First, here’s some info on our speakers, Francois and Airan….
Airan Berg was born in Tel Aviv and educated at the American International School in Vienna and at University in Providence, USA. His first professional theatre experience was on Broadway in New York as an assistant to Harold Prince. In Austria worked as an assistant producer for the Burgtheater Vienna and was 1 producer at the Schillertheater in Berlin. He founded Theater ohne Grenzen (Theatre without Boundaries) and the international theatre festival Die Macht des Staunens (The Power of Amazement). Between 2001-2007, he was on the board of directors with artistic direction of the Schauspielhaus Wien GmbH in Vienna. He was the Director of Performing Arts for Linz Capital of Culture 2009.

François Matarasso is a writer, researcher and consultant with 30 years experience in community-based arts practice. He has done groundbreaking work into the impact of participation in the arts and on the evaluation of culture. He is Honorary Professor at Gray’s School of Art, Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen and an International Fellow of the Centre for Public Culture & Ideas, Griffith University in Brisbane. He has worked with cultural organisations, foundations and public bodies in over 30 countries and his work has been widely published. He has taken part in intergovernmental meetings on behalf of the Council of Europe and advised cultural agencies in France, Belgium, Holland and elsewhere on aspects of cultural policy. His work has included work on the European Commission review of European Capitals of Culture.

Clip 1. A brief introduction from Airan Berg.

Clip 2. Airan Berg -some thoughts on approaches to being City of Culture.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Clip 3. Airan Berg - on projects in school environments.

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Clip 4. François Matarasso and Airan Berg - the beginning of a conversation.

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Clip 5. Airan Berg, some final comments (within the time constraints of the event:)

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Clip 6. François Matarasso, some thoughts from plenary session.

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Selection of a participant vox pop…

Thanks to all participants who shared their thoughts and feedback with us, with just a few of them posted below.

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The theme of the 2010 Goatmilk Festival in Bela Rechka, Bulgaria (21st -24th May) is “
I, THE STORYTELLER.”

How we tell stories today? What we narrate? Why we need to tell stories? Who do we remember and how do we recount the tale?
 The festival will look for the answers of these questions through the following main topics:

1. 1989 and the Northwest of Bulgaria through the personal story 
- 1989 – Mapping the Northwest project – lessons learnt -  workshop, presentation, exhibition, discussion and talk with Mariana Assenova, Chris Baldwin, Mihail Gruev

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2. The stories of the monuments
- Parallels and differences with Franco’s Spain
 - presentation, exhibition and discussion Mihail Gruev, Nikola Mihov , Ilko Assenov, Chris Baldwin
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3. The shy (оr shameful) story of Migration
- Can we narrate the marginal - the Varshets case, a point of intersection with Cuba
 - film show, workshop, exhibition and discussion with Diana Ivanova, Stefan Komandarev, Babak Salari.

4. The secret tale of fairytales
 - Fairytales in six languages from Istanbul, Roma tales from the other side of the bridge in Varshets
 - workshop, installation and performance with Mariana Assenova, Chris Baldwin, Nilgun Oztunali, Greta Assenova

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5. Northern Tales 
- 2 villages, 200 goats, 80 inhabitants – the parallel story of Undredal (Norway)
 - presentation with Sophy Clemenz (Undredal-Bergen), Raycho Stanev, Diana Ivanova
. Norwegian short documentray screening, Norwegian goat cheese degustation.

6. The songs of Bela Rechka
- The singing society presents the forgotten songs in new arrangement (with grandma Todorka Milevka )
 - workshop and a concert with Milena Karadjova, Neda Cvetkova and others.

7. The clothes as words
- White shirts from Bela (White) Rechka – how one of the festival’s symbols was born
 - workshop and presentation – Galya Ivanova, aunt Deshka, aunt Nikolina

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8. How to make bread in podnica (old ceramic dish) and in embers
 - Svilen Klassanov and local women workshop

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9. The Kazan place – a never ending story
 - readings, music, drums, dance, bar and dinner
 - 24 hours free program with Raycho Stanev, Galya Ivanova, Nadia Alexandrova, Klassanov and friends of Bela Rechka.

More details at the Goatmilk website.

A contingent from Birmingham will be attending, and no doubt bringing back some of their own unique stories from the mountains. And Raycho Stanev will be bringing over an interactive installation to Brum (http://www.89.nagledna.net/) for June 9th – 21st  (The Great Excursion) with Bulgarian food and Rakia on the launch night. A Critical debate is being held there on June 3rd at 6pm. Keep an eye on their web site for details www.edgearts.com or email them at info@edgearts

interchat report back

Our two year programme was celebrated at a two day event in Birmingham, UK, held at       The Drum arts centre in Birmingham in partnership with Birmingham City Council Arts Team. On the first day, over 60 participants took the opportunity to hear about the programme of international residencies and exchanges, with examples of the work undertaken by Laundry artists with partners in Bulgaria, Poland and Crete, along with other examples from South Africa provided by Sandra Hall from Friction Arts.  In the evening, three musicians from the Music of the Place programme gave a short concert with trumpet, contrabass, turntables, vocals and audio loops, demonstrating their eclectic approach to creating music.

On the second day, over 90 participants from a diverse ranges of groups gathered to hear presentations from Airan Berg (from the 2009 European Capital of Culture Linz, Austria) and Francois Matarosso, alongside case studies from the Artist in Residence scheme operating in the inner city locations of Nechells, Kingstanding, Kitts Green and Handsworth; the Arts Champions scheme with Birmingham Opera and Ikon Gallery; Sound it Out and Big Brum speaking about work with new communities, refugees and asylum seekers; Fierce Festival talking about use of social media; Women and Theatre and Dunia Tetu sharing experiences of their arts and health projects; and Sampad speaking about to develop international exchanges. In the evening participants were invited to attend the opening of the new exhibition ‘In Our Backyard’ at the Community Gallery at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.

Big thanks to the cooks at The Drum for providing great food, Carmen and Greg for technical support, Charles for the venue, Ginnie from the Arts Team and Sally Rew for event management. (And also thanks to Bob Griffiths, Head of Music at Norton Girls School for loan of the full size contrabass.)

Full event details can be downloaded here interchat-full-event-info, and here is a gallery of images from the event, and we’ll be posting by some video highlights captured by Geoff Broadway and Pamela Wells. (Click here to view them on Dialogues page).

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Future networking…

Following the event, Michal Moniuszko, Marcin Lenarczyk and Kacper Sczroeder from the Music of the Place project at Borderland Foundation (along with Agata Sotomska from the Polish Film Institute) were invited for a special preview of the newly rebuilt MAC arts centre in Birmingham, due to open in May. (Thanks to Clayton Shaw from Sampad for the behind the scenes tour). They also visited The Public in West Bromwich and then spent an afternoon with Sound It Out, a community music organisation, sharing project processes. (Thanks to Tomar, Mira and Zirak.) And finally, a quick visit to The Edge in Digbeth.

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A dialogue on arts and communities with local and international perspectives

Dates: April 7th and 8th, 2010 at The Drum, Birmingham, B6 4UU

Featuring: Airan Berg, Linz 2009 European Capital of Culture (Austria); François Matarasso (UK); Fundacja Pogranicze (Poland); Laundry (UK); Nova Kultura (Bulgaria).

How to book:
Go to The Drum web site for full details where you can download the booking form and programme.

www.the-drum.org.uk/event/interchat

Wednesday 7th April, 2pm - 8pm
Artist-led sessions to explore good practice in community engagement projects, with local and international examples from Birmingham, Bulgaria, Crete and Poland, aimed at artists and practitioners wishing to develop their community practice with an international perspective.

Thursday 8th April, 10am – 4pm
A dialogue with Airan Berg and François Matarasso, exploring European approaches to artistic practices that invite social engagement, followed by case studies and interactive sessions led by Birmingham arts organisations. This day will be of interest to artists and agencies addressing cross-cutting agendas through the arts.

Laundry artists participating are Brendan Jackson, Alicja Rogalska, Beverley Harvey, along with project evaluator Steve Trow and our four bursary award artists who have participated in international exchanges. There will be presentations from Michał Moniuszko the Borderland Foundation (Poland) and Marianna Assenova from the New Culture Foundation (Bulgaria).

Download event PDF (900k)

The new year brought sad news from Hania, with two attacks on the old synagogue, which
held a Creative Laboratory in April and May last year. You can find details of the attacks at
the following links:

http://blog.etz-hayyim-hania.org/index.php/news/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8476380.stm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/22/britons-arrested-arson-crete-synagogue

My Street Project

Diana Ivanova from New Culture Foundation in Bulgaria worked recently with Canadian-Iranian photograph Babak Salari (a regular at the Goatmilk Festival) in Cuba on a photography and  writing project with young Cubans, looking at life on their street. You can see a demo web site of the project work here at www.my-street.org, put together by Raycho Stanev.

Coming soon…

Details of interchat event, a two day symposium in Birmingham, a dialogue on arts and communities with both local and international perspectives. Check the February News posting for the full details in due course….

The preview exhibition was held in the courtyard at Kingshurst Technology College, attracting over 200 visitors despite the cold. Visitors were engaged in a dialogue and encouraged to leave comments. Material from this will go into the final intercultural dialogue publication.

Here are some of the photos…

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Thanks to Geoff Broadway and Simon Walker for facilitating interactions,
and to Bobby Bird for yurt installation.

Youth In Dialogue

An exhibition of photographic portraits made with students at Kingshurst City Technology College, Solihull, will be on show on 9th December in the Quad, the garden area next to the canteen. We are setting up a yurt for a special preview of the display for local participants and will be collecting interviews and feedback from viewers, inviting thoughts and comments about local life, hopes and fears.

The photographs were taken as part of a Creative Laboratory earlier in the year. Media students were invited to make portraits of their peer group in conversation with each other.

International Academy on Intercultural Dialogue
Berlin, 27-29 November 2009

Muslims: Partners in Dialogue
The crisis of a multicultural society is being discussed more and more often. Nowadays, we are facing new waves of refugees and immigrants, close contact with Islam and other cultures, the return of the old national and religious traumas. Moreover, we are witnessing the rebirth of the attitudes hostile towards the other, hostile towards sharing common values and common life in a culturally differentiated society.

In Europe, we pride ourselves with cultural diversity and act so as to preserve distinct identities. But is there a contradiction between the strong emphasis on diversity and distinction? These are some of the main questions for the Symposium in Berlin will be considering.

The event is organized by Borderland Foundation, Sejny, Poland and the Federal Union of German-Polish Associations, Berlin, Germany in partnership with The House of Brandenburg-Prussian History, Potsdam, Germany. The event takes place for 4 days in Potsdam, the capital city of the state of Brandenburg with a unique cultural landscape and a place where the after war Agreement was signed by the victorious Allied powers.

Topics and speakers include:

The historical and cultural heritage of Islam and Europe (November 27, 2009)
This day will be devoted to exploring and discussing, in lectures and debates, the historical and cultural links connecting Islam (both as culture and religion) and Europe. We will talk about the Muslim presence in Europe through the centuries. We will also consider general questions connected to intercultural dialogue as such – how it can be understood and practiced. The participants of our debate on these issues will be: Mustapha Tlili, Moha Ennaji, Selim Chazbijewicz and Krzysztof Czyżewski.

Prospects and threats for intercultural dialogue: interreligious dialogue (November 28, 2009)
We will explore examples of, prospects and threats for dialogue with the Muslims, reflecting sometimes on the history, but focusing mainly on contemporary situation. A special part will be devoted to interreligious dialogue as one of the most sensitive issues in the relations of the West and Muslim worlds.

These questions are of special importance for the future model of a multicultural society. The cultural tensions and conflicts in Europe with a Muslim population of over 20 million (more than 15 million living within the borders of the EU) are likely to be increasingly rooted in religion. Can religion be helpful in neutralizing these conflicts? If so, then how? What role can religion play in the building of civil society? The participants of the debate will be: Moshe Shner, Fatima Sadiqi, Krzysztof Czyżewski and Basil Kerski.

How to build neighbourhood together with the Muslim immigrants in Europe? Case studies, e.g., Berlin, Birmingham, Mostar, Rotterdam (November 29, 2009)We will consider the ways how a “neighbourhood” (common space/society) can be built together with the Muslim immigrants in Europe. Here the concrete examples and case studies from the places throughout Europe will be presented. Special attention will be given to Berlin, as one of the main borderland cities in Europe. The participants of this debate will be: Faouzi Skali, Isabella Thomas, Huso Oručević, Krzysztof Czyżewski and Basil Kerski.

Participation in One World event
In October, at Hunslett Primary School, Leeds, there will be an evening of presentations and exhibitions called ‘One World - Bringing Local Communities Together.’  Laundry will be showing work from the Creative Lab that was organised here earlier in the summer.

Kingshurst Exhibition
Young people at Kingshurst Technology College in North Solihull are preparing an exhibition of portraits and text from a Creative Lab earlier in June. Working with images of their peers, text from interviews, and sessions with a creative writing class on the theme of dialogue, the work will be shown in the courtyard in November at a specially organised public event.

Kalos Orisate (Welcome) from Laundry Line on Vimeo.

Skopje Creative Laboratory

In September 2009, a group of artists from mixed disciplines and different countries undertook a residency in Skopje, Macedonia, based at Cultural Centre CK. This creative laboratory was co-ordinated by Paulina Paga with support from staff at the centre.

Together, with the help of local city guides, they were able to explore the city and engage in dialogue with local people – a form of action research – considering questions of identity and cultural heritage. Working together for a focused week, they were invited to make a creative response to the environment of Skopje, and share this with a wider audience with a weekend event at the centre.

Portrait of Skopje (work in progress) from Geoff Broadway on Vimeo.

They had the opportunity to visit different parts of the city, hosted by local guides, and see examples of activities of different cultural organisations, as well as see work from the 15th Biennale of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean. There were two presentation evenings, one for members of CDAT showing examples of individual projects and one open for the general public to participate in. Here’s a gallery of photographs from activities…

Big thank you to all the folks at CDAT: Ruse Arsov, Programme Manager; Emilija Cockova, Executive Manager; Filip Nikolvski, Organisation; Ivan Ristovski-Bala, Organisation; and our chief tour guide and philosophy ninja, Vladamir Krstevski-Hari. Thanks also to Dame Dimitrovski for live music at the event. There is a gallery of images below, but you will also find some photo-documentation of the web site of Raycho Stanev at http://e-rayo.net/gallery/skopje/

Previous creative laboratories – with a range of different participants - have been held in Birmingham (UK), Sejny (Poland), Bela Rechka (Bulgaria), and Hania (Crete).

