Light Art Festival will light up Trenčín for the first time. The “Rehearsal of Lights” awaits us!

The newly emerging LAF Light Art Festival is organizing its first event called The Trial of Lights, which will take place on 15 November 2024 at the Peace Square in Trencin. The dominant feature of the programme will be the lighting of an eight-metre high installation created by Czech light art artist Lukáš Dřevjany. The work will be the first of this size in Trenčín and will also be an interactive creation. This means that what will be displayed on the installation will be directly influenced by people’s movements.

The rehearsal of the lights will start on Friday, 15 November at 7.30 pm. The following days will offer the experience from 8am to 10pm, until Sunday 24 November. The event will be a taster of what the first edition of the LAF, which will take place from 11-13 April 2025, will subsequently bring on a larger scale.

Come and enjoy culture and creativity and experience Trenčín in a new light.

Are you interested in the light work Fragment, which is located on Peace Square? Come to a guided tour by its author, Czech digital artist Lukáš Dřevjaný. You will learn how the work works, get answers to your curious questions and find out more than you can fit on the information board.

Sunday 24.11.2024 at the Fragment installation

5:00 to 5:30 p.m.

from 18:00 to 18:30

You can visit the light work Fragment at Mierovo Square until 24 November. Then it will be replaced by the traditional Christmas tree.

About the work and its author

The light installation “Fragment” was designed by Czech artist Lukáš Dřevjaný alias oxoo, who uses screens, moving lights or lasers in his work. For him, light is a means to bring powerful experiences. It is the same in Trenčín. In addition to its monumental dimensions, the work also attracts attention with its interactive content. What is displayed on the installation will be directly influenced by people’s movements.

Lukáš Dřevjaný is a digital artist who combines abstract expressionism and contemporary technologies to create interactive audio-visual creations. His works tell a story of the tension between chaos and order, technology and humanity. Dřevjaný studied theatrical lighting and sound design at JAMU in Brno and at The Theatre Academy in Helsinki (Finland). More at www.oxoo.digital.

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The main idea of this site-specific project is a hybrid war in which Slovakia is right on the front line. First of all, it is necessary to understand what a hybrid war actually is. There are various definitions of hybrid warfare and it has taken various forms in the history of mankind. At present, the term is mainly associated with operations that provoke instability in the target countries, polarise society and cause distrust of institutions. In this way, they seek to undermine the unity and togetherness of a population that is becoming vulnerable and unwilling to actively resist threats from the outside. These operations are most closely associated with the Russian Federation, which is proving to spread a huge amount of disinformation, mainly directed at EU countries and the US. This activity has gained momentum, especially after 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea.

In this struggle, Slovakia is on the imaginary front line because of its geographical location, as it belonged to the westernmost part of the former Eastern bloc.

People here often suffer from a recollective optimism, and the polarisation is becoming more and more radical. However, there are various personalities in Slovakia, from the ranks of journalists, police officers, soldiers, but also analysts, artists and others, who are actively fighting against disinformation, opposing the practices of power, seeking the truth and trying to keep the idea of freedom and democracy alive.Through this work, the authors seek to help us become aware of what our society is currently facing, who are those who are fighting for freedom and truth in these times.They also want to draw attention to the price that they and other people on both sides of the barricade are essentially paying for it.Often times this line divides families, partners, cripples institutions, shatters dreams.

Admission: voluntary during the opening hours of the Strange Baron Café / out of hours 3€ / person

The event is publicly supported by the Fund for the Support of the Arts.

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The activities of museums during the Night of Museums and Galleries are oriented towards activities that remain hidden from the public throughout the year. At that time, museums open their “hidden” chambers to the public and reveal secrets hidden from public view. In this way, the public can penetrate the secrets of the ‘museum kitchen’. ‘Unlocking the secrets’ also helps the public, through the knowledge and information thus gained, to better understand the importance of museums in preserving part of the cultural and natural heritage preserved in museums.

As part of the Night of Museums and Galleries event in Trencin, TRAKT will present a pair of art projects in the Atrium under the Tower and in the City Tower on 13 May.

