision-making processes from the majority of people«, wrote Borisov in an e-mail-interview with Anton Nekkilä for the music magazine The Wire. »Perestroika disolved the common focus. That made a lot of things easier. In Russia we have the situation that Industrial and noise music are heavily influential at both ends of the country, in Japan and in Europe. Now networks are built and certainly internet-communication is an important tool«. Alexei Borisov who was born in 1960 in Moscow was one of the first Russians to engage in experimental electronic music. He caused a stir from 1985 on with his Electronica band Notschnoi Prospekt and releases like »Asbastos« (SNC; 1989) and above all as guitar player of the first Russian Wave and Centre. With Anton Nikkilä he owns the Finnish label N& B Research Digest and since 1992 he forms F.R.U.I.T.S. together with Pavel Jagun. F.R.U.I.T.S. performed at 2002’s »phonoTAKTIK«-festival in Vienna. »F.R.U.I.T.S. combines different approaches of experimental music like abstract Electronica, voice modulation/distortion and free improvisation. The framework are Industrial-tactics that are modified according to the artistic demands«. The CD-R is exactly the right medium of production and distribution for him as it is cheap, fast and easy to (re)procude.

Richardas Norvila aka Benzo also played at the »phonoTAKTIK«-festival. Norvila does not only have a ph.D. in philosophy, he also has been experimenting with electronic sounds since he has become 14 years old. Since 1999 he has the »audioethnographic« project Benzo. Besides he works on projects like Sa-Zna, Radius and diverse theatre productions. »For Benzo all played synthesizers are of Russian origin. They represent the many Russian ethnic population groups. As a rule nearly all acquired Benzo-instruments are sick and therefore I have to design therapeutic strategies. Since my profession is to be a psycho-therapist this kind of work seems familiar to me and makes a lot of fun.« With this strategy he achieved to bring new life to devices like the DR.AN-101 or some »Elektronica«-synthesizers, supported by the technician Rafael Gafarov. For the effect devices unique things play an important role: Digital delay-machines are fed by a Lithuanian lie detector. For the samples only Russian vinyl is used, the more noise of it’s own the better. This is especially relevant for Norvila’s techno projects. »I call it Benzohouse«.

Sound language

F.R.U.I.T.S. is noise, is the unpalliated face of an electronic scrap-Titan, is »Der Sieg über die Sonne« in music, is the ear-deafening rush of the technological metropolis. As well with Borisov’s solo-projects as with F.R.U.I.T.S. enervating cascades of sounds are in the center, even more strengthened in their urgent presence by the videos of Roman Anikushin and Aristarch Chernishev. F.R.U.I.T.S./ Borisov make music with compressed parameters out of the system of co-ordinates of Old-School-Industrial. With his live-CD »Before The Evrorement« (NBRD/ Avanto; 2002) Alexei Borisov delivered his most accurate statement of bruitist-poetic sound composition as a solo-musician. » If I have a musical idea and want to realize it I do not necessarily need the newest tools. For about 20 years I have been working with musical modes of expression that are not based on a specific technology. This has also to do with the fact that only since the beginning of the 1990s awareness for industrial music has been developed in Russia. Or, to put it more directly: Necessity is the mother of invention.«

For the Benzo-Interview we per chance arrive in the backyard of an old building at the Wiener Gürtel. It is dusky, with howling TV-voices in the inner court. A messy construction site, rubbish everywhere. A drunken old man with a white undershirt loudly urges us to be quiet. »That is like Russia «, Norvila smiles, lights up a cigarette and says »I grew up in Lithuania but since we all were dissidents and we had family members abroad we had easy access to records from the West. Then we copied the stuff on these big recording tapes because there was no Cassette-culture in the mid-80s.«

The voice from within

Literature is said to be the most important form of art in Russia. Every last fibre of it is part of the culture. Story-telling is more important and is influencend by Eastern traditions. People sit together and tell stories, also private ones. This cyclical flow of speech is reflected in the metaphysical quality of Russian music: »The synthesizer tells you a story if you let him. If you try to be precise in playing, you will become desperate and it will not work. Playing live is always a performance because the synthesizer does what he wants. Only sometimes I am allowed to play«, Norvila tells me slightly grief-stricken. He had to improvise as soon as in the production stage because the right components were not always available. This guarantees that synths from the same line only seldom sound equally. With unvoluntary skills a lot of unique types were fabricated. Synthesizers were cheaper in these times. They were intended to be affordable for each worker alongside the Transsibirian railway. Alexei Borisov, in a nearly nostalgic mood: »I don’t think that the oversupply with possibilities promotes creativity but who knows. My pen writes well. I don’t need more to write and I don’t have to change it.«