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GOATMILK MEETS GOATCHEESE
The Goatmilk festival in Bela Rechka, Bulgaria meets the Goatcheese festival in Undredal, Norway. By a strange coincidence, these two festivals take place at the two poles in Europe in small villages with around 80 inhabitants and much more goats. Diana Ivanova, Raycho Stanev and Radmila Mladenova from the New Culture Foundation will travel to the Scandanavian festival 29 July - 2 August. You’ll find some images posted here…

Meanwhile in Bela Rechka, there is a 10 day photographic workshop by Iranian-Canadian Babak Salari in August - there are just a few palces left and the deadline for application is 31 July. All the info is in the New Culture web site at http://novakultura.org/en/

Finally, the New Culture Foundation has published a new book called JUST DO IT: A RAKIA HOUSE. 9 volunteers from 5 countries restorеd the rakia house in Bela Rechka in May 2008. Radmila Mladenova collected their stories and experiences and the book tells that with photography. The design was made by Raycho Stanev. This is the first social project of New Culture Foundation in the village. The Rakia house has become since a very creative social and meeting place especialy during the Goatmilk festival.

Update on Laundry Bursary Artists
Jo Loki and Simret Cheema-Innis have posted some thoughts on their recent visit to Hania to see the Mobile Laboratory work with young people in association with the project partner there, the Etz Hayyim Synagogue, and to pursue their own project. View their thoughts in the Exchanges section…

Views from Bela Recka
Some new material posted in the Exchanges section by Gregor Mirwa from Berlin and Sofie Klemetzen from Bergen, who share their personal views on what they encountered in Bulgaria.

New Links to Bela Rechka
Simon Walker, one of the Laundry bursary artists, participated in the Goatmilk Festival - along with Sandra Hall from Friction Arts. Friction are hosting a special evening in Birmingham on Saturday 25th July with one of the artists associated with the Bulgarian festival, Babak Salari.

Exploring Beeston

As part of an International Week, Laundry held a Creative Laboratory at Hunslet Moor primary school in Beeston, Leeds. Described in the New York Times as ‘a grim northern neighborhood’ in the aftermath of the 2005 London bombings, the area has struggled with negative associations. Narinder Gill, Head Teacher: ‘Since this time, the school has worked hard to promote tolerance and the importance of working and learning as a community. These values form part of our key goals for this project and the school’s curriculum as a whole. This type of project highlights the sense of community pride shared by many and reflects the positive elements of our children’s immediate environment.’

The main aim of the creative laboratory here was to explore the local area with the children – and use a range of media to share their ideas of what they valued, liked and would change.  From this pilot activity, we will plan an expanded artist residency for the Spring 2010 term.

We began with a series of exploratory walks, each lasting about an hour, with the children as local guides. They were asked to record a series of observation, with notes, photographs, drawings, in response to a series of questions - for example: What do you find beautiful? What do you find ugly? Describe some of the sounds you hear around you? What annoys you? What do you enjoy? - and to ask these questions (and others of their own devising) to random people they met on the street.

What fragments from the past would they notice, what modern aspects would they point out? The faded lettering on the brick wall of a corner shop at Sunbeam Place, which told us of its past as a draper shop (today it is a repair shop for washing machines), or the new bridge over the M621 - the deck suspended from a 42m high pylon – which takes walkers and cyclists to Morrisons supermarket or the sports fields beyond. We also asked the children to think about the heritage of the future – “what kind of objects would you collect in a Museum of Beeston?” -  and bring in an object of personal significance to put on display.

Meanwhile, working with teacher Petra Rajchel, the children from Year 6 built and decorated a structure in the library area, which acted as a ‘frame’ to show material produced – drawings, personal maps, text, photos, objects. We also set up a photo portrait studio, and the children made portraits of each other. Petra said to us: ‘This project has given our children a meaningful context in which to explore their own and other people’s attitudes to the place in which they live and are educated. It has provided them with a wealth of opportunities to design, communicate, co-operate, express themselves, think creatively, investigate, negotiate and lead. It has also nurtured a sense of belonging and belief in their capabilities. And of course, it was great, great fun.’

By mapping their routes and using printing techniques to record their thoughts and feelings, they were able to contribute to the installation in the school library. The material was then shown back on the Friday afternoon as part of a Fair Trade event for parents.

The children also produced a book of poems, based on a series of lessons on the topic of human rights, which was presented as part of the event.

Participants: Kamilia Aboud, Zak Ahmed, Anika Akthar, Saahil Ali, Nikolas Balazova, Simona Balazova, Conner Barker, Ogun Bas, Shelbie Connolly, Robyn Cuthbertson, Robyn Cuthbertson, Tamanna Fatima, Jordan Faulkiner, Demi-Joe Flynn, Negin Ghazani, Jordon Green, James Greenwood, Arif Islam, Rianne Kumar Bansal, Latifa Messiouri, Farhan Miah, Ishaq Miah, Shazia Miah, Jake Milner, Sallie Osborne, Tahmida Rahman, Chelsie Sanderson, Ashley Smith Barron, Dominic Thomas.

Thanks to Head Teacher, Narinder Gill, Deputy Head David Prince - and Dave the Caretaker.

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Young People’s Guide to Hania
Work is progressing on a web site to show the work undertaken during the Creative Lab in Hania. Sneak preview of the ‘look and feel’ above… Using cound, video, visuals combined with googlemaps, the site will provide a guide to Hania, both past and present, mediated by the young people themselves.

Borderland Foundation Summer Programme

I was told to call when I would arrive in Sofia airport. My plane plunged into Vazhdebna in time but when I checked my phonebone for new messages I read: hi gregor, I get difficulty to pick you up from Sofia. I’ll try to find Diana. There will be some one else to transport you to Bela Recka… have a nice traveling! - Vessela

While I was consumed with collateral thoughts what to do, I checked through the gates for Schengen citizens, realising that the idea of being one Europe has been labeled by a small Luxembourgian town which was the place for the Schengen Agreement in 1985. Schengen provided for the removal of systematic border controls for their member states, now extended to 28 countries. Gee, that’s what I am here for, bound for a festival in the vracanska planina where people from not-only-Europe, from north to south, from Britain to Iran, will meet, discuss, dance and drink sweet, pure goat milk – and maybe some rakia.

Will I take the train, the bus, the thumb, my feet? While contemplating the varieties of nice travelling, a card board was held agaInst my nose, saying: gregor.

The card was held up by Boris while Vessela talked passionately to someone on her cell-phone. Hell, how did they made it to the airport, anyway? This was my first lesson in Bulgaria: expect the unexpected.

When we were outside, it was warm. I could feel the beginning of summer immediately, thick with humidity, long evenings, honking cars and people on the streets cheering with glasses of frozen goatmilgaritas – and maybe some rakia.

Vessela and Boris, as friends and colleagues of Diana and Mariana, frequent guests of the fest brought me to the train station of Sofia. The station is situated next to the bus station which is unevenly much more busy than the train station. Buses of different makes from all over the country were heading from different booths run by different companies back into different directions. The train station was a haven of socialist grandezza and serenity but slightly out of focus – especially for a guy whose experience with cyrillic letters is remote. There were armies of sandwiches crammed into the glass cases of dozens of kiosks and illuminated by orange light.

The idea was for me to meet the country as a travelling train man, while the young duo would pick up a mother with her kid and go north by car the curvy way up the hills. Fine with me. The running time to Gara Lakatnik, the station where they would meet and pick me up again, was 1h 21minutes. Boris was so sweet to steer me through the ticketing process shaking his head about the exact timing, adding: I wonder why they bother about it, they’ll never make it in time… hey, and watch out whether it’s a siemens train or not. You know the used but better-off siemens traIns are much more economic because they do not need so much personal maintenance… see you in lakatnik… lets say in about 2 hours or so… don’t go anywhere… just stay in the station… safe travel… see you… don’t go anywhere…

Blues at expresso-train to lakatnik

The balkan adventure continues. Summer is here. Pace all slowing down since Berlin’s hecticism. Now there is dust next to abandoned industrial sites, while rails running up into a greener north. A lady embarks the expresso train alone with a lily. An elderly countrysider In a dark blue mao jacket licks at a popsicle. The completely occupied four seat compartments in our wagon rustle with newspaper. Half the passengers are standing, they have nothing to rustle. I am tired but cannot sleep. The blue girls next to me don’t fuss about it. After checking their latest short messages they bow their heads In the direction of the engine, a siemens. The train is emptying since Svoge, a small town which seems to be preparing for a huge wedding party, people carrying flowers and throwing kisses and hugs around. The expresso takes 1 hour 25 minutes. Before I leave the train I can see bleached out maps of the railway system around Dresden pinned to the plastic walls separating the compartments.

cool lakatnik

The least thing I expected was this wrought-iron stove in the waiting room in Gara Lakatnik.

The air outside was flushed with mossy heat and this kind of occasional mountain breeze that is slightly cooler than the warm static air. As soon as I stepped down the expresso-train I entered the tiny one-table bar shortly before the lady who runs it that afternoon closed for a break. An ice cream, a chocolate bar, a beer, the nice traveller’s meal. The woman was angry at me because I opened the freezer myself to pick the ice but she accepted my donation. I sat in the shade respecting Boris’ command not going anywhere. I didn’t go anywhere. Ice, bar, beer – all gone. Shortly after that my legs went crazy. So, I let them loose and they entered the waiting room. It was much cooler than outside.

The stove rested there, completely polished, no fluffy stuff around, no grains of dust, no sound, no nothing. Just the stove. Like an object from a fairy tale, a sleeping beauty in a cool place.

lakatnik heat

Outside the station was a little bench under a cedar. I layed my head. There were birds in the trees on the other side of the railways. They flutter and twitter. Three young men walked by from the opposite, laughing and laughing, their shirtless bodies bending forward. They couldn’t stop laughing. One train came to a halt, another was rushing further north. I felt so comfortable. Nearby a river murmured the litany of stones and sweet water. Are there cedars in Bulgaria?

Cheers to Boyan

You will be staying at the end of the village, said Diana. She drove me there. This is Boyan, she introduced me. His smile was charming, sly, a man on his own. A man with his own garden, in his own right. He waved his hand for me to come closer. A giant, almost purple peony was looming into the narrow concrete path to his one-storied house. Outside wood, inside wood. A tiny kitchen, the door to the room behind it he kept always locked. Good to have a place to stay when abroad. The kitchen was so small that I decided to wait outside for the coffee Boyan was about to brew. In his wooden cabinet were calenders, one starring Saint George, the other one with slightly clothed women posing in front of brilliant european city sights. He was a printer before he moved back to bela rechka. I don’t know how we figured out this melange of bulgaritalianenglishgerman, a puzzle of words and pieces that were not from the same box. It happens when people are willing to do both: talk and wait.

When coffee was ready, his and mine, because he could do only one after the other, we went inside nodding, smiling, drinking and staring outside into the dark green mountains rolling softly along bela rechka river. His smile was intense. Spring onions lay on the table, neck & neck.

pilgrimage

aah, the bell. A bunch of colors and people were waiting by the old school when suddenly but adagio ma non troppo the procession began. My heart jumped up a bit. It happens when you see in person the one whom you have only seen depicted on a photography. It happens when you can see and listen to the symbol of the whole thing: the bell in her house.

While I listened to my heart beat a memo shot through my synapses: eisenstein’s fragmentary film que viva mexico. The zig-zagging of the pilgrims up to mount calvary, re-enacting the way of the cross… Only that bela rechka was guarded by nut trees and a welcoming red wine, mexico was greeting with agaves and pulque instead. The cross is a house, the body is the bell – and Magdalena is a young lady who played violin from Bach to Pancho Vladigerov.

the belles

Amongst the visitors were three girls from Norway. After the concert we were carrying the wine glasses like little bells to Diana’s house. Two handful each. On the road we were met by a flock of goats heading for their own music…

Sofie, Anna Elise and Brita were invited by Diana and Mariana because of a funny coincidence: they were organisers of a goat-cheese festival at the beautiful but remote Aurlandsfjord.

Boom! This is another closing of another circle… In 1997 I took the post boat from Bergen up to Aurland doing research on a german writer, Hans Henny Jahnn, who emigrated to Aurland in 1915 during WW1. Years later he wrote his major work fluß ohne ufer located largely in this pristine and raw fjord landscape, a novel which has never been completed. The first part has been translated into NorwegIan, Treskipet, The Wooden Ship.

Now, wait a minute, a ship?… let’s not get lost in the mountains…

Soon she will sing

In the village women and men seem to move in different orbits. They mix rarely in public. You see ladies sitting and chatting together. You see gentleman standing one by one cupping their chins over wooden sticks which can be used to muster their goats.

One of the ladies fascinated me particularly. I heard her name is Deshka. Or Dilja. It is a bit mysterious. She was one of the village ladies but appeared to have a unique air of independence. Her hair, for example, was carefully combed and her posture was rather that of a baroness. After the concert of Milena Karadzhova she climbed the stage. The air was full of sound. She told us the story of one particular song she used to sing. When her husband heard her singing it on the other side of the mountains he would leave his goats and ran down and up to sink into her arms.

Then she sang this song for us again.

early morning goat

The window from my room opened into the green, away from the road. Thicket. Bushes, a wall of vegetation. Behind that are: a meadow, footpaths, another meadow, trees, mountains further down south. Sleep was little these days but sun did not enter the curtainless room before mid-day.

One morning I heard anybody wailing. It sounded like an infant crying. The adjacent house to Boyan’s is abandoned, his next neighbour is yards away. I didn’t open my eyes. Maybe I was dreaming. It was a high-pitched voice. Could it be an animal? I dozed off again. After a short while it came up once more. Nervous, weak, animally. Maybe trapped somewhere. Or just born. And silence. Light was slowly filling the room. I got up, I opened the window. Birds were singing their songs. When I came to the balcony I realised the place where Boyan has parked his lada was empty. A man with a wide-brimmed straw hat was bending over the calm body of a black goat.

breakfast at galina’s diner

One of things not be missed is food. No supermercados around. A small spot, Tzecka’s shop, opens from 6 till 9 on working mornings. I never met anyone who made it in time. But there is Galina Ivanova - and her friends. In the morning, at lunch, in the evenings… feta-cheese, bread, tomatoes, sweet cakes, carrots, water. Simple, delicious. that’s all what it is. That’s all what you need. And maybe some rakia.

simon is here… and double-bo, too

There were men with hats around. Some were without hats. One guy, Simon Walker, was never seen without his stetson. Simon and his colleague Sandra Hall from the British Midlands came here as artists to work with participants and villagers mapping Bela Rechka, mapping the future. This was done by writing and drawing personal biographical lines including life changing or inspiring moments. One of the central points could have been the year 1989. Trauma or miracle? - that’s how Diana and Mariana subtitled this year’s festival topic.