CITY TOWER
9.00 – 23.00 LIGHT HARF | Interactive game full of light beams. Become a player and try what it is like to play on the lights.
With your movements and touches you create beautiful light curtains and melodies. This game immerses you in a world of light and music.

ATRIUM UNDER THE TOWER
21.00 – 23.00 LIGHT GRAFFITI | Do you want to become part of street art and leave your digital legacy? Put your light graffiti on the façade of the Atrium. Just press the spray nozzle and you can start creating huge works of art. What’s more, you don’t have to worry about damaging the history of the façade because it’s a digital projection.

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The exhibition featured Lukáš Matejka / TRAKT (tech. collaboration Alžbeta Bobulová), with the work Home X. Home – Time – Humanity – Technology – Space. Using digital video mapping, the author contrasts the dwelling of the past (the ruins of Parič Castle) and the possible home of the future (the universe).

During the theoretical phase of the workshop, the participants improved their technical, technological and software skills while learning about current trends in the art field. During the practical phase, in cooperation with expert lecturers, they used the acquired experience directly in the field of the park. The educational laboratory provided direct experience with the realization of the work and confrontation with the viewer, where the participants gained new creative impulses, experience and knowledge in the field of contemporary visual art. The event included an accompanying activity GEO-Caching, an interactive game based on GPS coordinates designed for parents with children.

FRIDAY 26/8/2022 – FINISSAGE

18:00 Opening of the accompanying exhibition.

19:00 Opening of the exhibition PARK CAMP 9 and guided tour of the park with curator Miroslav Nicza

21:00 MAPPING to Parič Castle: Lukáš Matejka and TRAKT o.z.

22:00 Musical solitaire – Raptor Koch – Koniareň

23:30 End of the event and de-installation of works in the exterior of the park

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Sound installation on the old railway bridge in Trencin

The sound installation Takt, set in the environment of the old railway bridge in Trenčín, is a new work of art by the TRAKT civic association. The interactive work was created together with other invited colleagues from the cultural and technological field. The work was created with the help of the ECC Trenčín 2026 team, which worked intensively on the candidacy of the city of Trenčín in this prestigious cultural event (European Capital of Culture). The sound installation was first launched to the public in a test phase at the turn of November and December 2021.

The author of the music is the young performer Toello, coming from Trenčianske Teplice, who layered 16 unique original tracks. These are triggered interactively by embedded sensors and thus react to people coming and going directly on the bridge. If one person enters the bridge the first musical layer is triggered, the next person crossing triggers the next, and so on. When the passer-by leaves the bridge, the track turns off again. If there are, for example, 10 people on the bridge at the same time, in the sensed environment directly above the river Váh, 10 sound tracks will play in parallel, which together will form a single musical unit. The maximum is 16 music tracks. At that point, passers-by will be able to hear the full track. If there is no one on the bridge, it will remain silent. Takt is available every day from 7:00 am to 4:00 pm.

The work responds to collaboration, togetherness and connectedness in a local context. For example, in the quest to become ECoC 2026, but also in the unification of the cultural and artistic community. However, it also responds to global contexts such as the polarisation of society in different areas. The sound installation presents in a rather illustrative way the idea of “unity is strength”, where only by being present with each other can people play a musical piece in its full scope. Although the individual plays an essential role, he or she cannot create the whole on his or her own.

Photos by Juraj Majersky and Lukas Matejka.

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Site-specific installation digital art entitled Strom slov (Tree of words) was introduced at the park of Milan Rastislav Štefánik in Trenčín after twilight. The piece of art opens up the subject of ecology, climate and even history and a relationship between a human and the nature. The installation art consists of a sound projection on a specific branch of a tree which transforms into a 3D talking head. This sexless face of an “avatar” tells a fictional story having support in historical events. A once in a lifetime experience with elements of surrealistic and supernatural overlap.

The piece of art is a part of CL!CL! The research is funded by the Slovak Arts Council from public resources in the form of scholarship. The project was financed by the city of Trenčín – Mládež grant.

