Can art save us?

You might ask yourself in these weary times we are living in, walking along side conflicts, war and genocide – how can there be space to even think about art? 

Well as Picasso would put it: “Art is the lie that enables us to realize the truth”. Art is a reflection of our ideas, and has the vital role of challenging them. 

The idea of the European Pavillon is simple: at art fairs individual countries run the exhibits, which greatly influences what they put on and how they frame their cultures. But if this logic is sound, shouldn’t Project Europe have its own pavilion? 

Well it does now, thanks to the European Cultural Foundation – also our founder and funder at Display Europe, and the people who make this talk show possible. 

This year’s theme for the European Pavillion is Liquid becomings, in which four custom boats sail four major European rivers: The Tagus, the Vistula, the Rhine and the Danube. The four journeys cross 11 countries, traveling 1400 kilometers with the artists as passengers and creators. 

The boat works as a place of residence for visual and performing artists, writers, architects and designers to work on their projects until they reach the final destination: a three day Festival in Lisbon from the 7-9th of November. All artists get to present their art, but most importantly: eat a lot of Pastel de Nata! 

But today’s talk is not only about pastry. Believe it or not, this project touches on bigger questions. Together with the initiators and curators of the European Pavillon we talk art. Who is an artist? What role does art play in the zeitgeist? And: can art save us? 

https://cba.media/682509

Guest Bios: 

Naomi Russell is the founder of Agora Now and the lead Curator of the European Pavillion 2024. She is a creative producer, curator, movement builder, activist, advisor and entrepreneur who has worked with many of the world’s leading cultural institutions and artists in the performing arts disciplines.

Guests

Viktor Vejvoda was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia. There he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts and Graduated in the studio of New Media. His main interest lies in the ecology of consumption, peripheral and forgotten knowledge and the questions of value and improvisation.

Marija Balubdžić, is a belgrade-based musician who performs under the alias Umbra. In her improvisation-based compositions she uses voice, keyboards and electronics. Marija is the composer of the Liquid Becomings soundtrack, Motility

Creative team

Réka Kinga Papp anchor

Daniela Univazo writer-editor

Merve Akyel  art director, Eurozine

Szilvia Pintér producer

Priyanka Hutschenreiter project manager

Julia Sobota captions and translations

Zsófia Gabriella Papp digital producer

Management

Judit Csikós  finance

Réka Kinga Papp  editor-in-chief

Csilla Nagyné Kardos office administration

Video Crew 

Voxbox Multimedia Studios in Brussels

Gergely Áron Pápai photography

Postproduction

Nóra Ruszkai video editor

István Nagy lead video editor

Milán Golovics dialogue editor

Art

Victor Maria Lima animation

Crypt-of-Insomnia theme music

Hosted by 

The CDU Library, Hungary

Articles: 

https://culturalfoundation.eu/programmes/european-pavillion/