Simon and Sandra were seen all over the area armed with pens and paper and people drawing and discussing their maps. Sandra was never tired to talk to almost everyone, a very attentive kind of communicado wizard. She came up with the idea to placing small tags with messages, wishes and thank-you’s in different languages to the benches within the village range. Plastic roses, too.

Centrepiece

ONE may I lay my heart at your feet
TWO if you won’t make my floor dirty
ONE my heart is pure
TWO let’s see
ONE I cannot bring it out
TWO do you want me to help you
ONE if you don’t mind
TWO it is my pleasure
I can’t get it out
ONE cries
TWO I will remove it
for what I have a pocket-knife
it’s done thing, right now
work, never say die
well, here you are
why, this is a brick
your heart is a brick
ONE but it beats just for you
(© Heiner Müller, Herzstück, 1983; Translation by Mirwa)

Before lecture, 20 years after the turnaround

Tea conversation with Zlatko Enev. 1989 -seen from Berlin and the transition, emigration and more. Antina Zlatkova from Montana and I should have been moderators. Unfortunately Zlatko, editor of the electronic journal ‘Liberal Review’, had to withdraw his presence due to personal reason. All of the sudden I had to jump into the role of an eye-witness, recollecting my personal news reel from Berlin before/after the wall came down. One thing had to be put up in the beginning: I was not liberated, I was not revolutionary, I was not shouting “we are the people“‚ like the Leipzig monday marchers or “we are here“ like protesters in Sofia. I had been a 28 yrs old catholic boy from the West. One night we woke up in the middle of events and we could smell the two-stroke fuel. Trabbi cars were there, the East opened their gates, decentralised politics (& politicians) were stumbling onto the global stage. I think in the West - even as close to the East as in Berlin - we had a different attitude and conscience towards the political situation and the impacts of it… it was a strange occurrence, slightly unexpected and - in a certain westernist way - void of political necessity. We heard it coming, but it was rather news than revolte.

Gates, yards and caps

In between sessions, music and talks was time to stroll around. One of the places to go is Valeri’s public house. It is run by his father, a grim looking man whom nobody has ever seen laughing. There are no people who never laugh. So, I guess he will smile only at special occasions or places. Nevermind, he handled the bottles in a perfect way: opening them and dumping the caps into the bin was one singular move.

And the ass saw the angel

Appears mainly mornings at the bus stop in direction to Varshetz. Likes to eat leaves in upright position. Mostly silent. Was never seen boarding.

But when the ass saw the angel, who stood there with his sword drawn, she went sideways into the green.

Kids for fountain, web for junkies

Sometimes miracles. A mobile internet station was installed. Since then net junkies were walking around the village with big smiles.

It is been amazingly few years that web, browsing, reception or mail have received additional significance. Our lives have been enriched by and made dependent on new information technologies. It is a mind-blowing set of revolutionary banality. Incidentally or not, the switch decade 1980/90 provided us with the invention of the World Wide Web. Tim Berners-Lee, a computer scientist at the research center CERN, closed the bag combining electronic protocols and services, just one day before the 1 year anniversary of Nicolae Ceausescu’s liquidation.

There were happier meetings between wo/man and goat by the bridge that crosses Bela Rechka river since internet access was established. A stone’s throw away kids were playing with water rising from the fountain at the edge of the old school. They were drinking it out of their hands and hunting insects with a mouthful. While inside lectures and discussions went on festival mothers were observing drawings of their children in the silent green corner. Outside reception signals varied.

The drums of Murat

Finally, rakia. Not that we were drinking it out of the bongos and djembés. Adem Murat from Turkey held his drumming workshop under the parasols by the open bar near the rakia distillery.

Experienced sessionists, twins, film-makers and dilettantes like me were invited to participate – first of all to listen. A simple rhythm… daba-dabadaa… pause.. daba-dabadaa… pause. Listen. Follow. “Now You”, Murat motioned to the other side of the circle, “Can uou do dabdabba- da-da… dab-dabba-da-da…?” We formed groups now trying to stick to each common rhythm. Hands were warmin’ up. Smiles exchanged. Eyes closed.

We finally made it to the stage in the old school doing a long get-out dance after the Folk Jazz concert in the evening. Our hands became small power stations, our hearts grown wild and mellow. We were all one throbbing forward. Will it ever end?

Cosmic brass

One day they were there. Silent men. Checkered men. With big golden instruments. They moved around like a smiling ballet. Serious. Their faces centred. They sat on the platform in front of the festival hall. They stood up. In honor for Lady Di(ana). Then they sat again and on it went. A storm of brass. Dances after dance. The audience shaked their bodies, laughed, started to dance. They formed circles. You can’t help it, can you? You shake, jump or dance. It lasted. The men were blowing their horns into the mountain air. People were assembling on the little square, on both sides of the river. Nobody would hold still. The brass was going potty until it stopped. Nobody wanted to go. The musicians needed a pause. This day was sabor, a local festivity in Bela Rechka. People from the village gathered. Family members arrived with their cars, occupied the gardens, the yards, the houses, the little dusty square where the brass band from Varshetz was playing. Even goats came by and looked and chewed.

The other night a DJ was ruling the platform and the square. The Norwegian belles, Deshka, her friends, youths from the area, expatriates from Germany and California were listening to the beats that pulsed from the system, raving to the sound of DJ Dosju Amudzhiev. Vessela was there and all the others. She came by and said like a princess who knows all about the secret, “You know, this is my husband. We are married for just two weeks.” A young woman appeared from the dark, both arms were wheeling the firepois freely. Although the BPM were on eurotechnoid speed, I couldn’t help thinking of Dylan’s ‘Girl of the North Country’… if you’re travellin’ in the north country fair, where the winds hit heavy on the borderline, remember me to one who lives there… she once was a true love of mine…

Alphabet, a song contest for europrophets

Was it a play, a deconstructive jump into a box of letters, a gymnastics exercise, was it a religious service, a parody on immigration affairs, a chart show - and who the heck are the brothers Methodus and Cyril?

My mind is still blurred from the acrobatic speed and compactness of the Mamapapa performance. We were in the old school’s festival hall, placed in rows like in a fashion show. But what we’ve got was neither Prêt à porter, neither Haute-Couture, but what else?

Tomas Zizka and his colleagues, dedicated actors and excellent musicians from all sorts of countries, are on a grand tour through the Balkans… they are the Mamas & Papas of an “alphabetization campaign” which is equally teaching and learning from the places and people they stop over.

(and who said that a tree makes music ?)

Buttercups listen

There is a lot missing in this report. There was Chris Baldwin from Spiral, Spain, who began together with Mariana Assenova a workshop with students from surrounding high schools -in order to install a “personal library of communism”. For example, Evgeny Mihajlov, a cameraman, was showing and commenting on so far unseen exceptional footage of the 1989 events in Sofia – for some a bit vaguely edited, though. There was Babak Salari, Iranian-born photographer, introducing his book about the war in Afghanistan –a report of despair, a journey into the reverse side of light. And we enjoyed Miroslava Kazarova and her band Eko – one of the most
amazing jazz concerts I ever came across. There was a conversation between Boyan Znepolski, Yurij Valkovski (both from Sofia University) and Agnieska Cwielag (from polish-german Krzyzowa Foundation) about “How to talk on 1989 today?” - which contemplated about the aftermath of the political changes and, actually, the missing enthusiasm to complete the change process towards a civil society…

But that’s how it is, our perception is ravishingly selective.

Black & Blue, eyes wide open

Two things I will never forget.

One. A few meters away from the gate to Valery’s public house runs the murmuring Bela Rechka river. A small bridge leads you to a tiny rest area with a spring of fresh water. People sat there occasionally, chatting, bantering, drinking. This afternoon an elderly gentleman came along, long wooden stick, blue shirt, black trousers, straw hat. He smiled and nodded at me. He said something into my direction while I was sitting on a stone bench. I tried to respond in personal esperanto. He smiled and pointed at the stone. I stood up to offer him my place. Maybe that was his traditional seat? He shook his head and waved his free hand in adverse. Then he bowed down pointing at his right knee, saying “kaputt.” “Sure,” I thought, “He wants to sit down. I offered him my seat again. He came closer, limping to the stone seat and stroking the long leaves of wild grass which were next to it with few tender moves towards the seating surface keeping them down. He took my arm and gradually pushed me forward to sit. He moved his hand downward. When I finally sat on the grassy pad he leaned against his stick and nodded.

Two. The carefulness of Boyan, the old printer. Tomatoes, cucumber, spring onions, oil, sweet vinegar, bread, water – maybe some rakia. The way he prepared one afternoon a salad for us. He was interrupted three times and continued just at the point where he had to pause. I sat at his table, my restlessness gone. I watched him cutting the onions. A breeze was going along the road. It took him quite a while. As if preparing a silk screen. Reds, greens. Just hit the mark. The light was changing.

From Gorna to Dolna via Varshetz to Sofia till Berlin

One of the reasons for Diana and Mariana to invent Goat Milk Festival was the rumor about the local bell stolen by a Roma. Yet Roma do live in the neighborhood sometimes having nothing else than their hands sometimes a rackwaggon or a horse. On the way back to Sofia Airport I had a dispute with Yurij, the moderator of the “How to talk on 1989” - round, about how finding the right approach to live together with a stigmatized, distrustful ethnic minority. We agreed finally that whoever the host (country), whatever the cultural mindset (language, ethnics, law, rituals, convictions) of the society might be, these principles need to be communicated and should, by all means, being set as a standard to respect. On the other side, a good and open-minded host will express a desire to know more about the unknown, s/he might even learn techniques (music, healing, small trade) from them. This might sound a bit peculiar, especially when you regard the recent brutal serial arsons and murder in Hungary, killing lately a Rom and his child when he was trying to save it from the house that was set on fire.

When I returned we were having an actual Roma situation in Berlin! About 50 people from a small Romanian town after having been banned from camping in a public parque were invited by former squatters to share the place they had squatted few months ago, a spacious culture center in Kreuzberg. They accepted. Subsequently, local authorities pitchforked them into a bureaucratic odyssey. Finally they were paid 250 Euro each, i.e. a one-way-ticket to Bucharest, and they disappeared. The German way to do intercultural studies, you may say. A reporter was sent to their hometown, Roÿiori de Vede, and talked to the locals. Gypsies in Berlin? “So, what’s so special?,” was their answer, “We are all over the place.”

GREGOR D. MIRWA has founded the festival Le Week-end in 1998, situated in the german-polish bordertown Guben/Gubin. Although he has a degree in medicine his ambitions as a writer and editor (since late 80ies) have directed him towards intercultural projects, such as Shrinking Cities. He has also written and co-edited two artist books under the label „loeffel+doc“ and has texts been published in anthologies. Since 2005 he is involved with the activities of the Borderland Foundation Pogranicze, Sejny. He works now as a occupational health physician in Berlin.

Nervousness enveloped me as I arrived in Hania - more so than the pressure that I had built up in my head to do with the market project. Where would I go, how would I get the information needed, would it take the whole course of the trip (seven days) to obtain one or two pictures and an interview!? All these thoughts spiralled in my mind although other things like the rapid speed of the taxi driver on the dual carriage way SHOULD have been more of a concern but nope it wasn’t!

The perception of Hania upon arrival was certainly a different one than the one that stayed with me for the duration. The enclosed village type area where I was staying, was not a real reflection but simply a judgmental illusion that I had made up!

Fresh shrimp, lamb, mullet and a throat warming complimentary beverage of ‘Reikia’ was my great welcome to Hania and all in the short space of time from my arrival! The fresh sea breeze upon my face and a mere introduction to the Cretian hospitality was a treat.

With the Laundry members already settled I was told that there was an outdoor market not so far from where we were staying.

The heat was hot, it was superb, this island was certainly proving to be a little paradise with the sea not far away, the mix of a western town but still illuminating signs of history, with ancient pathways and embedded monuments still in tact. I walked up a very steep hill, not far from what seemed to be a government building with flags outside. I trekked up the hill and when I reached I wasn’t sure which way I had to head: Left or Right?. Going with my instincts, which, was correct I walked towards left first. There were open stalls consisting mainly of textiles, clothes and K Shoes - yes there were brand new Hush Puppies also - the smell of real leather and suede hit me - I knew that I would be getting a great deal, well only if they had my size! The sizes of course were small, probably confirming the fact that the people on this island tend to be very small!

Five minutes into my ‘market victim’ escapade I bumped into my first Market Trader he reminded me on an older version of Colombo! He had an array of goods, mainly plastic nitbits, board games, quite simply the kind of things that people get rid of in their homes or that I find in my Grandmothers house. I do hate to use the work junk, but well, it was glorified junk! I asked him how long he had been working at this particular market to which he replied many years - he seemed quite laid back, not really stressed by the need for making money. I took a few pictures of him and he remained very patient. Before I left him I couldn’t resist but tell him that he reminded me of a Cretan Colombo to which replied to me ‘I am Colombo!’ and that made my day. Colombo suggested that I head towards the right, to the other part of the market as it was a long walk and it would be closing in a couple of hours.

Fruit, veg, and cheese stalls occupied the next part of the market, it seemed like traders were selling replicas of each others goods, but upon closer inspection it was very clear that although the goods looked the same, they were unique to each trader. After all, if you grow your own produce, it is likely to be different from someone else’s - even if it is a minute difference. Families, brothers, sisters, boyfriends and girlfriends managed stalls and most were open to me taking pictures. I received a more positive response than some of those markets that I had covered in the UK. The hostility just wasn’t here! (Take that, Brixton Market) - the people were happy and although I did get a few traders that didn’t want their picture taken, I can’t say that I was running off scared that they’d arrest me or shoot me with a shot gun hidden in between bits of fruit or a sweet potato or two.

Walking further along the street, music permeated the whole area. With an element of paparazzi, I slowly approached my prey, and mimed ‘photo’ to a man with the Lyra and to my surprise I was welcomed.  The man with the Lyra started playing faster. I felt like exposing some sort of belly dance routine, the sounds of the Lyra seemed a little partial to an Arab influence. This of course is something I dare not mention. Ottoman occupation of Hania tends not to be spoken of - in fact they do not appear to teach it in History class in Crete.

After I had taken the photo the man ushered me to another stall where he frantically tried to find a pen. He wrote down his address on a piece of cardboard (in Greek) and motioned for me to send the photo.

Not far from there, I met a gentleman called Bill - he begged me to take pictures of his stall and introduced me to his brother. Again, I was presented with a scrap piece of paper, which contained an address. This became a bit of a habit as I made my way towards the end of the market; nevertheless, it worked well for me because I managed to get loads of pictures!

At the end of my market trek I was approached by Bill again who gave me a big bag of tomatoes - they were huge - delicious also - Luandry Member and Artist Alicja Rogalska ravenouely ate  them up - she said that in Poland they eat them like Apples - they certainly were big and juicy enough!

