Balkan Consulate

Balkan Consulate

Where do "the Balkans" begin and where do they end? Every land has its own interpretation of this boundary. From the German point of view the Balkans begin in Austria, for the Austrians in Slovenia, for Slovenia in Croatia, and so on and so forth. The City of Graz likes to call itself "the gateway to southeastern Europe", a formulation that clearly expresses the desire to raise the importance of this geographical region. < rotor > association for contemporary art has decided to establish a "Balkan Consulate" on its premises and in the year 2003 invite curators from this southeastern region to come and design the programme. The "Balkan Consulate" exhibition project can be seen as a continuation of < rotor > gallery's long-standing commitment to the contemporary art of southeastern Europe. This cooperation has resulted in a comprehensive network of artists and cultural institutes that extends from Slovenia to Ukraine. The consulate guests come from Belgrade, Prague, Istanbul, Budapest, Sarajevo and Vienna – St. Petersburg is featured as a special guest within the framework of the 2003-project "spb". In addition to presenting art exhibitions in the consulate, films and DJ-evenings will take place at the branch offices located in the Graz Mediathek, Celery's juice bar and Vipers bar in Palais Thienfeld. The "Balkan Consulate" also houses a café with books, catalogues, magazines and videos that convey the flair of the various cities.

(< rotor > – association for contemporary art)

Idea and concept: Margarethe Makovec, Anton Lederer, Lejla Hodzic; Realisation: < rotor > association for contemporary art. Supported by the City of Belgrade. A project of < rotor > in cooperation with the "steirischer herbst" and Graz 2003 – Cultural Capital of Europe.

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