»Benzo is derived from Benzin (gasoline). In Moscow the cars do not have catalysts and our bodies therefore take part in the process of recycling of decaying oil. Gasoline has become part of our metabolism. If groove can be derived from the movement of a human body, then the exhaling and inhaling units build up the base for Shuffle and other delicate shifts of rhythmic patterns, it seems to me. We inhale Benzo, exhale a little less Benzo, always the same…«

Future

Alexei Borisov and Richardas Norvila already have good connections with Vienna: Norvila’s first album »The Tapes« will be published by Laton together with the Redaktionsbüro. Subetage published the sampler »Ikra: Bitter Snacks from Moscow« and Laton »Nautik« with contributions by F.R.U.I.T.S. and Benzo.

Today nearly each Russian household is equipped with a computer – the stuff is very cheap. Almost everybody is producing music. Continuity is the key factor for »reaching the West«, in direction of a »real« record deal and concert business. The club »Dom« in Moscow has become a breeding place for the new improvisation-scene. »Some time ago most of the gigs were almost for free. Nevertheless it was nearly only fellow musicians who showed up. People had no money for this kind of music. In the meantime also students come and people who drop by accidentally. This is a good development«, Norvila states.


Thanks to Richardas Norvila for his patience while being interviewed and to Antje Mayer of the Redaktionsbüro for info-support. read on

Manuela Hötzl visited the Greg Lynn exhibition in Vienna and Ars Electronica in Linz where she was particularly excited by a VR work by Petra Gemeinböck. About possibilities, questions and visions in a medium... read on

The new Mocca Bar nightclub in Graz was designed by 'purpur' architects as a counterpart to the existing coffeehouse called Mocca Supreme... read on

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Throughout the years, Austrian architecture has always attracted international attention. First and foremost because almost every generation has produced several architects with radical opinions and spectacular projects who almost naturally find a place in the international circle of architectural publications, lectures, competitions, exhibitions, and prizes. read on

For 300.000 Chechenian refugees in Ingushetia going back home is not a real alternative. Saira, a Chechenian mother of three sons, has a wish: ”I´d rather go back today than tomorrow”. Her hometown is not far away: To Grozny it is just a hundred kilometres. The 42-year-old English teacher is one of 300.000 people who have had to flee to Ingushetia from the war in Chechenia . She has been waiting to return for three years in a refugee camp. read on

The new Mocca Bar nightclub in Graz was designed by 'purpur' architects as a counterpart to the existing coffeehouse called Mocca Supreme. In accordance with the name, the color scheme of the interior is dominated by varying shades of white and black coffee. The wooden floor covers stairs and walls while wood is also the material of the seats as well as of the tables which can be converted into benches. The overall effect is that floor and furniture are no longer distinguishable. read on

In Hartberg in the Austrian state of Styria, the creuz & quer architectural office from Graz has converted and extended a Bezirkshauptmannschaft (office building for the chief officer and staff of local government in Austria). The building contains offices for the administration of the district and also includes a public section for visitors and consultations. What was wanted was a logical interweaving of the various functional areas, combined with a multi-purpose hall. The result is a highly transparent ensemble. read on

Utopia has always been associated with socio-political change, with a kind of ‘wild dream’ which, in the course of history, has not always turned out for the best. Architecture has rarely played more than a representative role in this, at least not at the moment of actual construction. Its realization is the expression of a social and symbolic form. Architecture can react but not initiate. Nor has architecture itself ever been the basis of a utopian vision. It is situated, by its very nature, between politics and culture. read on

Around 70 per cent of the project developments by the real estate financial service provider Immorent are located in Eastern Europe. In interview with Report: Immorent’s managing director Gerald Antonitsch. read on

András Pálffy is an architect, a professor at Vienna University of Technology, and has also been President of the Secession since December 2007. Jabornegg & Pálffy, will shortly complete their most recent project: the headquarters of the Slovenská sporiteľňa (Erste Group) in Bratislava. For Pálffy this also means an encounter with his own family history. read on

Has Russia got an image problem or a reality problem? The former Soviet dissident and controversial anti-western TV presenter Mikhail Leontjev has the answers. read on

An interview with the journalist Matthias Echterhagen, managing director of n-ost. read on