It wasn’t just tomatoes I was rewarded with - another trader gave me a big orange, another an apple, I really felt like the days work had been a special social experience.
The centre of Hania near the harbor clarified a particular tourist presence - American and German OAP’s seemed to be a favourite, each clones of one  another in their  khaki type shorts, open toe sandals and bum bags!  In fact it was these OAP’s who probably outdid me in my day trip to the Mountains in Omalos. I took a coach early in the morning and half way through my mountain stint, I started to wonder whether the coach that dropped me off would be waiting for me at the end of the walk. Of course, I found out that this was not the case and that the coach I had arrived on would be waiting right at the top where it dropped me off. It was inevitable. Those four hours of walking the seven and a half hour ramble would now be reversed. Furthermore, there was only one coach that would pick me up otherwise I would be stranded. I used a stick to guide myself back up the mountains, sweating and puffing - I used a natural water fountain for my salvation. I did make it in the nick of time. But the coach was an hour late! In this time I met a lovely South African lady who lived in Norway as a translator for Gender Equality in Government. I was invited for dinner later on that evening where I also met her friend - a translator for environmental issues in government.

On those days that I had spare time, I would pop down to the workshop where young people from a local school were preparing for an exhibition on their ‘multi-cultural Hania’. I enjoyed contributing my ‘artistic’ skills and being educated about their cultural heritage and how they envisaged their creative piece. It was certainly satisfying to see them put together this showcase, this masterpiece.

The day before I left, I learnt that there was another street market along the pier. The prospect of another venture through a market place was unavoidable.  Although my last venture consisted of being chased, begged and ushered to take pictures of traders, I was looking forward to the motivating delights my work was presenting.

On my walk towards the market, my eyes caught sight of the convincing DNG bags being sold by two friends from West Africa. I happily browsed through the bags on offer and with my distinct taste my eyes fell upon a ‘non-designer’ bag. It certainly was original, real leather with intricate embroidery upon the front. I haggled with the salesman and in true Cheema style received a bargain. I agreed to pay and collect on my way back from the market.

I walked right into the market, which was openly occupying a road running parallel to the sea front. As I walked down, I acted like a tourist taking pictures - again I was granted permission to take photographs. Continuing my path along the market, I heard a familiar voice ‘Seeeemmmmiii, Seemmmmiiii’ I turned around to see Bill the market trader from the other street market. He introduced me to another brother of his, then urged me to come to his stall where he picked out fresh tomatoes, placed them in a bag and gave them to me. Second time around! Heading towards the end of the market, I came across Colombo again! He explained that the Government keep on trying to move the market around because they think that it is untidy on the island. Colombo went onto mention how there was another location that this market operated at - on top of a hill also.  I started to see some familiar issues to those in the UK, with some Council Gestapo trying to drive out certain market places - using those same ‘transfer’ techniques.

Albanians and a few Romanians seemed to inhabit the last part of the market walk - most very open for me to take pictures and those with a presence that you wouldn’t push too far (Brixtonian mannerism tends to roll off my tongue).

This was the end of my market experience, it was the day before I was due to leave but I felt fulfilled not by the opportunity to take pictures, but the ability to meet and bond with those who did not know how to speak English, but yet participated and understood what I was doing. A lot of the traders looked out for me and spread good words to other traders whilst I was doing to market trail and this in itself was very humbling.

Hania is an appealing place to visit, I can see why people like to return often. There is a unique hospitality (not talking about the Albanian Ganja on offer either), but it is the Cretans proud grasp of their culture and willingness to share their heritage that makes this island a special place.

Simret is a young artist, working in video and photography. She has worked on a variety of projects, from running a weekly a weekly film club for troubled teenagers teaching them how to use camera and editing equipment to assisting Paris based artist Esther Shalev Gerz on a West Midlands project.

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So it began. The trip that started with an e-mail from Diana, which again was a result of a numerous coincidences and similarities between Bela Rechka and our village, Undredal, was finally a fact. The similarities of which I speak are as follows: Undredal is a small village of only 80 inhabitants and circa 300 goats. The last weekend of July, we arrange a Goat cheese-festival, hoping to raise awareness about the importance of locally produced food, the use of unpasteurized milk, and of course - if people sees the value of all this - then maybe some of them will move back to Undredal, filling up the old, beautiful and empty houses. Sadly small villages are being abandoned in Norway. In Bulgaria as well, Diana told us on the drive from Sofia to Bela Rechka. So there we were, in a small Bulgarian village, surrounded by sun, and the smell of blossoming lilacs. I will not tempt to give a résumé of the festival and what we were doing, but rather try to express some of my impressions on paper.

I have read somewhere that the climate of a country is reflected by the warmth of its people. During our stay, I kept getting confirmations of this. The days we spent in Bulgaria were really warm in every aspect of that word. Coming from the far north, we found ourselves being confronted by our way of being. Norwegians are reluctant to talk to strangers. We don’t want to insult someone’s personal borders, or their right to solitude. We don’t initiate a conversation, in case the person might feel bothered. It’s silly, we know, but the silliness is invisible until we are mirrored by others. Bela Rechka was a great mirror, and it was a relief for us to be around such welcoming and heart-warming people. After a while, we even dared to loosen up a bit ourselves. The goat milk-festival-people are like Norwegians after a couple of beers on a Saturday night, we concluded. And we loved it!

Even tough (or maybe because of that) we knew little about 1898, this aspect of the festival was very appealing to me. Being raised in a drama-free country, with the two most traumatic happenings throughout history being the forced introduction of Christianity in the beginning of the 11th century, and the German occupation during World War II (both of them long before my lifetime), the Iron Curtain and communism in general, seems like this mythical and mystical part of the European history. To be sitting around the fire by the Rakia house, while listening to a conversation about the Turkish migration, was an experience I will treasure for life. Around us, the crickets were playing, and the fireflies (which we up to then didn’t actually believe in) were sparking. I found myself being embarrassed by the generalisation and the plain ignorance in Norwegian school literature and education system. It turns out that the world is bigger than Norway. Who knew?

One thing that really got to us was the level of volunteer work. During the festival as good as everything was free. Money appeared not to be of such great importance. Still, the festival does something for the village. Being the restoring of the Rakia house and the bell tower, or raising awareness about the conglomerate of happenings in, and around, the year of 1989. It is something touching and inspiring about seeing so many creative people from all over the world, working together and creating something as unique as the Goat milk-festival in Bela Rechka.

Sunday the 24th of May I returned to my home in Bergen, with a brand new experience, a couple of unworn woollen socks, and at least three different shades of red on my shoulders. All the different peoples with their different backgrounds, contagious optimism and relaxed way of being, have without any doubt made a huge impact on me and my two fellow travellers. We left after only three days, but it felt like a couple of weeks. If not more. It was not without a tad of sadness we drove away from the smell of lilacs, and bordered the plane bound for Norway.

For me, this was an important experience. I found in Bela Rechka something I thought I had thrown away for good; faith in what regular people can do if they work together, and never completely let go of their idealism. Because even though the world can’t be fixed by good thoughts and singing alone, it doesn’t mean we have to stop doing it all together. So I guess what I am trying to say is this: Thank you for an amazing festival, for all the smiles, all the cultural experiences, and all the interesting people. And thank you for showing us that not everything has to be done in a stressful, high pace. During the introduction around the bonfire our first day in Bela Rechka, several people warned us that the Goat milk-festival is addictive. I see that now, so unless I have learned to cope with the abstinences by the time of the next festival, I will be there. And I will bring more stiff Norwegians with me.

Sofie Klemetzen

Hania, was much more multi-cultural than I expected.  I researched its history which is what initially drew me to that location, however it was the presence of many people from different cultural backgrounds I met there, which surprised me.  It seems a natural gravitational place for this, as I met people who live there from France, Canada, Lebanon, America, England, Denmark, Syria, Albania and Germany as well as native Cretans and those from all over Greece.  What I discovered was people who were friendly and loved to talk and share stories.

I discovered a new role for myself as an artist engaging with others, which on my visit I termed as a ‘Story-Hunter’.  My challenge now is how I communicate the varied stories that I collected, in a way that reflects the open and honest manner in which the details of people’s lives were shared with me, and how I intermingle my own creativity into that dynamic.  It’s really changed my perception of myself as an artist, and it’s raised a lot of questions, which will take me sometime to explore, which I am really happy about.

I believe we need constant challenges as artists, to feel truly in touch with what drives us individually and our sometimes disparate connections to others, and to date this has been the best opportunity for me to explore this more fully.  It may seem overly dramatic to say that this opportunity ‘blew my mind’, but while in Hania I could feel little explosions of creativity were going off in my head, which were both exciting but also perplexing.  I feel that I’m just at the beginning of a new journey; one where I really have little idea of the destination.  It’s a position that I really value, one where I am taking a few risks, which is essential for any artist’s future development.

JO LÖKI (pictured right)
An installation artist, Jo works with text, visual imagery and visual objects, which she uses to create three-dimensional stories.   She uses a broad range of materials and skills - drawing, painting, embroidery, writing, photography, print, text, book-making and multi-media - in order to create plausible stories and characters, who inhabit an imaginary lives.

Thanking the locals - as another intervention we decided to decorate the benches where the local people sit in the afternoon shade.  Using labels and plastic roses we set up outside the school one morning and asked people what they would like to say to the people of Bela Rechka & what we were planning to do.  Within minutes people were gathered around writing labels while others translated some of the messages into Bulgarian. Lots of messages complimenting the village & thanking the locals for their hospitality were hung on the benches with the roses.  In the afternoon the locals enjoyed the labels from the festival participants and by the evening most of the labels and roses had been taken home as souvenirs.

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“How to make a bell” (a guidebook) has been published by Janet 45 publishing house.
The book was compiled by Diana Ivanova for New Culture Factory, Bulgaria. This is an unusual guidebook you hardly could find anywhere. After reading it, you will have a feeling to have read a meditation guidebook or elementary theory of music.

Investigating the case with the stolen bell of the village of Gorna Bela Rechka, a village in the mountains of North-Western Bulgaria and home of the ‘Goatmilk Festival’, the book pays attention to the variety of stories among the people in the village about the old bell and its disappearance. It places this in the context of the bigger picture - the phenomenon of stolen bells in Bulgaria in the last decade (a very surprising in itself and still not understood phenomenon) - and reveals some of the secrets of the oldest bell casters in Bulgaria, the Plovdiv masters Veleganov. You could learn, for example, that the technology has never been written down. “Everything is oral and has been handed down by word of mouth. That’s why there is no leaking of information.” Also – you learn that each bell is centered on some tone. The bigger the bell, the lower the tone. 60 kg is centered somewhere around E. 100 kg is centered somewhere around C.

This is a book about understanding our own experience in rebuilding lost traditional symbols of Bulgarian culture in the modern European context. Because the question actually is - as Austrian psychoanalyst Elisabeth Vykoukal puts it in the book - can we find new ways to be together? Because we all live in times where there are no more bells to call us to meet.

The book combines text and photography and is designed by Raycho Stanev, who received the Special Award of the Union of Bulgarian Artists in 2008 (during the first Biennale of Bulgarian design in Sofia) for the graphic design and logo of the project “The Bell of Bela Rechka”.

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Painting Bela Rechka

Based on an idea by Brendan Jackson (who participated in the Goatmilk Festival the previous year), Laundry bursary artist Simon Walker took participants on a journey through the village on Sunday afternoon.

Participants were given packs of 10 line drawn images of views around the village, based on photographs made by Paulina Paga. The idea was to find the spot in the village and use the watercolour paints/pencils provided to colour the images. Over 30 people of all ages got involved, sharing packs as well as some people choosing their favourite picture to paint. Each image was then displayed outside the village’s old school where people discussed the different interpretations of the same images. This also encouraged others to get involved.

Simon Walker reports on other activities in the Exchanges section, with Sandra Hall from Friction Arts in Birmingham.

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Working with Brendan Jackson and Clive Adams, young people from Kingshurst Technology College in North Solihull are creating a series of photographic portraits of their peer group. We helped the young people to set up a photo studio and photograph each other. People were portrayed responding to a series of questions they had decided upon in advance, encouraging a dialogue. The group will edit the photographs and create a small exhibition with accompanying texts based on the recorded conversations.

Goatmilk Festival, Bulgaria, May 22nd-24th

Each year the GOATMILK festival in Bela Rechka chooses a topic and explores the memories connected with that. In previous years they explored the sound of the missing bell of the village, the Cyrillic letters, the private family history, the story of the white shirts… Now they devote this year’s festival to the topic: 1989 – trauma or miracle? Laundry bursary artist Simon Walker will be attending and participating in one of the festival ‘actions’.

Download a PDF of the full programme of activity here - goatmilk09.

Online Forum
Laundry invites you to our next Live Online Discussion Event on Monday, 11th May at www.culturalanimation.com/discuss

20.00 - 22.00 if you’re in the UK
21.00 - 23.00 if you’re in places like Poland or Germany or the Czech Republic
22.00 - 24.00 if you’re in same time zone as Crete…
or 12.00 - 14.00 if you’re in California

Guest speakers Robert Kulpa, Anja Zückmantel and Jo Loki will join Pato Attila and Gregor Mirwa

So please - Sign up/Log in & Contribute to the conversation !

VISIBILITY and TOLERANCE
- How does intolerance/racism work when the target is not visible?
- Can you say a place is tolerant if it appears to be homogenous?
- Is there an advantage to being invisible?

ROBERT KULPA is a queer academic, researching queer theory, social movements, national and sexual identities, socio-cultural conditioning of knowledge production, and Polish post-communist transformation. www.robertkulpa.com

ANJA ZÜCKMANTEL works as the librarian for Etz Hayyim Synagogue Hania and has recently been involved in the Open Lab My Hania. She is a historian and currently works on her Ph.D. thesis about the perception of the “Land of Israel” in German Zionism.

JO LOKI is currently working on a bursary with Laundry on the Intercultural Dialogue project. An installation artist, she works with text, visual imagery and visual objects, which she uses to create three-dimensional stories.

My Hania - Creative Laboratory

May 4th - May 5th 11am - 8pm. An installation in Studio Poly-Technio gallery by young people from Hania and Kandanos. The installation explores the city through the eyes of the participants - who have been working with artists from Laundry and local historians. The work was created through interviews and interactions with local people, using photography, sound recordings, video and visual arts. It provides a glimpse into the multicultural heritage of the city.

Some photographs from the gallery opening are posted here.

The project was organised by Etz Hayyim Synagogue. We would like to thank the teachers for their active support, Spiros Androulakis for the gallery space and assistance in the realisation of the exhibition, and Gerani for providing refreshments during the workshops.

