Linz: the Cultural Capital of Europe
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Ceylan Yeğinsu
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Aralık 01, 2008 00:00
ISTANBUL - Linz, as the European Cultural Capital for 2009, is hoping to draw people to celebrate with them the ever-increasing cultural richness that has transformed the city from a bleak Industrial zone to what is a vibrant cultural hotspot.
As the European Cultural Capital for 2009, the northern Austrian city of Linz hopes to change preconceptions it is merely a city of labor and industry, offering nothing other than smog and dry pastries, visual arts director Airan Berg said on Friday at a press conference in Istanbul.
Art and culture in Austria have always been associated with Viennia and Salzburg, renowned for their rich cultivation of the arts, Berg said. Linz, located between the two cities, will have the opportunity to experiment with a model outside the scope of traditional cultural heritage found in the two cities it lies between, he said. Linz has undergone fundamental changes over the years and established itself as a contemporary model for art, culture and European learning, Berg said.
In Linz, music, theatre, visual arts, film and innovative ideas of a thriving underground scene are soaked up by audiences who are highly receptive to contemporary modes of cultural expression, Berg said.
The mission of the Linz09 European Cultural Capital project is synonymous with that of the Istanbul 2010 project, to raise the city's profile by developing its cultural facilities for the future. "By 2015, Linz will be the most interesting city in Austria. A city where culture, industry and nature are in a symbiosis rarely found in other places," said Berg, who added, no other Austrian city had changed as much as Linz has in past decades.
Berg shed light on some projects currently underway. Readings, exhibitions, literary events, thematic evenings, workshops and symposiums are among events in the literary section of Linz 2009. The "Round about Linz" writing workshops will provide opportunities for students and teachers to experiment with creative writing. "Participation is a crucial part of cultural education and one of our main aims is to get as many people involved as we can," said Berg.
Linz’s history will be a central theme of the city’s program. An exhibition, "The Cultural Capital Of The Fuhrer," will take center stage at the Museum of the Province of Upper Austria. The exhibition, curated by historical scholars and art historians, will deal with national socialist cultural policies, cultural life in the region and Linz’s Nazi past.
The director of the 2010 Istanbul project, Nuri Colakoglu, spoke about Turkish participation in the Linz09 project. The Lentos Kunst Museum will put on a comprehensive solo exhibition from renowned Turkish artist and filmmaker Kutlug Ataman. The exhibition will focus on Turkey’s upheaval in the areas of politics, culture and the economy, and on the struggle between religious and secular views.
Turkey will also feature in the "Extra Europa" symposium, held on topics such as; Who is Europe? What is Europe? Where does it begin and where does it end? Linz09 will shift the focus of Europe outside the European Union. Turkey will be shown as the strong partner to Europe it has been for the last 200 years, from the time of the Ottoman Empire to that of modern Turkey, founded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in 1923.
Art and culture in Austria have always been associated with Viennia and Salzburg, renowned for their rich cultivation of the arts, Berg said. Linz, located between the two cities, will have the opportunity to experiment with a model outside the scope of traditional cultural heritage found in the two cities it lies between, he said. Linz has undergone fundamental changes over the years and established itself as a contemporary model for art, culture and European learning, Berg said.
In Linz, music, theatre, visual arts, film and innovative ideas of a thriving underground scene are soaked up by audiences who are highly receptive to contemporary modes of cultural expression, Berg said.
The mission of the Linz09 European Cultural Capital project is synonymous with that of the Istanbul 2010 project, to raise the city's profile by developing its cultural facilities for the future. "By 2015, Linz will be the most interesting city in Austria. A city where culture, industry and nature are in a symbiosis rarely found in other places," said Berg, who added, no other Austrian city had changed as much as Linz has in past decades.
Berg shed light on some projects currently underway. Readings, exhibitions, literary events, thematic evenings, workshops and symposiums are among events in the literary section of Linz 2009. The "Round about Linz" writing workshops will provide opportunities for students and teachers to experiment with creative writing. "Participation is a crucial part of cultural education and one of our main aims is to get as many people involved as we can," said Berg.
Linz’s history will be a central theme of the city’s program. An exhibition, "The Cultural Capital Of The Fuhrer," will take center stage at the Museum of the Province of Upper Austria. The exhibition, curated by historical scholars and art historians, will deal with national socialist cultural policies, cultural life in the region and Linz’s Nazi past.
The director of the 2010 Istanbul project, Nuri Colakoglu, spoke about Turkish participation in the Linz09 project. The Lentos Kunst Museum will put on a comprehensive solo exhibition from renowned Turkish artist and filmmaker Kutlug Ataman. The exhibition will focus on Turkey’s upheaval in the areas of politics, culture and the economy, and on the struggle between religious and secular views.
Turkey will also feature in the "Extra Europa" symposium, held on topics such as; Who is Europe? What is Europe? Where does it begin and where does it end? Linz09 will shift the focus of Europe outside the European Union. Turkey will be shown as the strong partner to Europe it has been for the last 200 years, from the time of the Ottoman Empire to that of modern Turkey, founded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in 1923.