Two different generations of journalists speak about the working conditions for Eastern European reporters today and in the past. read on

Miljenko Dereta is one of those Serbian Intellectuals whose critical view of the social conditions in his country did not drive him into the camp of the nationalist populists, but instead led him to formulate a differentiated criticism of the changes in the country. read on

The young Marcel Ihnacák is at present the hottest chef in Slovakia. read on

Barbara Maier, cultural and scientific mediator, and publisher and author Lojze Wieser undertook a culinary voyage of discovery in the Balkans. read on

An interview with Aldo Ivančić. In the 1980s, the cultural scene in Ljubljana was vibrating like never before: weird art actions, wild punk concerts and crazy lesbian and gay get-togethers were characteristic of the underground scene in the Slovenian capital, which is only about the size of Graz. read on

The media have been forced into line, scandals hushed up and the population has lost its belief in the constitutional state. Journalist Blaž Zgaga explains why for him today Slovenia can no longer be seen as the Switzerland of southeastern Europe. read on

Russia observes Europe with mixed feelings. As only few Russians have a passport, the impression of Europe goes little further than a diffuse image. In an interview the political journalist Fyodor Lukyanov describes Europe as an oasis in the international confusion, “a Europe that seals its external borders and leaves non-EU states to wander around outside seeking membership.” Lukjanov very much doubts whether the map will look the same in 50 years time. read on

Ukraine seems to be a country where literature thrives. So far Ukrainian star authors such as Juri Andruchovych, Andrey Kurkov, Ljubko Deresch and Oksana Sabushko have celebrated major international successes. Recently a further young talent has become a focus of attention – especially in German-speaking Europe: Serhij Zhadan. read on

Kira Muratova, the grande dame of Soviet Russian independent cinema, has lived and worked for almost fifty years in Odessa in Ukraine. She talked to Eduard Steiner about the political situation in Ukraine, her chosen home, and about the difficulties experienced by Ukrainian filmmakers. read on

The journalist, critic and writer Mykola Riabchuk is one of the best-known essayists and political commentators in his country. He founded the magazine "Krytyka" in Kiev and writes a weekly column in the newspaper “Gazeta po-ukrainsky".
Riabchuk was born 1953 in the town of Luck (north-western Ukraine). In 2006 Suhrkamp published his essay "Die reale und die imaginierte Ukraine" in a German translation.
In the interview with "Report" he hopes that the early parliamentary elections on 30 September 2007 will have a positive effect - and he wants to believe in Ukrainian politicians' ability to learn from their mistakes. read on

Erzen Shkololli in Conversation with Antje Mayer on his Selection of “The Five”. read on

The Slovak Biennale artist, punk musician and curator Boris Ondreicka holds forth on the quite bearable lightness of being in Bratislava, his selection of artists and their penchant for sarcasm. read on

Video artist Zlatan Filipovic (born 1973), professor of new media at the Academy of Applied Art in Sarajevo, spoke with Antje Mayer about the situation of art in Bosnia-Herzegovina. read on

Antje Mayer in talk with the Bulgarian curator Maria Vassileva. read on

Since back in the 1960s space travel was not only the ultimate symbol of the competition between the Soviet Union and the USA, but has also changed the way people think and see themselves. In 1965 Russian astronaut, Alexej Leonov, was the first man to hover freely in outer space for twelve minutes. read on

Viennese market researcher Rudolf Bretschneider, director of the Fessl & GFK - Institute, collects data about eastern Europe. What does his mountain of information reveal about the people in eastern Europe?
Florian Klenk in conversation with Rudolf Bretschneider. read on

Jiří Gruša, a Czech intellectual, author, companion of Václav Havel, president of the International PEN club and director of the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna, explains what his generation has done wrong after 1989, why an East German like Angela Merkel has shrewder policies in the East and why Westerners do not want to take the slightest risk for the new European freedom. read on

Migration researcher Michael Jandl investigates a sensitive topic: migration and illegal employment. In this interview with "Report" he explains why the option to restrict for a certain transitional period the free movement of labour as regards workers from the new EU countries (an option that was availed of by Austria) was only partly successful, and he indicates the form a sensible migration policy might take in the future. read on

In many East bloc countries as well as in Yugoslavia from the 1960s onwards there was liberalised legislation as regards marriage, the use of ­married names, voting and abortion that was seen as the expression of a classless society. Women had a higher level of education and could take up traditionally male professions, childcare centres were widely available, either free of charge or for a very low fee. From the mid 1970s onwards ­Slovene fathers had the opportunity to take paternity leave. In questions of equal rights between women and men the East was – apparently – ahead. read on