Brendan Jackson, Beverley Harvey, Alicja Rogalska and Paulina Paga participated for Laundry, and artists Jo Loki and Simret-Cheema Innis also visited the Creative Laboratory to develop their specific projects. Alexander Phoundoulakis and Anja Zückmantel were the co-ordinators in Hania.

Material from the project will be uploaded to this web site in June, to provide an ‘alternative guide’ to Hania as presented by the young participants.

Participants from Kandanos -
Teachers: Elina Kournidaki, Nikos Smirneos, Katerina Aggisiali
Students: Antonis Thrakakis, Gerogos Kariotakis, Georgina Lesi, Claudia Nikoli, Anna Koumi, Eftixis Sfinarolakis

Participants from Nea Hora -
Teacher: Maria Katserou
Students: Nikos Mixalidis, Alkistis Kourti, Christina Seiti, Eva Kerkira, Georgos Apostolidis, Ivan Ivanof, Aggelaki Bixtarian, Konstantinos Troulos, Themis Panagopoulos, Gianna Peneva, Manolis Heretis, Niki Polifaki

Hania Creative Laboratory
Between April 25th and May 9th we are working with young people and historians in Hania, Crete.  The participating schools are the 5th Gymnasium school of Nea Hora, and the Gymnasium school of Kandanos. The workshops take as a starting point the rich multicultural heritage of the Old Town, working with the young people to interpret their surroundings and explore hidden histories.

Together we are creating an exhibition will provide a glimpse into the fabric of this city. This laboratory is organised by Etz Hayyim Synagogue with artists from Laundry, and the location of the workshops and exhibition is Studio Poli-texnio, run by artist Spiros Andpoulakis. The groups were given a guide to the city by Vassilis Varouxaki from the Archeological Department of Hania.  Materials from the project will be collated and put online (in a month or two), which will provide an alternative view to and guide to Hania, and an insight into the process of the creative laboratory.

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Hania Interviews in progress
During the Laboratory, young people from Hania and Kandanos had the opportunity to interview writer Saba Altinsay about her family history in relation to Crete. She was born in Turkey in 1961 and her short and long stories have been published in Turkey and Germany. Kritimou (My Crete) - her first novel - has recently been translated into Greek. It indicates the life of a Muslim Cretan family Yarmakamakis, between 1896 until the very day of the Exchange in 1923.  It is the true story of Altinsay’s family. The author also made a presentation about her work at the Synagogue to an adult audience. Interviews by Manolis Heretakis and Gianna Peneva (Nea Hora), and Eftihis Sfinarolakis, Georgina Lesi, Klaudia Nikolli, Elina Kournidaki (Gymnasio of Kandanos).

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Online forum

- Fear of the other, is it prejudice or is it racist?
- What makes us intolerant?
- Is there any universal ground for tolerance?
- What are the legitimate criteria of intolerance?
- What are the typical borderlines of tolerance and intolerance in your society?

We invite you to join our invited speakers:
PATÓ ATTILA
BEVERLEY HARVEY
GREGOR D. MIRWA
KLAUS POCHER

for a LIVE ONLINE DISCUSSION EVENT
at www.culturalanimation.com/discuss

MONDAY 6th APRIL, 21.00 -23.00 (CEST)
so that will be 20.00-22.00 if you are in England
or 22.00-24.00 if you are in Bulgaria or Romania.

Updates

New photo galleries posted in March news from Open Labs at Walsall Youth Arts and Bosnia House in Birmingham. In Walsall, we had a surprise visit by comedian and broadcaster Mark Steel, who was performing that night in town. See if you can spot him.

Filming in Blakenhall.

A group from the east side of Birmingham travelled all the way to Blakenhall, in Wolverhampton, to film along the Dudley road. This vibrant multicultural area was once the parliamentary seat of Enoch Powell, who made an infamous speech in 1968  (known as ‘The Rivers of Blood’ speech) - which  predicted that mass immigration would lead to violence on our streets.

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48 Hour Dialogue - Laundry Creative Laboratory
Monday 9th March - Saturday 14th March, based at Walsall Youth Arts.
Monday  23rd March - Saturday 28th March, based at Bosnia Herzegovina UK Network, Birmingham.

Working with the help of a team of young cultural animators from IKP, we held an Open Lab with two different organisations – one who deal exclusively with arts media and young people, and one who have a broader community development remit. Our purpose was to explore a specific geographic area over a 48 hour period and engage in dialogue with local people – a form of action research – addressing questions of identity and cultural heritage. Together we then made an installation in the specific venue, transforming it and hosting an open event/seminar at the weekend to gather reactions and responses. The team were responsible for devising the content of the open event in such a way that visitors/audience could interact and engage with it to provoke and stimulate further dialogue and comment.

Both organisations posed a series of key questions as starting point to explore. In Walsall, outreach activities included sock puppet conversations with young people in the town centre, using t-shirts to make comments on, collaborative story writing and visits to local organisations. In Birmingham, outreach activities were undertaken in the city centre and along the Stratford road in the vicinity of Bosnia House. Sessions were undertaken with the Bosnian supplementary school, with self-portrait photography and video work.

From the contacts made, we plan to organise a ’round table’ event at both organisations. This is a small group of individuals (preferably who do not normally come into contact with each other) who are invited to a discussion on the topic of intercultural dialogue - this is devised as an artistic event and each round table has a slightly different format - it may involve food, or entertainment, it may be performative or it may be discursive. The point is not to have an agenda for the session, and let conversations unfold. The ensuing dialogue is recorded and elements used to both stimulate our work and in workshops.

Walsall gallery posted here…

Bosnia House gallery posted here...

Thanks to Jon and Claudette at Walsall Youth Arts. Thanks to Alan Cheeseman at Chameleon Gallery for assistance in hosting the Saturday event. Thanks also to Helen Jones, curator at New Art Gallery.

Thanks to Anes Ceric at Bosnia Herzegovina UK Network.

Dear Ian,
Happy New Year!
I hope you have arrived safely in Munich and that all is well.  I just wanted to follow up on Sufi Punk.  In our last meeting we concluded the following:
In this project we hope to “engage communities that rarely mix” – exploring why?  Is it their perceptions? Reveal the truth.  Reality of what is real.  Offer enlightenment.

We discussed intercultural dialogue and I feel it’s important that we all have the same definition we are working too. I feel for this project it is focusing on people who are from different culture/countries and how we behave towards them.  We are aiming to work towards a 10 minute performance from Birmingham and in  international context (with a partner location) . If we can agree the content of what we are doing I can then send you a contract and you can invoice me for the first half of the fee.

Ideas: My latest idea has been to have a map or a globe and ask people in each the selected areas the following:  (I think we can do this exercise by blind folding the participant as well as not blind folded to see the results.  I think we would get some really interesting stories to write and put music too.)

I was thinking the following:
* We can have two chairs and a sign saying come and speak to me?
* They point at the globe/map blind folded or not and answer the following:
Who would they like to meet and why?
What do they think they would be like?
What would they like to them about themselves?
What would they like to know?
Do they know any of these people locally? If yes how did they meet?
If you saw these people how would you initiate conversation?
If I could deliver them a message what would you like me to say?

I feel this approach is easy and not very costly.  I also feel it will be rich in material for us to use but also give an insight into how people feel when they choose who they want to meet and when they don’t have a choice i.e. when they are blind folded.

Prashant you are interested in documenting this as a possible documentary to support our performance.  What do you think?  How can this be made visually interesting to support our work but also stand alone?
Let me know your thoughts!
Lots of love Naz

From: Gurdan Thomas
Sent: 13 January 2009, To: Naz ulfaharts
Subject: Re: Sufi Punk

Hi Naz,
Hope your are well - I’m having a great time here, my apartment is luxurious and has an amazing view of the lake and the Alps in the distance - the other musicians are great and we’ve been making lots of music (sometimes quite late into the night) - I’m also trying to learn German, which is slow but I’m learning new words every day - I can almost have a 2 or 3 sentence conversation with someone.

Regarding the project I think your summary; “we hope to “engage communities that rarely mix” – exploring why?  Is it their perceptions? Reveal the truth.  Reality of what is real.  Offer enlightenment.” is spot on. Just a few thoughts on your idea.

Other questions could be;
How would you describe yourself to someone who has never met you (how would you define yourself)? Perhaps something along the lines of - What is important to you in - the community/ Society - in your personal life / family - on a global scale?

With the ‘what would you like to ask them’ it would be great if we could somehow take these questions to some of the people they’d like to ask and get an answer, maybe on a postcard and then as an option (and for an incentive of something in return) send the answer back to them - postcard or email, or maybe set up a Website with a sort of Forum page that lists the questions and answers - perhaps the dialogue would continue between them.

The map that they point at perhaps there should be 2, a world map and a more local map of Birmingham Districts perhaps - we could perhaps also ask where have they been - maybe offer bus routes and info on getting to places (or attractions that might encourage them to go) incase they feel like an adventure and travelling there - perhaps with post cards (or email, although there is something more special and lasting about a postcard, particularly if we get some well designed - attractive - interesting ones) they could let us know about their experience.

Also what about giving the option of taking a photo of them so when we do speak to other cultures / communities they can see what they look like.. Also it would be interesting to ask questions to other people coming from out first interviewees with 2 approaches 1) showing them the photo beforehand and 2) only showing the photo at the end - obviously we’d have to be mindful of the implications of taking photo’s of children.

I did have another idea based on yours, but then I decided it would be too much work and be too leading in the answers people might give (it was creating a book with multiple choice answers to questions on a story about them falling asleep on the bus and ending up in Sheldon for example and they would choose what they would do and who they would speak to and even the responses they think the other people might make). But I will carry on thinking and send you some ideas if they come. I’m off to try some new instruments that arrived today woohoo!!
Email to you soon
Yours
Ian

From: Prashant Singh
Sent: 15 January 2009 12:48
To: Naz Koser
Subject: RE: Sufi Punk
Sounds great !
I can video and audio record the whole process….if anything we can keep it as a video project report?
xxxxxxxx

Editors note: it is interesting that the group of young animators from Warsaw who participated in the Open Lab, also talked about the idea of mapping came up with the idea of using a globe as a talking point, as a device to start a conversation. (It worked). They found a beautiful pink glowing globe in town. A lot of artists use mapping tecniquesa s part of their practice, such as Katrin Bohm. For an example of this kind of project go to: www.folkestonomy.net

48 hour Dialogue – Laundry Creative Laboratory
In March, we have a two groups of young cultural animators/community artists coming over to the West Midlands from Warsaw, Poland. One group will be based at Walsall Youth Arts, Monday 9th March - Saturday 14th March. The second group will be based at Bosnia House, Sparkbrook, Monday March 23rd - Sunday March 29th.

Each group (of 5 individuals) will work with us to explore a specific geographic area over a 48 hour period and, using their creative skills, engage in dialogue with local people – a form of action research – addressing questions of identity and cultural heritage. They will then present their findings back to an invited audience. We will have some email planning with them in advance, so they can devise some ideas of what they will do, and they will have some production time in situ to make an installation in the specific venue, transforming it and host an open event/seminar at the weekend to gather reactions and responses. They will be responsible for devising the content of the open event in such a way that visitors/audience can interact and engage with it to provoke and stimulate further dialogue and comment.

The purpose of this is to:
a. give this group some practical experience of the work we do and the community environments we function in, working alongside us
b. to stimulate dialogue as part of the larger project
c. to provide/stimulate the host group with new ideas and possibilities.

As a follow up, we will some ’round table’ events with the host venues, using the 48 Hour Dialogue as a starting point. Throughout February, Laundry members are doing some preparatory work in both locations. (Image above produced by Abdul and Rav from photo workshop in Sparkbrook).

Baku Research Visit
Laundry visited Baku in February, meeting with youth and cultural organisations, to develop content for a Creative Laboratory to be undertaken with partners later in the year. Thanks to Elman and Anar for their help. Gallery of images loaded.

Creative Laboratories in Primary School Contexts
Planning sessions are being undertaken to structure an exchange of dialogue between two primary schools, one in Wolverhampton and one in Leeds, both in multicultural areas. The exchange will take place in the summer term.

Sacred Quran project
We went to the launch of a new publication produced by Ulfah Arts, based on a project undertaken at Wightwick Manor, a National Trust property in Wolverhampton, West Midlands. Taking quotations from the Sacred Quran as a starting point,  the project explored the Manor house and the surrounding gardens through the eyes of local Muslim men and women. The resulting publication acts as a ‘faith trail’ which ‘explores the relationship between faith, special places and lifestyle.’  This was part of a broader programme ‘Whose Story’ at National Trust properties, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, which engaged with ethnic communities.

Ulfah described the project in this way: “The aim would be to produce a guide which highlights the quotes from the Quran but at the same time brings them to life using the house.  A resource for those who wish to learn more about Islam but also for those who visit Wightwick manor regularly, offering them a new insight into the manor.”

Wightwick is a Victorian manor house, and one of the few surviving examples of a house furnished under the Arts & Craft movement, and has many original  William Morris wallpapers and fabrics. Naz Koser is the Director of Ulfah, and is one of the artists awarded a bursary to work on aspects of the intercultural dialogue project. Some of her thoughts to date are posted in the Dialogues section.

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Other projects…
One of the Laundry team, Bev recently worked on a project for Friction Arts in Birmingham. (Simon Walker, one of the current bursary artists with Laundry also worked on it). We thought it was worth posting some information on it. Friction Arts devised the project to record the thoughts, memories and stories of ‘islanders’ living in the Five Ways area of Birmingham. You can find full details at ilandlife.com. And here’s a gallery from one of the events.

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This project began as an exploration of an area at the heart of Birmingham with a very diverse mix of people within the community. Highgate, I feel is an area which reflects multicultural Birmingham on a miniature scale. Using open questioning and being out doors enabled me to engage in conversation with a wide range of people from all walks of life & transcribe these voices on the spot. I teamed up with a local youth worker who knew loads of people in the area and spoke to the local police sergeant for the area about getting involved. Within weeks we had organized 20 x 1hr sessions including schools, colleges, youth clubs, shopping areas, community residents groups and areas known for criminal activity. With a flip chart, several markers & local young volunteers we went out to see what people had to say. As people shared their thoughts with us other people began to join in and new conversations began, young people listened to older people talking about the past. Older people got to know some of the younger people in the area, new relationships evolved and discoveries were made.

Below are a few examples of what was said:

Highgate is:

Highgate is too many youths, lots of different people.

Highgate is family, there used to be a youth club round here.

I’ve lived around the area for 16 years. It’s a lot easier with police around, but when the criminals come out of jail they come back to the area. The older ones bully the younger ones, making them afraid, it’s hard, older people are afraid. They should get together and tell the youths off when they see them doing wrong, but no one feels safe or is willing to express themselves out loud. When we pass through it looks nice. It needs cleaning up, more security cameras.