Photography: Juraj Majerský

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Authors: Stanislav PIATRIK (SK), Peter VALISKA-TIMEČKO (SK), Monika VITANYI (SK), Miloš MOZDÍK (SK), Martin BIZÍK (SK), Lucia VEČERNÁ (SK), Mária PIATRIKOVÁ (SK), Michaela IHNÁTOVÁ (SK), Juliana SVITKOVÁ (SK), Lukáš MATEJKA – TRAKT (SK) and Štefan OLIŠ – TRAKT SK)

Koniareň is an independent cultural space (former riding hall) located on the premises of the museum and the cultural center of south Zemplín in Trebišov. It is a connection of an art lab, a cultural institution, a community space and a group of activists. The space is situated on the premises of a manor house in one of the biggest forest parks in the Central Europe.

Gardens, fountains, a pond and other natural landmarks are part of the park. There, the visitors can find the Mausoleum of Count Július Andrássy, an amphitheater, the Parič castle ruins, wine cellars, a French garden and various recreational zones. The final exhibition in the Koniareň gallery under the theme INTER-ACTION is part of the event including a guided tour on the marked trail with visual interventions in the city park. Associate professor, a conceptual and multimedia artist and a university lecturer Miroslav Nicz with a degree in painting will be the curator and the lecturer of the event. The workshop will provide a direct experience and confrontation of the author with the public.

Title: PARK CAMP 8. /International workshop of visual art/

Place: Trebišov city park and Koniareň – space for contemporary art

Date: 16^th of August – 21^st of August 2021

Preview: 20^th of August 2021 /Friday/ at 6 pm.

Lecturers: associate prof. Miroslav Nicz (with a degree in painting) and Mgr. art. Peter Valiska-Timečko, ArtD

Organizer: Slovak organization of Art and Culture (civic association) and KONIAREŇ

Co-organizers: the city of Trebišov and the museum and cultural center of the south Zemplín

The event was funded by the Slovak Arts Council from public resources.

Photographs: Stanislav Piatrik, Eva Čarnoká

Translated by: Karin Miklossiová

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It processes the phenomenon of the virtually perceived world – the real one, by using interactive storytelling, comprehending the ideology of the place through the language of contemporary art, semiotics and social paradigms. The project uncovers motives of a perceiving individual subject – as a mythical entity in a collective situation, and dramatically re/constructs possible and expectable situations on which it uncovers local social-historical relations of the place as well as current and speculative conditions of the existence of the non/place, modern rituals and infra/structures, in which the subject finds itself at the given moment.

Simply said, it is a paraphrase of a computer game, an open world story, where the spectator becomes the player in the real world, the structure and universal significance of which he/she process through a filter of current artistic and cultural considerations offering it to new experiences, movement, discovery of new senses, reflections and connectivity of networks around us. The project is focused on an expert or an amateur spectator, children, students or teachers. The aim is to create and introduce an interdisciplinary play, as a universally transferable and complete installation lasting several hours that highlights the interaction between the spectator and the environment (passive as well as active).

The premiere of the project:

07/05/2021 | Friday | 12:00 – 21:00 | Trenčín | surroundings of the Miloš Alexander Bazovský Gallery, Palackého 27

+ online stream at www.trakt.sk/re-index

More information will be added.

The project was funded by Slovak Arts Council from public resources. The project was supported by a grant for cultural events in the city of Trenčín. Thank you.

Translation: Karin Mikossiová

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The memory with the cultural program directed by David Tišer took place on August 2, 2020 from 12:00 in the premises of the SNP Museum in Banská Bystrica. During a week during her visit to the Banská Bystrica region, President Zuzana Čaputová came to honor the memory of the victims of the Roma Holocaust. On Sunday, the citizens commemorated the Roma Holocaust Memorial Day with the participation of Prime Minister Igor Matovič, Minister of the Interior Roman Mikulec, Government Plenipotentiary for the Roma Community Andrey Bučková, Deputy Prime Minister Jakub Gajdošík and other guests.

The program also included a digital projection with the names of the victims of the Roma Holocaust in the entrance hall on the SNP sign. The new projection from the TRAKT workshop was prepared and realized by digital artist Lukáš Matejka.

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