Jewgenija Albaz is one of those journalists in Russia who, like Anna Politkovskaya, her former colleague from her student days, places her finger on the wounds of the state and its regime. During the era of the Soviet Union she conducted research into the KGB for which she received a number of threats. Albaz still receives threats and is on the “death lists” of various groups on the Internet. In addition to printed articles she chairs a political discussion on Sundays on the liberal radio station “Echo Moskvy”. In an interview with “Report” she offers insights into the everyday world of a journalist in an authoritarian state, in which human rights are of little account and representatives of the media can die for presenting the unvarnished truth. read on

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Stravinsky once remarked that bankers liked best to talk about music while composers preferred to converse about money. The Figdors, the Arnsteins, the Liebens were financiers – also of art. Entertainment and earning a livelihood belong in some way together. Mr Fellinger, the director of Siemens Vienna, and his wife were Brahm's patrons. The Erste Bank Composing Commission is a continuation of the historically productive and close relationship between financial institutions and those who create music. The curator of this award is Lothar Knessl, who as chief press officer of the Vienna State Opera has been shaped by a life-long connection with music and who, through his activities as a curator and his work for ORF Radio Ö1, enjoys the status of expert in the difficult genre of the most modern music. read on

For a number of years now Česká spořitelna has placed the emphasis in its private sponsoring activities on the area of music. Vienna-based culture journalist Nina Schedlmayer talked to Jarmila Plachá, the new Head of Corporate Marketing und Sponsoring at Česká spořitelna, discussing the Stones after the revolution, student film festivals that run all night and jazz clubs in Prague. read on

>Austrian music and culture journalist Ursula Maria Probst spoke in Vienna to producer Rostislav Rekuta, electronic musician Evgeniy Droomoff and singer Tonya Pilugina about the cultural scene in Riga. read on

Russian artist Anna Ceeh and the Austrian sound artist Franz Pomassl about the “rest of the world” beyond the Urals, music making in the turbo-capitalist regions and why laptop music is not the last word on the subject. read on

Birgit Langenberger and Manuela Hötzl in conversation with Marina Gržinić about her book “Fiction Reconstructed”, in which, starting from the contrast between East and West, she defines a new symbolic culture space. read on

The (borderline) publisher Lojze Wieser has championed small-scale and unknown literature from Austria's eastern neighbours for two decades and also founded the "Enzyklopädie des europäischen Ostens" (Encyclopedia of the European East). For Wieser communication in one's own native language is a human right that should be granted to everyone. In conversation with Antje Mayer. read on

The “Revolver Revue” was first published illegally in “samizdat” (self-print) in Czechoslovakia in 1985. This magazine for literature and art that appears four times yearly has managed to survive to the present day. We talked to Michael Špirit, for many years a member of the editorial staff and co-founder of the “Critical Supplement to the Revolver Revue” and known for his precise and critical reviews, about censorship, the shock caused by the political changes in Eastern Europe and the situation of literary criticism in the Czech Republic today. read on

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As Europe is currently in the process of redefining the meaning of culture, the management of identities has started to play an ever increasing role. The Institute for European Ethnology is staging a symposium entitled “Managing Identities” to explore everyday cultural trends and culture as dimensions of life. read on

Boris Buden, the author of the book "Der Schacht von Babel – Ist Kultur übersetzbar" (The Pit of Babel – is Culture Translatable?) , which appeared in autumn 2004, explains why he finds the belief in a new cultural identity naive and why society should not confuse politics with culture. Buden speaks of Europe as a translation community. An interview with Manuela Hötzl. read on

A female pop icon's Euro-vision of Ruslana Lyzhichko, after the Orange Revolution. In this interview with Eduard Steiner given exclusively for "Report" she tells about the times before the change, the present atmosphere in the country and the Europe-euphoria of Ukrainian youth. read on

After the rejection of the draft European constitution in France and the Netherlands, a kind of helplessness and perplexity reign in Europe. Erhard Busek, EU coordinator for southeast Europe and President of the European Forum Alpbach, sees in this crisis the long needed inducement to ask the question: "whether Europe wants itself". Economics journalist Michael Prüller talked to the former head of the ÖVP and former economics minister. read on

The historian and journalist Karl Schlögel is a traveller, observer and storyteller who perceives processes of change and reinterprets them unusually in a manner that is more essayistic than academic. read on