The mosque helps because we meet different people & it’s all good in the hood.

Highgate is reasonably a good community, I think there’s always gonna be issues around here.

Highgate needs more community leaders doing the job they’re supposed to be doing.

Highgate is s**t.

Highgate is the mosque.

Highgate is my childhood, my future, good times, bad times, silliness, potential, friends & family.

Highgate has always been a mixed up community, most times always seen as a poor area. Before they made urban villages. It’s always had a strong faith base to it, always had the mosques & churches in the area. As a youth I always felt we mixed well, our dividing lines were based on money, not race or religion. The area was always full of characters, people who you felt had been here before.

Highgate is a great mix.

Highgate is all right, people live nice with the people.

Highgate has plenty of room for improvement when the flats are gone. I think the image of Highgate is quite deprived.

People show kindness.

We were held up at gunpoint again last week. (Big John’s)

Highgate needs more parks, more equipment in the parks & it needs a “New Look” shop. It should have more dance groups/classes.

Highgate is not safe because scary men start talking to us. The shop over there doesn’t like kids coming in. The place is scary to walk around. The people cover their faces with bandanas & scarves, you see the park over there, there’s only 1 swing! I don’t feel safe there. Men in cars wait for us to come out of school & call us over.

Highgate is a rubbish area to live, too much violence.

Highgate is okay.

Highgate is good, everyone gets on, everyone looks out for each other, watch each others backs. Been here all my life, not known any trouble, it’s all good.

It’s the youngsters that need to stop the trouble. As an older person, we used to mix well and nowadays the younger ones don’t understand.

Highgate is a drug haven, prostitute haven, it’s indoors now. Young kids have nothing to do.

As an elder living in the area, some of the streets have a strong sense of community. We all need to talk more & check on each other. The people aged between 18 & 30 need help from the older generation, those that ain’t educated, they need help to make the community stronger. People need to get together & sacrifice for each other. On my road we leave our door open & my neighbour can borrow anything, they just leave a note. If parcels arrive my neighbour will collect them. Just talk to people, say “Hi”. People on my road are from different backgrounds, my friend shows me how to make roti & samosas and I show her how to cook West Indian food. Kids don’t know their phonics, I have my neighbours kids & help them learn by sharing stories.

Highgate is my kingdom, all of us together, my home.

Highgate is rough.

Highgate is divided, people keep themselves to themselves.

Being close to the growing city, Highgate is on the edge of new development & city regeneration plans so I thought it was also important to ask a question which allowed people to say what they thought could be done in the area. This will allow me to send the findings to relevant local councillors and they will hopefully take notice of what is being said. The local police sergeant is also planning a launch meal/event where councillors & community leaders will be invited to discuss the text with local people.

Highgate could be…

Highgate could be a sports community, a bigger leisure centre like Small Heath.

Highgate could have more youth clubs then more people would come out.

Nobody gets out because the area is lonely, full of empty streets.

I would build new buildings & take down all the old factories.

Highgate could have more flowers around the place.

I would build a big roller coaster!…. What? It’s faster than going by car.

Highgate could be so good. Stop the crime by taking more action & putting up more cameras.

More people talking to each other. I would stop people dropping litter & put in more traffic lights. There needs to be less crack heads & perverts in the area. More stuff to do at Stanhope, there should be a park where young people can do graffiti.

Highgate could have more events for people to meet & talk & have fun.

Highgate could have less knife crime but people won’t listen.

Highgate can have more sessions in youth clubs where people can talk about issues like these. We need to communicate more and talk to each other.

Highgate could be cleaner, more bins & more play areas for the little kids.

Highgate could be bigger with more schools.

Highgate should have less criminals & more studios.

Highgate could have a more frequent bus service.

Highgate could have more police because after school lots of bad stuff happens.

It’s a good place to live but it could be cleaner.

Highgate could have more youth clubs.

Highgate could be refurbished, some of the old homes & flats could be knocked down.

Highgate could be better.

I live up there but I don’t come down here because I’ve got beef with people from by St Martins. I go out in Sparkbrook now…

A few years ago I attended IETM, a 4 day informal European theatre meeting in Belgrade. While listening to several introductory speeches by chairpersons, officials & directors of organisations, I made a list of the different contexts the word ‘culture’ was used in, then decided to write about this experience.

The following cultural interpretations may lead to a cultural discovery of cultural and historical horizons within a common cultural arena.  The cultural consequences which began before cultural foundations were in place, led to cross cultural intercultural projects without thought, so cultural framework needed some serious cultural reconstruction to prevent the cultural marginalisation of the brave new cultural systems that were moving fast and full of cultural expression.

During the cultural conference, amidst the cultural confusion, began the cultural questioning.  The cultural managers found themselves in a cultural situation that meant they had to put aside their cultural barriers and their thoughts of cultural importance. Cultural sources expressed themselves with cultural objectivity and made the cultural subtleties of the cultural conversation culturally complex.

To provoke further cultural crises, the cultural secretary called on the cultural consultants to bring the culturally sensitive cultural responses back to their cultural roots.  Without knowing about the cultural decentralisation of cultural systems, all cultural fulfillment was met with cultural needs designed to set cultural limitations on cultural potential.

By now this had caused a cultural block in order to culturally manipulate cultural explanations of cultural ethics. The cultural scene had been replaced by the cultural professionals so a need for cultural regeneration was called for.  Now the cultural field had become culturally open, cultural organisations had cultural access to cultural values and cultural ideologies, which enabled cultural co-operations.

Once the cultural operation had begun, billions of cultural networks flourished out in the cultural space, creating a culturally diverse mainstream. The cultural ministers were culturally content but confirmed to develop cultural strategies as a way of getting cultural revenge. Cultural tensions arose and before long cultural respect had become culturally challenging. Cultural knowledge needed a new cultural goal, the cultural rules had been re-written without the cultural consultation

All that was left was a cultural mission without a cultural centre or a cultural conclusion.

In the material we use for the bell, we put 80 per cent copper to give it a brazen sound; and to make it sweet, we add 20 percent tin. And various other herbs for the nuances that come next. That’s the main mix. The exact ingredients are the company’s secret, but that’s the basics. We add 20 percent tin. That’s the Veleganovs’ recipe since donkeys’ years.

The liberation of Plovdiv from the Turkish yoke (see note 1) was greeted with the chiming of a Veleganovs’ bell. But it hasn’t been preserved; in fact no one knows what has happened to it. There is one pub in Plovdiv which bears the name of Kambanata (The Bell), above the pub is the Church of St. Virgin Mary, there, on one salkam (acacia) - that’s a Turkish word - the bell was hung and tolled for the first time. So before me, there were three generations, even four, who practiced this craft. But the bell-casters who are truly the best are three generations.

Everything is man-made, isn’t it? But the question is where you will start from, at which level. After all, we have the privilege of relying on the generations before us.

The technology has never been written down. Everything is oral and has been handed down by word of mouth. That’s why there is no leaking of information. That’s how it has remained. When my father-in-law passed the secrets to me, because it was him who introduced me to this craft, the condition was that I should hand them down to my son. This was the condition. With a lot of experience, they’ve changed the shape of the bell in order to achieve the best.

The oldest bells which bear the name of Lazar D. Veleganov, they are slightly more elongated; their shape is a bit more specific. While these shapes, which have been created now, date back to the mid 20s, they are cast by Blago Veleganov.

We have 9 bells in one monastery, from 2,5 to 20 kg, which are tuned B-flat major scale, and they are tolled on holidays.  For the One-hundredth Anniversary of the April Uprising (see note 2) my father-in-law, may he rest in peace, cast a copy of the Bell of Klisura, the historic one, which announced the uprising. Now, Grandpa Lazar’s bell – which is an exact copy – it’s in the belfry and tolls while the original is in the museum.

The five bells in front of the Banner of Peace Assembly (see note 3) are our work, too. Inside, there should be one bell with children of different nationalities. That was Grandpa Lazar’s gift to the Assembly. And one sculptor made the human figures on the horo (a ring-dance). These are the more famous bells cast before 1989.

It’s true that for the Bell of Klisura, Grandpa Lazar got paid around – just for the labour – half a flat, a big one, he could get it at the time. Calculate this now; I need to cast around 50 or 100 bells. If we go to work in England, we will be better paid, 5-6 or 7 times better.

Generally, there is almost no place without a bell by the Veleganovs Company. People talk of 400 bells cast by Grandpa Blago Veleganov, but they are much more. And we have cast over 400 here, in the last 15 years.

At the moment, we are casting a bell for Odrin, for the Church of St. St. Konstantin and Elena. Before that, there was also another bell which went to Turkey. It’s unusual, but they have Christians there, too. There are two-three bells for the Western parts, but mainly the bells go to Bulgaria.

When you start, it takes around a month and a half to two months to cast the bell. It depends on the weather. It’s a question of technology.  For each bell a separate cast needs to be made. So there is no rush in this work.

Each bell is centered on some tone. The bigger the bell, the lower the tone. Here for example, this little bell is centered somewhere around D.  When it gets cleaned up, it can drop by half a tone, more or less. It may have a higher ring as well but this will be at the bell’s expense: instead of ringing 100 years, it’s going to ring 50. There’s no point. To achieve this tone with this volume, I need to make it thinner, to thin it out, because it’s takes a beating - the striking with the tongue - it’s a serious beating, what do you think…

The tongue determines the intensity of the sound, if it’s a small tongue, it won’t have enough power to strike, and tongues are still very different.

This bell is around 40 kg, it’s centered somewhere around A.  60 kg is centered somewhere around E. 100 kg is centered somewhere around C.

There are sound frequency meters which measure the sound. Today, we are in the 21st century. Once I worked in the aviation with plane engines and so I’ve grown deaf. While grandpa Lazar was a musician, he knew. In the past, there used to be tuning forks, you checked the sound. We still have tuning forks, including those that look like whistles. But we don’t use them. We keep them like museum relics, to know how it used to be, because there are other methods now.

The good thing about this work is that you can see the fruit of your efforts. The bell is ready when you are listening to it. Such a thing cannot be always fulfilled in a man’s life. Even though it’s one of those brief joys, still they are of importance.

2nd August, 2008, in a conversation with Metodi, Mariana, Diana, Albena at Plovdiv.

Notes:

1. Bulgaria was part of the Ottoman Empire for five centuries, from 1396 to 1878, known as the era of the “Turkish yoke”. Traditionally it is  still seen as a period of darkness and suffering.
2. The April Uprising was an insurrection organised by the Bulgarians in the Ottoman Empire from April to May 1876, which indirectly resulted in the re-establishment of Bulgaria as an independent nation in 1878.
3. A memorial of bells erected, durind the socialist era, by Ludmila Zhivkova for the occasion of the International Children’s Asembly ‘Banner of Peace’. Ludmila Zhivkova was Minister of Culture at the time and daugher of the head of the country and communist leader Todor Zhivkov.

Download bell_veleganovi_plovdiv1.pdf

Pavel is the name of my son. They called for him about the bell; was it three or four guys? And Rosen, too. And so the two got beaten up. My son, we put potatoes on his back… And the children said: ‘We haven’t stolen the little be, not us.’ When they take something, they admit to it there. We know the militia, it’s always against us, and we tell them like this: ‘Hey, people, we are humans, too. We are not dogs, right? When the children steal, then yes, we tell you: ‘Well, he’s taken this, he’s stolen that,’ but we tell you now – no and no.

The children got a thrashing for nothing. Now can you carry a bell like this in your hands, now tell me! It’s not small, we know this, it’s big. It’s taken a car, three-four guys, all’s done. No one has seen, no one has watched. And then they come here… One of the policemen said it himself: ‘It might be others who steal, but we come to you again…’ It can’t be like this. Others steal, and

They got released, but so what? The children became like wild lambs… I am so sorry for my son. It still hurts me so bad that they thrashed him for nothing. And this can’t be the way, darling.

Right now you caught me in such a moment, it’s either for food or this and that, let’s say. Well, I am hungry and I’ve taken something, either bread, or something else. I am hungry, and so should I get a beating again? Do you know what people do in Sofia? They break in to steal food, and if they get caught, they say: ‘We are hungry, that’s all…’

And we are here, the old people, here is my husband, Yuri, me… The youth, let’s say, make mistakes, you know. We tell them: ‘You won’t steal, will you?’

And the bell – no never. No, no, no, no.

Pavelcho was in prison because he ran from the army. And in the morning, as you know, we are tinning, and we left a bottle of gas on the window sill. And he took a sip and collapsed by the door. And the militia came and saw him. I said: ‘Hey, what are you looking at? Why don’t you take him to hospital?’ They took him, loaded him into the car and drove him to Mihailovgrad. And he stayed there a day or two and then got sent back for having run away for one day because of his wife.

That’s how my son died…
…….

Three men were accused (of the theft). Pavel, Rosen, Dako, my son-in-law; he had my daughter. She died. Now he cannot live here because he is nobody to me.  Three men were accused.

They were summoned and questioned one by one: ‘Hey, children, if you’ve taken the bell, tell us where you’ve left it, what you’ve done with it.’ ‘We haven’t taken the bell. We don’t even know about it. It’s a big thing, how can we carry it? It’s not us.’ And then came the thrashing… First this boy, then the other boy… And when I tell you: we are people, just like you are people. When I tell you – no, it’s not me, it’s like you tell me – no, it’s no me. And they gave such a thrashing to the children that I still hurt. Everything inside me hurts for my son.

How long did they keep them in prison?

They kept them for a day, just that, but this day equalled for a whole year, in Varshets.

And then?

They got released, but the people were nearly dead. We peeled potatoes and arranged potato slices on him. Well, I am telling that… Oh, what can I say… It still hurts me.

Yes, it’s our children. See now, it’s true that they were hungry, but we – the older ones – told them: ‘No thefts. Go to that man and ask him for two leva. He’ll give you. And when the man comes and says: ‘Give me back my two leva,’ you’ll say: ‘Uncle, I have none,’ no one is gonna come to trash you.’ And the children understood, but as to the bell no, no, no, never our children. For the bell and for the rakia distiller, too, it was with cars, my dear, it wasn’t one man to come and demolish the wall and take the distiller. The distiller is rather big. We have one in our village, too, so we know what a distiller is. It was three-four men, a car. They loaded and left. That’s it.

Do people say who it was? Are they from the area?

No, no, there are some people who pass by here, in our village, to look for walnuts. He hasn’t come once, because we told him we have no walnuts. And today he will pass by again. This man can’t be if he doesn’t have a look for himself…

It’s not our people. But we have no Gypsies, we are two houses here: here’s my son’s, others and from here onwards it’s only Bulgarians.

These are people from other places, darling. It might be Gypsies, but from somewhere far away. He went there, sold the bell, sold the rakia distiller. Why didn’t he get caught for so many years? We have policemen, we have this and that, don’t we? So why didn’t he get caught? And they steal with the rascals.

Why did one policeman steal cigarettes, why? Huh, let’s talk this way and that way. Okay, we steal because we are hungry, but the police who have so much money, why did he go to steal cigarettes…

You say that you steal because you are hungry? What do you steal?

Nothing. Well, we steal from the shop. Now, the other day I got a 100 leva pension. I bought sunflower oil, sugar, potatoes, beans, we have meat from the pig. That’s it, sister. What else do I need to steal? No, no, there is no such thing with us. And my husband, Pavel, he won’t pick a plum.

Everyone talks like this about him.

So, do you see how they talk, that he is honest.

But not about the rest. What’s your explanation?

My explanation is because we have gardens here. Where we plant things. And Bulgarians steal from each other. And say: ‘It’s the Gypsies.’ So how does this happen? It’s not us. Bulgarians steal, my apologies for insulting you, but I don’t meant you, I mean our Bulgarians here. I had gardens down there, a neighbour, you know, because I didn’t go into her garden, she came into my garden and was plucking the leek. Come on now, say she is a Bulgarian. I went to the Council to tell the mayor and the mayor said: ‘Elena, tell me now what can we do with her? Come on!’ So far, he hasn’t done anything about her. So Bulgarians steal more than Gypsies, just bear this in mind, that’s it, sister.

I am trying to understand why people say: ‘It’s the Gypsies from Dolna Bela Rechka who stole the bell.’

And do you know why? Because they probably saw the police taking them to the police station and that’s why. (said by her son sitting next to her)

I also know the people who’ve told you, but they should have watched out. If the bell was brought here, let’s say, after all people could see. But when the militia came here, they thought he had stolen I don’t know what…

As to the bell, no, my darling, never. I am telling you this as if you were my daughters. I have three daughters just like you.

Everything I’ve told you so far, nothing is a lie. Because I love you. Everything I said, nothing is a lie.

The village, Dako, says that our children are stealing. Well, they may have sinned at times, now it can’t be otherwise, but for these things, no. Didn’t they say that our church was robbed, too… Now, there are no icons, no nothing, just a table where the dead are placed, and that’s it.

How are you money-wise, how do you support yourselves?

I receive a pension of 102 leva, my husband gets 80. And for taking care of my daughter’s two orphans I get 72 leva each, this is our support. And we don’t eat much so that there’s food forever.

You plant potatoes, onions. I have 7-8 rows, you plant beans, cucumbers, and what’s there more to it. We slaughtered the pig last winter, and it still lasts. We have lambs, kids.

It hurts me a lot how they speak of our family because these children pass through here, everyone passes through this yard, they go empty-handed, they come back empty-handed…

When were you born?

In day time.

What date?

No year, no date. When I go to get my money, and when they start asking me when I was born. Give me the money, I was born in day time. They start laughing. Well, you can laugh if you want.

And do you know when your children were born?

No, God! I don’t put it down. One has to be literate, I can’t write, nor read, nor remember when this child was born.  I know when Pavel was born, on January 13th, but I don’t know the date.

How come you remember?

Because we celebrate on this day.

Bell Project Interviews: Lilyana, a daughter-in-law to Elena

The story of Pavel’s death

Pavel is my brother-in-law… It was 16-17 years ago, it’s 14 years since he died. Pavcho ran from the army, you know, and his wife was staying at my mother-in-law’s. And she ran away with the husband of my sister-in-law, and got married. And he found out about this in the army, in Pleven, and ran away, and came here and was hiding. And they sentenced him for deserting the army. And they said he hung himself in prison, but was this the truth? His wife ran away with the husband of his sister, she has 2-3 children from him.

They called to say he hung himself… It was a month later or so. And the mayor said: ‘I got a phone call from Pleven that you son hung himself, to go and collect him.’ They took a car from here… But did he hang himself, did he get beaten up? When they brought him, our men noticed that his fingers were broken, blue, almost snapped in two. When a man hangs himself – I saw one man in our neighbourhood who hung himself, I was young, I wasn’t married – afterwards he was blue here, around the neck, when they took him off the ropes. While Pavcho didn’t have anything here, on the neck, only one blue stripe at the back of his head…

Elena: And this stripe with an iron stick from the back and all’s done.

Well, there is God, and we don’t know for sure, but we can imagine, because Pavcho was probably hit with something and if he placed his hand to protect himself, he got his fingers broken…

There was no one to investigate, to call a forensic pathologist. We know our rights… but back then in this tragedy, in this horror, there was simply no one who could do this, so that’s how things were left… The first day we brought him, the second day we buried him and that’s how it was… Then, the military from Pleven came over. They called my mother- and father-in-law to the police station, showed them pictures of the drop, how they took picture of it, they’ve seen it, I haven’t… When we went to Vidin – I have a sister-in-law who is married there – and we went to visit them. It happened so that there were some of his friends there, they had gathered to celebrate a birthday. There were some boys there. And when we started talking about our family and we mentioned Pavcho, one of the boys came forward and said that they were together in the army, and added: ‘He didn’t hung himself, he was beaten up.’

Elena: I had a dream how he was thrashed by three men, from the big wigs, not from the rest.

There is simply no one to confirm this, there are ways, but now it’s too late.

Back then, we were small children. If this happens now at the age I am, I know my rights, I can already reason…

Elena: Well, we went then to the judge in Pleven. He said: ‘Whom shall we sentence? Look at
the photos.’ My son cannot hang himself. I‘ve entered there, there is nothing to tie a rope to,
to hang yourself. You can’t do it on the ceiling, there is nothing there. I entered into the room, there was nothing. ‘You’ve killed him, all right,’ and that’s what I said to the judge. ‘He was alive when I gave him to you, and I want to see him at the table. Why are you showing me these dead photos…’

Well, and supposedly we were the uneducated, we were the stupid people…

12th April, 2008, in a conversation with Diana, Mariana, Albena, Lea, in the village of Dolna Bela Rechka

Download elena_gypsy.pdf

It was such a beautiful bell my husband made when he was the mayor… And they placed a very beautiful bell, before the 9th of September . One woman, Granny Bona, tolled it every Sunday and also when somebody died… Granny Bona tolled it from home, from her terrace. Granny Bona collected herbs and went to Varshets to sell them. Then they placed a clapper, but it was taken too… So now we have no bell…

(note:  September 9th, 1944. During World War II the Fatherland Front took power in Bulgaria through a military coup in the capital and armed rebellion in the country and a new pro-Soviet government was established. Bulgaria became a communist state and part of the Eastern Bloc.)

Who should toll the bell?

Someone will be chosen, it should be a religious person. But there are no such people. Here, in our village, they are such disbelievers – to go to work on Easter Day itself. I won’t start anything on Sunday, you know, this day is meant for a rest, to pay respect to nature.

There are hobgoblins, to tell you the truth. My husband didn’t believe but there were. I didn’t believe either, you know, that when somebody dies, somebody who hates you, when they are unhappy with you, they don’t love you and after that they do such things…

They have come to me personally to knock… One night I went out, a woman here had died and something started knocking on my door. These are the souls of the dead… It’s not all of them, but you should know, now for several years I’ve seen it’s true… It’s not scary, it won’t do you a thing.

There have always been hobgoblins. And then, when my sister-in-law’s husband died, good gracious, to tell you, not everyone is acting like that. Once Angel came here to treat him to a drink, but I didn’t manage and when he died, oh dear me, I was in deep trouble. I am telling you… every evening… the night lamp, above it, and he was knocking, every evening, wasn’t talking, just knocking. When he was taken ill, he went to Vratsa, and as I was all by myself, I didn’t know he had died at 11 p.m. and, oh dear me, when he started knocking at 12 p.m., and he was kind of towards my window… with force, as if the window was gonna break… every evening for 40 days… then it was no longer… I even placed needles, finally I said: ‘Angel, please, go away, I beg you, please…’ I poured some rakia. I am old myself and I am telling you the truth. You can laugh at me, but to tell you… for 20 days I stayed here and then I went to Sofia and we sat until late, and I went in, I went to the bathroom, oh dear me, when we went to bed. I locked up, something started knocking on the door of the bathroom… Well, the souls go everywhere… God forgive him, I haven’t told this nowhere…

11th April 2008, in conversation with the theatre company of Mariy and Valeria, Diana, Albena.

Download elenka.pdf

Thanks to Radmila Mladenova, who sent in translations of a selection of interviews from The Bell Project in Bela Rechka, along with the prize winning essay produced for ‘A Personal Story With A Bell’. You’ll find them posted in the Dialogues section as pdfs to download and read at your leisure.

Laundry Bursary Artists

Laundry has awarded bursaries to four artists to participate in elements of the project in Birmingham & the Black Country and the international exchanges, thus ensuring a development of skills, knowledge and capacity building in the West Midlands region.

Each artist will work for 20 days on the project, participating in the programme and will visit one international partner. They will be given a mentor from our team to assist with induction to the project, and the planning, delivery and evaluation of activity. The mentor will act as a sounding board for their ideas and will work alongside them as appropriate. This will influence the delivery of the project activity, allowing them the opportunity to experience something new, collaborating with a group they may not normally be associated with as well as their skills set. The specific international partner they will visit is both determined by individual particular needs and desires and by the relevant activity of the partner group. Each bursary artist has submitted an outline idea to develop with us.

This element of the programme is supported by Arts Council England.

The artists:
Naz Koser will collaborate with a musician, Ian Chapman to develop artistic/performance work as ‘Sufi Punk’. In order to do this they will be looking at two communities in Birmingham, talking to people they normally don’t talk to, explore a series of questions along the lines of: Who do you want to talk to that you have never spoken to before? Why haven’t you spoken to them before? What do you think they will be like? This work will be presented back as a short performance in the West Midlands and in one of the partner locations.

Jo Loki will work on an International Memory Café, collecting stories and memories in exchange for her memories and coffee and cakes/snacks.  She will use objects associated with her own history to stimulate dialogue so that people will bring their own objects and photographs to the conversations.  She will gather the material for an exhibition/installation and hopes to establish an internet group (on a medium such as Facebook) where people can add subsequently their memories.

Simret Cheema-Innis will use videos and photography skills to tell a story about marketplaces, looking at these as spaces for dialogue and intercultural exchange. She also plans to make a series of motion vignettes interacting with local people to hear their stories and even myths from those who currently live and work for the market stalls, alongside some performance poetry.

Simon Walker will explore the idea of “Intercultural dialogue” in Birmingham, focusing on cultural days of significance to add a celebratory element. He will start by engaging with groups in Highgate (residents associations, young people, schools, police, businesses) and using street interventions to initiate a dialogue. Simon has posted some documentation on his street inventions in Dialogues.

Process

Bev Harvey had posted some thoughts and images about the Birmingham Open Laboratory in the Process section.

Open Lab, Hania:

In December , Brendan and Bev from Laundry visited Hania to negotiate and plan a Creative Laboratory with the Etz Hayyim Synagogue.

We first met with Alex Phoundoulakis (the administrator) in Athens for a few hours during our stopover en route, who briefed us on progress to date. In Hania, we then met with Nikos Stavroulakis, Director of the Synagogue, to gain an understanding of what he hoped to achieve and with Anja Zückmantel, a historian who is working on a PhD Jewish History, and with Konstantin Fischer, who runs a group called Young Citizens of The World (who do multicultural education activities with young people, with an emphasis on culture originating in the African continent). We spent most of the time discussing the ideas and practical issues with Anja and Konstantin. We also met with Nia Foes, a young theatre director who wants to help with the project.

We agreed to help them organise and deliver a week of workshops involving young people (aged 15+)  in April 2009, culminating in a two day open exhibition/event. The aim is to bring together young people from Hania, to make a creative exploration of the centre of the city. This Open Laboratory will function as as Creative Academy which consists of practical workshops with artists, examinin the rich cultural heritage of Hania through a young persons perspective.  The week will culminate in a small exhibition of their artistic responses and findings.
Participants will be drawn from the local high schools and youth organisations as well as the University. The programme will be facilitated by four artists from Laundry UK, and supported by local artists and volunteers from Etz Hayyim Synagogue. The process will use a range of artistic media to gather and present impressions of the city.

Benefits to the groups include: learning new skills and greater awareness of Hania’s cultural past and present. It will be an opportunity to work with international artists who have expertise in the use of creative methodologies within the context of art and heritage.

Outcomes: The project will act as stimulus to develop ideas and further discussions for a longer-term project for the host group and to help them establish relationships with a wider audience.  The work will be a documented and a publication which is planned as part of the overall Intercultural Dialogue project.

[Show as slideshow]

When were you born?

1939.

And since you were born, you remember the bell that it was here?

Oh … yeah, then, much later it was stolen, we were in Sofia maybe.

And did you go to this bell; did you go closer to it?

I did.

What was the occasion?

We were playing; we were having a chase as children.

Did you touch it, did you toll it?

No, never. We were so to say moral children. We weren’t like today’s children who try out everything…

And who tolled the bell?

There was one granny Bona, she tolled the bell. She was also a herbalist, being a more progressive granny. We were playing there. And the bell was so very beautiful, it was hanging up there like a sheep-bell, but still it was rather big.

And when they tolled it, we could hear it here … When there is a bell here, we cannot hear it, we can’t hear it now either…

The one here, in the church, you can hear it only if you are somewhere outside (in Dolna Bela Rechka)… But the previous one definitely had a very beautiful ring. And people came up, ready to steal it.

Do you remember what colours it had?

It seems it was in grey and white. How is this colour called…? It’s not copper, it was more to the bronze, white… but I was a child.

I think it was mounted, it was like on four uplifted tree-trunks, with a roof, and it rocked so, when it rang, and it tolled… It was beautiful, but this is… See how many things have been ruined…

Did you touch it? Did you come close to it?

I didn’t, because I was small and it was hung high up. There was a tiny rope in the middle. Never a child dared to toll the bell without permission. It was locked, that’s how I remember it, with small planks. You cannot see from the road, you can only see that there is something. And otherwise, when you get inside, one could enter from the upper side, not from the road…

What do you remember most clearly about the bell?

In Gorna Rechka, on the side of the bell, the first house above the road, there was one granny Iglika, she was a seamstress. She wanted so much to adopt me, now when I see those for adoption… and I feel like crying at times, because she started telling me: ‘I will make you a new dress.’ There were a lot of people. ‘I will buy you new shoes. I will take care of you better than your mother.’ And my mother said: ‘If she wants you, take her.’ She adopted later one girl, they all died and she died, too…

Now there are houses, but no people. It always stays closed. When a man dies here, the house is locked up, and no one comes.