Jeremy Rifkin, the US economist, political consultant and author of the book “The European Dream: How Europe's Vision of the Future Is Quietly Eclipsing the American Dream” talks about the problems, the hopes and the opportunity of taking Europe towards a future political model. Manuela Hötzl talked with this fan of Europe. read on

The musician and artist Andres Löo is one of the most important representatives of the young Estonian scene. In this interview he speaks about Western misunderstandings regarding Estonia, the spirit of optimism in his native country at the start of the nineties, and his search for the ur-sound. read on

Svatopluk Karasek, who was born in Prague in 1942, was a Protestant pastor before he joined the wild Underground movement in the early 1970s and started to preach rock. He was forbidden to practice his profession, imprisoned and subsequently he emigrated to Switzerland. He has lived again in Prague for some time now and since 2004 has been the human rights commissioner of the Czech government. An interview with a wanderer between different worlds. read on

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The Secession (Vienna) is showing the exhibition BELGRADE ART INC., which deals with the area of art in the Serbian capital Belgrade (from 1.7. to 5.9.2004).
A conversation between Georg Schöllhammer, Stevan Vuković and Marko Lulić. read on

Boris Marte has been head of Corporate Sponsoring in the Erste Bank Group for two years. With him this company has embarked upon an ambitious path towards private culture financing that Marte likes to describe in terms of "cooperation and learning communities". The team behind Kontakt was rounded off at the beginning of the present year by the addition of Christine Böhler. Patricia Grzonka spoke to both of them about their activities, relationships of trust, networks and mutual learning processes. read on

Andrea Zlatar, specialist in literary studies and essayist, was town councillor with responsibility for cultural matters in Zagreb from 2001 to summer 2005. Dea Vidović spoke to her about politicians' ability to learn and the possibilities of partnerships in the so-called "independent cultural scene". read on

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Branislav Dimitrijević, the Serbian art historian and curator, has examined the peculiarities of cultural and artistic production in Yugoslavia under Tito in his essay in the recently published collection “Zurück aus der Zukunft” (Suhrkamp, Frankfurt am Main 2005). With Report, he talked about the art scene of the sixties and seventies, the definition of the term “post-communist” and explains why “socialist consumerism” finally culminated in nationalism. read on

In the 1990s the Slovene artists group IRWIN was actively involved in the transformation of the previously socialist art scene. This network was founded in 1993 by Borut Vogelnik along with five other artists. Through their work they wished to establish social and historical references that could construct a common history. The book "East Art Map: Contemporary Art and Eastern Europe" is the product of a comprehensive survey of the last 50 years of art production and attempts to reconstruct, from an Eastern European viewpoint, the missing histories of contemporary art in these countries. Borut Vogelnik and Miran Mohar spoke to REPORT about the development of this book that will be launched in Bratislava on 13 May. read on

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The work of the young Bosnian artist Sejla Kamerić (who was born in 1976) is closely connected with the siege of Sarajevo (1992–1996). She experienced the three-and-a-half-year long siege of her hometown together with her family, and her father was killed in the war. This period exerted a great influence on her as an artist: “Even though now I deal with a number of very different themes,” says Kamerić, “the war will always remain a part of me.” Her best-known work: the photomontage “Bosnien Girl” (2003) – which is part of the art collection of the Erste Bank Group and has been reproduced for advertisements, postcards and billboards – shows herself as a model, above a piece of graffiti that a Dutch soldier smeared on the wall of a military barracks in Srebenica: “No teeth …? A mustache …? Smel like shit …? Bosnian girl!” She talked to “Report” about such basic feelings as homesickness, freedom and fear as a European Bosnian woman.

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Grita Insam opened her gallery in Vienna 36 years ago, Andreiana Mihail opened hers in Bucharest six months ago. On the occasion of the VIENNAFAIR art fair in Vienna the two gallery owners spoke with “Report” about their pioneering work, global markets and the gap that followed Picasso. read on

Ever since its founding in February 1964, the Vienna Film Museum has sought to be an “instruction for the eye” and “training of memory” for innovative (inter)national film. Film Museum director and cinephile Alexander Horwath imparts to us his knowledge of Eastern European cinema. read on

Antje Mayer in conversation with Eric Pleskow, who was born in Vienna in 1924, emigrated to the USA in 1939, producer and winner of several Oscars and has been president of the Viennale for the last seven years about his "return" to Vienna, the eastward expansion of the EU and George W. Bush. read on

Christoph Badelt, Rector of the WU Wien (Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration) on the perils of the EU expansion, the necessity for a European social policy, the provincialism of Austrian politicians and the problems caused by the new study fees for Eastern European students.
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Bosnia- Herzegovina’s EU membership does not appear to be within easy reach at this point of time. The country’s line of sight has long been the West and will be even more so with the current candidates’ accession to the EU on May 1 – shifting its borders even closer to the EU. Bosnia is orientated towards the West not just geographically but economically, legally and culturally as well. Manuela Hötzl spoke with the architects Sead Golos, Amir Vuk, and Srdja Hrisafovic about Sarajevo, the search for an identity, coming to terms with the war, and the future. read on

Vedran Mimica, Croatian architect and, since 1991, teacher and programme coordinator at the Dutch Berlage-Institute, still maintains close ties with his native country. Although in 1979 he moved to study abroad and later built up his career there, he is still actively committed to his country. In an interview with Manuela Hötzl he analyses the significance of Tito and the drama of Milošević for present-day Croatia. However new processes are developing, and a committed scene made up of independent associations is taking the cultural development of the country in hand. read on

Friedrich Achleitner, Austria's most committed architecture critic and theorist, celebrates his 75th birthday this year. With his documentation of the architecture of Austria's various regions he has made a major contribution to broadening the effect of architecture. The first volume (Vorarlberg, Tyrol, Salzburg, Upper Austria) appeared in 1980. The last of the three volumes dealing with Vienna is scheduled to appear in 2006. Henrieta Moravčíková talked to Friedrich Achleitner about the highs and lows of Central European architecture and about its shared and its regional traditions. read on

A considerable amount of political attention is repeatedly being focussed on the major area "Europa Region Mitte" (Europe Central Region). One of the next areas is Vienna/Bratislava. In our neighbouring city developments are moving ahead rapidly – with the involvement of western and Austrian investors. We asked the editor-in-chief of ARCH, Henrieta H. Moravčíková, about the level of transparency and the quality of what is going on there. There too we encounter the eternal problem with competitions, the public realm and the difficulty of ensuring quality. read on

Platforma 9,81 and MULTIMEDIA INSTITUTE, two NGOs from Zagreb, in conversation with Boris Groys about social and cultural changes in Europe. read on

Interview: In her work The System: prêt-à-porter the artist Barbara Holub, since 2006 president of the Viennese Secession, addresses the shifts in economic structures and social form of appearance using the humanitarian and global circumstances of the Humana relief organization.
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A lawyer would define a public building as one that is commissioned by a local authority or other legal body in public law and that houses an authoritative administration. From the architect’s viewpoint other questions arise. How is our notion and the reality of “public” presently changing? How can architecture, as one of the important forms in which the notion of “public” is made visible, react to such changes? read on

A piece of literature by the most prominent slovenian novelist, playwright and essayist Drago Jančar. read on

It began with the notion of waste separation. Plastic with plastic, paper with paper, the remaining rubbish with the remainder of the rubbish. Then came the separation of glass. Bottles are sorted according to colour: green glass with green glass, brown with brown, white with white. When I heard about bulky waste I was both shocked and delighted at one and the same time. What self-discipline these Europeans must have and what patience!... read on

Roman Ondák: Last week I received a lot of e-mails concerned with Július Koller. read on

A short history of the vision of “America”
Alexander Emanuely rolls out the history of the view of America once again, and follows the traces of former (European) visionaries. read on

Irina Korina about her artists' choice
Moscow is full of artists./ In general they all know each other./ But not all are friends/some of them are even ideological enemies.../ read on

Franz Küberl, President of Caritas Österreich about the social and economic development of Central Europe in the years to come. read on

Does anyone in this room still believe in solidarity between the “two Europes”? Rival interpretations of solidarity in \"East\" and \"West\".
An Essay by János Mátyás Kovács. read on

Some time ago this remark that captures Germany’s current mood would probably have been greeted with raised eyebrows in this liberal round. read on

"Europe should be placed under the protection of St. Jerome, the patron saint of translators and interpreters; in the area of languages which, literally, affects every country, Europe is faced with a communal challenge" read on

Recent developments in several new member states of the EU, namely the rise of both right wing and left wing populism, have drawn new attention to East-Central Europe. How to explain the current tide of populist movements in the region? And what implications can be drawn for the future of the European Union? Political scientist and historian Jacques Rupnik gives an analysis of the situation. read on

In the fall two years ago, the Erste Bank threw a party in Vienna with a curious guest list and location. The featured venue was Vienna's prominent exhibition space Secession, where the bank's executives and corporate big shots mixed with culturati from around the Central and Eastern European region. But the most unusual thing about the whole party was the occasion: the conception of tranzit, the bank's new “initiative in the field of contemporary art and theory”. read on

The Swiss approach to financing culture in the European context, or: what kind of impact, if any, does the Swiss method of culture financing have on the cultural life of Central and Southeast Europe?
A commentary by Sibylle Birrer

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Uniform histories and the globalisation of art or: how the former East Block countries are fighting for authenticity. A commentary by Antje Mayer read on

Kontakt - The Art Collection of Erste Bank Group has been newly organized and is now monitored by a jury of international experts. Since 2004 greater emphasis has been placed on acquiring art from Eastern and South - eastern Europe, works dating from the sixties and seventies and, above all, contemporary works. read on

Outline portraits of four members of the international jury for Kontakt - The Art Collection of Erste Bank Group of contemporary and modern art: Silvia Eiblmayr, Jiří Ševčík, Branka Stipanić, Adam Szymczyk, Georg Schöllhammer read on

The Socland Foundation had invited the citizens of Warsaw to come there on that day and to donate exhibits for the future Museum of Communism to be housed in the cellars of the palace... read on

Among the many problems facing the new member countries of the EU, art plays a rather minor role, to put it mildly. But firstly, this is only speculation and secondly, nevertheless one can talk about everything. Because it is both popular and expensive cinema, as a sub-category of art, is particularly problematic and comparatively exposed in all debates in which the issue is not constitutional arguments, the economic crisis, job shortages or fear of immigrants. read on

I have lived as an architect in Vienna since 1992. My personal past in Bucharest was for me a completed chapter of my life and this, I believed, was how it had to be. But my last visit to my native city disabused me of this fact. Questions that I no longer wanted to ask myself surfaced once again. What is Bucharest? What has happened to the city since the monstrous 1980s? A tale of the memory of a lost generation. read on

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Editing: redaktionsbuero architektur  I Manuela Hötzl
Authors: Florian Medicus, Wolfgang Pauser, Dietmar Steiner
Graphic design: DO & JOE Communication I Doris Fritz
 
Book: 336 pages I Englisch I 26,2 x 20,8 x 3,2 cm
© 2011 Springer-Verlag/Wien


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On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Iron Curtain spike art quarterly presents a new publication.
spike art guide east – a briefing on contemporary art and culture in Central and Eastern Europe. What makes up a city's art scene? The places where art takes place, the cafés and restaurants where people meet, the bars and clubs. The spike Art Guide East examines the art scenes, past and present, of ten Central and Eastern European cities: Belgrade, Bratislava, Bucharest, Budapest, Ljubljana, Prague, Sarajevo, Sofia, Vienna and Zagreb. Included are interviews, articles and recommendations from artists, curators, critics, gallery owners, collectors and creatives on-site.

Antje Mayer, Rita Vitorelli (Eds.):
spike Art Guide East. A Briefing on Contemporary Art and Culture in Central and Eastern Europe, Volume 1, spike, Vienna 2009
ISBN 978-3-200-01499-2
Paperback, English
336 pages with numerous illustrations
€ 25 /$ 34 /£ 23 /CHF 39

Simply order at spike@spikeart.at>
www.amazon.de/spike-Art-Guide-East-Contemporary/dp/3200014997>
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“Club Zone” is a new club taking place at the Viennese Secession. It is hosted by a group including Anna Ceeh and Franz Pomassl, from the music label Laton. The monthly events feature electronic and experimental music. For the serie “Sonic Zones” the hosts invite DJs and Live –Acts from the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe to Vienna. The radio channel Ö1 will feature the programme with “Sonic Zones, die Vorlese” (“sonic zones, the reading”) in its Zeit- Ton Magazine, every first Wednesday of the month.
And at the end of this year “Sonic Zones”, the book, will be published: An account of the past and the present of the e-experimental music scene of the former Soviet Union.

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6.th International Balkan Festival Vienna 2009

Between Orient and Occident, between traditional and contemporary music. Balkanfever presents Rock, Folk and jazzy tunes and music, for which there´s no category yet. From the end of march to the beginning of may the Ostklub, the Musikverein, at Porgy&Bess, at the Sargfabrik and the theatre Akzent invite you to enjoy a a colourful festival.

30. 3. – 9. 5. 2009
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In Eastern Europe you have plenty of everything to hit the headlines: crises, wars, corruption, crime. Do these clichés about Eastern Europe prescribe the news coverage in Western media?
Positive stories from the East are rarely sold by Western press confirms Eastern Europe correspondent Simone Schlindwein. Journalists have to report critically. It´s not their business to deliver picture postcard – images of these countries, argues Werner D`Inka, co- editior of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Ivan Mecl, chief – editor of the czech culture magazine “Umelec” has not seen any important news about Eastern Europe in Western media for a long time. He even claims that Eastern Europe slowly turns into it´s own cliché.
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\"Tiger State or Poor House? Romania\'s importance in the EU\" is the title of the n-ost media conference 2008, to be held in Bucharest from 1 to 5 October.

It gives 80 journalists from throughout Europe an opportunity chance to get to know Romania better. In addition to discussion rounds there are workshops with experienced media makers: on web journalism, blogging, as well as research and writing techniques. In addition various research excursions to Bucharest and the country will be offered. The media conference is being organised by n-ost, the network for Eastern European reporting. Erste Bank is one of the bodies that support this conference. read on

Nothing occupies people so intensely
as their beliefs.We in Europe have grown up in different cultures and diverse political
constellations – and are now united in a common Europe.This issue of “Report” is an attempt to trace the history of the religions, of
their current responsibility and, not least of all, of “religion” as a currently
fashionable phenomenon.It is the small steps that
bring us closer together – and our understanding for the “others”. This is
our belief.

Report.Magazine for Arts and Civil Society in Eastern- and Central Europe, Print Issue 1/2008
for order just send an e-mail to redaktion@redaktionsbuero.at

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Spike ART QUARTERLY Spring Issue 2008
including Portraits of Gelitin, Mircea Cantor,Frances Stark, Rasa Todosijevic, Artists Favourites by Jeremy Deller,an Artguide to Ljubljana written by Antje Mayer and a feature on the 5th Berlin Berlinale read on

A catalogue on architecture in Romania, containing the presentation of the architectural production from beginning of 19. century to the last decades until today.

Architektur im Ringturm XIII: RUMÄNIEN
Momente der Architektur vom 19. Jahrhundert bis zur Gegenwart
(Moments of Romanian Architecture from the 19th Century to the Present)
in German and Englisch.
approx. 100 Pages, with many illustrations in black/white and colour

Contributors: Luminita Machedon, Ana-Maria Machedon, Stephan Ghenciulescu and Adolph Stiller
Verlag Anton Pustet, May 2007;
Euro 24,– read on

It seems that the Southeast of Europe is quite hip at the moment. Firts Monsignore Harald Szeemann makes his way there ( notice the exhibition "Blut & Honig" („Blood & Honey“) in the collection Essl in Klosterneuburg) and now René Block follows up. What he has found in the valleys of the Balkan – on his trip through this hidden patch of Europe – he presents in Kassel. All around the 88 Balkanian artists and an extensive supporting programme. Next to a presentation of objects, art, installation, photography and videoarts there will be – relating to this report – an exhibition, as Block recalls, performances, lectures, filmpresentations and thematical guidance. The arthall Fridericianum Kassel intends to become the center of internal and external discussions concerning the term „Balkan“ for the next year. Way to go! Unfortunately the book on this exhibition will apear not until June, 2004. The exhibition lasts until November 23rd, 2003. www.fridericianum-kassel.d read on

There should be a prototype in every household! Music and texts by the world's greatest inventors and players of musical prototype-instruments. With complete biographies and focus on Russia!
artists: Pan Sonic (FIN), Mira Calix (SA), Alva Noto(D), Pomassl (A), Benzo(R), Auxpan (ISL), Alexei Boriso (R), Terre Thaemlitz (US), Fon (A), Carl Michael von Hausswolff (S), Thilges3 (A), Udo Wid (A), Tommi Grönlund und Petteri Nisunen (FIN)
price: € 15.-
order now! buero@redaktionsbuero.at www.redaktionsbuero.at/prototyp
www.laton.at/news.htm read on

The Guelman gallery's new project "the Internet shop Guelman E-Gallery" is the new contemporary art shop on RuNet. Here you can purchase works by the Guelman gallery's artists along with the ones created by authors of friendly galleries and institutions. Besides, you can find their biographies here and a number of articles on the present art market stage. In this Internet shop you can buy both framed and unframed works of art.
e-gallery.guelman.ru/eng/authors/chern-efimov read on