So I was standing in front of her while she was promising to buy me this and that, and as soon as my mother left, I ran away… What a thing! Let her have more, let her promise me, I will go where I’ve grown up… And today I thought – once your childhood is over, it’s not easy to shake it off. I have been later to other places, I’ve had the opportunity, but in my consciousness there is only this – my childhood. It’s very important how the child lives up to a certain age. So we are without luck…

Why without luck?

Because we were left without a father.

I got married very young. And I got married in three days. Because I had no father, my mother was very poor, my classmates went to Varshets to study, and I didn’t have this opportunity, because there was no one to support me. It was necessity to take wood, to pay for rent, textbooks, clothes… And so I stayed. And I went to one village, a neighbouring one to see some acquaintances, and I went back and my husband caught up with me and told me directly let’s get married. And I thought that this was the way out.

Hadn’t you met before that?

No, I didn’t know him. I was trying to enrol there was one school for machines and tractors. I love driving a car, but there wasn’t the guy to enrol me, and so I didn’t manage, and I came back desperate because all went to school, and this was at state expenses… it was nothing, at the Ministry of Transport and Communications, you become a tractor-driver or something.

I wanted him, I loved him, but it didn’t go into my head what this meant for a woman, I was young, 15 years old… And when I came back desperate, without any desire, and I had a step-father, he had come to my mother, he came on his own, I remember him like it was today: ‘I am gonna look after your children. Mine are big. You won’t have any problems.’ And I couldn’t accept this man, not having a father, there was no man at home. The guy was very good to me, but I couldn’t accept him and I felt embarrassed by him. So when Ivan proposed to get married, and I said to myself: ‘Let’s, my salvation has come.’ And we got married in three days. I didn’t have full 16 years. Like Gypsies. And it wasn’t easy, but there was nowhere to go. Here people are more different, they have a father, a mother.

People say the bell was stolen by Gypsies from Dolna Bela Rechka. Do you know them?

I know them, they talk like this.

Do you think we can go to them and talk?

Well… nothing can impede you, why not go and talk… I think they won’t tell you it was them…

But this is what people say, and this is what you know?

I’ve heard this. But they won’t ever confess, in my view.

Do people talk about them, do they steal other things?

Absolute rascals… everyone knows Yuri’s son, but we think they get protected. They have something together with the police, because the police do absolutely nothing to them. Absolutely nothing. And it might be not them. It might be other people. But because they are these people who do these things, stealing, it might be them. No one has witnessed. When you don’t see the man, you may talk, but I am sure, they will say ‘no’, they’ll deny.

I don’t have much to do with the Gypsies, I don’t know them… There used to be Gypsies before, but not like these, they weren’t thievish. We lived with them like with Bulgarians. They worked for us. She was spinning, she would come saying: ‘Give me something to tin, give me something to spin, you know, something to dig,’ but honestly, without thefts. Now these people here, one woman came from Berkovitsa… Pavel, the husband, he is from this family, the honest one, because he really works and I haven’t heard anything about him. He is scything, digging the vineyards. The man is hard-working, while the rest – nothing! His wife does nothing. She says: ‘Hey you, dirty Gypsy, what have you brought me?’ She wants to have no work, he should bring… Since this woman came, since they gave birth to all these children, the whole village is on fire… They said she is from a very thieving family, that’s how she has brought up her children.

The old-time Gypsies were good while these now…

9th March, 2008, in conversation with Diana, Nikolai.

Download penka_dolna.pdf

Listen now – the theft is also committed by Gypsies, you know, when there’s no money, he has no feeling for something godly, you know, spiritual, to stop him from stealing what’s been given. And from this point of view, such things get lost.  I think that locally there is no one who would do such a thing.  The way it’s valuable in case of fire, so it’s valuable in case of somebody dying. It was not once, but twice stolen.

Do you miss the bell?

Why shouldn’t I miss it? For dead people, and for fire, too, and for many things in life, it is a necessity, since ancient times. Now a dead person has to be taken without a bell to announce he died. This has been for centuries, since our great-grandfathers. So we do a dark job, a spiritual one. But what can one do? We took the second bell from Varshets, from Father Petko at the church. It got stolen, too. A more spiritual path can be chosen, to know who these people are, but the authorities hide them. I understand lifetime imprisonment, in this way thefts will disappear. Otherwise, I don’t see these people to have any feeling, that’s disappearing… See that spiritual people are most oppressed, those who have faith, they get demoted … And who gets promoted? As it is said in the Bible: the devil, the Satan, the lie. That’s where the combination is. While spiritual people drop out.

Do you have a childhood memory of this bell?

There was no such bell in the region of Berkovitsa… meaning it was a very valuable bell.
In (Dolna) Bela Rechka, you will go some time to the church, when they open it, to see
how dimly it chimes … There was no such ring nowhere…

And now how can we protect it? How to make sure it has a good ring and how to protect it?

It’s very dear to commission such a thing.

It’s not only money, but also tin, and copper, and lead. Bronze, yellow one, you need to ask the caster. It might be very expensive but be sure it’s gonna be beautiful. Material for chiming.

How to protect it? With some prayers? Or to install it on some special holiday?

I tell you honestly, I had old parents, they died, when you install it there, with a swearing, if someone touches it, to know that in several months… before God everything is known… I went nine years to Vanga, from 1980 to 1989. My arms had a very poor blood circulation. I didn’t go to church. We went with my wife, in 1981. She said: ‘Petar, you don’t go to church, you don’t pray to God.’ I went regularly for ten years. Now that my health is very bad, I don’t go. This is very precious. Here is the truth, here is the solution. Don’t think of those who fight for governments. This is a Satan’s thing. God has given justice. God has given truth. And you’ll see how we shall all be like sisters and brothers. And we hate each other…

(note: Vanga is a legendary Bulgarian prophetess from the town of Petrich. She was born on 1911 and died in 1996.)

You were a late believer, were you?

I had a heart attack in bed, I was gonna die.

And then you went to Vanga?

After one year. And she said: ‘Petar, what happened with you on February 13th, from 3 to 5? Before God there is no secret, no hiding. What happened? I said: ‘Death set in.’ ‘And that time,’ she said. ‘Jesus Christ saved you. ’ Are you going to believe, are you going to follow the right path? And I’ve come to the conclusion, about such a belfry, this is something you cannot protect.

Only with some prayer.

A prayer, but this prayer is gonna hurt a lot.

Why?

Now I will give you one example… to touch something and it’s something given with cussedness… this thing with the bell is a blessing, but to keep it from theft, to make sure that this man sooner or later, up to several months will be eliminated.

Isn’t that cruel?

It might be cruel, but to keep it from theft, it will be like this. It shouldn’t be touched. This is not for you, this is for the society. There is money, which is with cussedness, since Turkish times. Buried, in Bulgaria.

Why with cussedness?

This money was given for the Liberation of Bulgaria, it was not given for you or me. This money was meant for those who liberated us, those people fought for the truth. Do you believe? I do, so from this point of view. We can’t be brothers with just anyone. I am very keen to give not 20, but 30 leva to see who is taking these bells in Bela Rechka. They are re-melted, sold as scrap, but I ask about the other thing – the people will be detached, it’s known who they are by God, but no one here is interested. I am interested. To detach the devil. Who were they? They might be dead, but it should be known who they were, where from.

Do you think it can be found?

I bet 100 leva. What do you think? There are no secrets, God is the truth… Many things would be said if we were sincere, brotherly. Otherwise, no. We can’t achieve anything.  Our village has a great history. But… few people know it. My grandfather was a mayor ten years prior to the liberation. He was a mayor, grandpa Toma. This monastery which was above us, back then it was set on fire by the Turks, it had three priests. Up to this ditch here, from here all the way to Slavcho, the Baker – all this was sheep-pens belonging to the monastery.

8th March, 2008, in a conversation with Diana.

Download pesho_nabozhnia.pdf

For three years I have sung in the church, in Pudria, for three years I have been a solo singer.
I am a believer, yes, this is innate for me, and that’s how I’ll keep on living.

God, I remember the bell, it was so big! It got stolen by a young Gypsy lad, from Dolna Bela Rechka, and he hung himself in prison. They said he tied himself to a bed sheet and hung himself on it… it’s no good. Then, the priest gave us another bell but it got stolen again because of the copper… well, there are all kinds of people…

Once we went to the Forestry up there on the top, with Gyosha, but you don’t know her. We were going down when she said: ‘Let’s toll the bell.’ ‘Why are gonna toll the bell now?’ ‘No, I am gonna toll it, whatever may happen, to scare the people.’ And she tolled the bell. With a rope. She tolled two-three times and then we ran away. We ran away… well, one remembers everything. And later I was telling to Petka, we sat together on the bench, all from this bench died… no one was left, only me. Eight women of us were sitting there. Kiro died, too. He is from our uncle’s family, you should know. Now, there is no one around me.

Bela Rechka… Ah, the sound, I haven’t heard such a sound anywhere else… A wonderful thing, when I tell you, now this was a bell! Will the new one be…? Well, the one in Pudria was beautiful, too, it still lasts, it hasn’t been stolen there… Well, the sound… a strong sound, very beautiful… Now, there is no bell, they ring a piece of iron, when somebody dies, they tie it there so little Petar can ring it.

Those who died young, they died good-looking… and those who die old… ugly, that’s how they are remembered…

But isn’t it better to live longer?

Well, it’s good, if you have no worries, if you are in good health. I wish my eyes were well, I wish I didn’t break my leg.

Still see how many things you can tell us now. There is no one else.

Now, even the vineyards don’t get cultivated in Bela Rechka, they are abandoned. There’s no one to work. Everything is grass.

You can read the beans, can’t you? Who has taught you?

Ah, I don’t know… I taught myself directly, I saw how women told fortunes and then I started
on my own – this I… If you have a wish – three beans should fall down, for joy.  Two – two people are consulting about you, they know, it’s good, and a journey. One bean – he wonders about something, and he wonders if he should propose to you, because you are very beautiful.
My system…

It shows. When Bisera had to go a second time to Korea, she called me on the telephone: ‘Mother, something’s not right, we won’t go to Korea, they won’t let Joro go.’ I told her I was gonna throw the beans and see. I threw the beans and I called her back. I said: ‘You will go, they will take Joro and you will go.’ And indeed, they called me. I didn’t feel well at all, then. Well, and that’s why I went blind. I cried for her, cried, cried. So I cried my eye out. What could I do? That’s how it was destined, to live this number of years, to go blind, to break my leg. Who knows what will happen? I only wish God won’t make me suffer when I start dying. Because one doesn’t know then how one’s gonna die. Some people suffer a lot.

Does God make them suffer? Isn’t there some angel to help?

The Angel… helps, if God tells him so.

8th March, 2008, in conversation with Diana Ivanova, Valeria Valcheva, Mariy Rosen, Albena Kovacheva, Galia Ivanova at Varshets.

Download todorka.pdf.

They introduced their story as follows:
The story we are sending is a story of search. For traces and signs, for people and memories, for stories and versions. In the course of one month, we, a team of students from the French Language School Antoine de Saint Exupéry in Plovdiv, together with our Bulgarian language teacher Tsvetelina Draganova, sought to see and hear the places and faces behind the statistical data provided by the District Police Directorate. According to these statistics, since 1989 there have been 7 registered cases of stolen church bells on the territory of the Directorate. To the case in the village of Gradina we were directed by the curators of the Historical Museum in Plovdiv. It was also from them that we heard, for the first time, about the family of the hereditary bell-casters Veleganovs. In the meantime, Plovdiv Bishopric gave an official answer to our inquiry to the effect that there was no information about bells being stolen but it ‘calls down God’s blessing on us’ and ‘remains’ our ‘supplicant’…

To read the full story of their investigations, download the file plovdiv1prize (15pp, 9000 words).

Why do we need to forget?

We have to find new ways to come together; we live in a time where there are no more bells to call us to meet.

The essence of life – we can only live in a moment. Being alive means to have a past and a future and to be just in between.

We need an ability to remember in order to constitute our personality.

When we lose memory, our life falls apart, we don’t know who we are any more. It might happen because of the damage of the brain, accident, traumatic experience.

Our story goes on as long as we live. A complete story can be said when we are dead.
We know and don’t know at the same moment.

In the ancient Greece, everyone who dies, goes to Hades – it was possible to get it only by crossing the river of forgetting. Dead person has nothing to remember.

Nietzsche said that it is human to forget. We have to forget many facts that we are ashamed of, afraid of, or when we did something evil.

Freud considered that our brain contains everything what we experience in life. There are traces of what we have experienced in our brain – we can prove it now.

We have to live with our forgetting.

Freud asked: Why do we need to forget?

This question has opened a new window for experience and science for dealing with a human life.
Psychoanalysis  gave a tool to deal with our forgetting.

It was not an accident that Freud came to this conclusion, it happened through treatment of his clients. He discovered how the memory works. He considered that the neurotic clients suffer from the memories – they can’t express them, but they live them.

The case of Anna O. - to clean her memories, she felt that she had to share them with somebody.
Psychoanalysis works on memories.

There are periods in life when we need to forget. We have to forget, because we are not strong enough to deal with our experiences and memories.

In our early childhood, we have to learn a lot in a very short period – we start getting contact with different persons, we have to find our place in the family and we are not always treated carefully. Many people suffer a lot in this period. The best mother/father are not able to understand everything. Children have to cope with an experience of loneliness.

Kids forget very quickly. In fact, they seem to forget very quickly. This experience of pain, loneliness is repressed in a very early childhood. It live on it our unconsciousness. It can live until the moment that we are ready to cope with it.

One strategy to survive is not to think about what has given us pain – on the other hand we can not forget, it stays in our unconsciousness and lead us to strange actions.

Psychoanalysis says that we do forget, because we have so strong emotions that we can’t cope with them. We need somebody else to tell our story, we can’t live alone as human beings, we need other people.

Psychoanalysis was developed as a therapy for individuals, but it can be used to understand what is going on in the society – we as individuals constitute a community. Psychoanalysis was developed when there was a concentration on an individual, not at a groups.

What was experienced in Vienna in the XIX century?

There was a search for feeling of belonging. Everybody has to create their life on their own – we couldn’t take a profession form our parents. It is a very personal struggling.

The idea was to see in the psychotherapy, where the communication between the individuals can be improved.

If people are strong enough to express themselves, the wishes of the world they want to live in – things may change and improve.

We don’t live fully our life, because we don’t contribute enough to the world.

We need someone to tell our personal story and to say about the place where we live.

We live now in the world where so many people move from one country to the another. Feelings of loneliness and not belonging is becoming more and more in this world. Many people don’t know where their home is – one way to find it is to share memories, to share their stories.

The project in Bela Rechka: We have to find a new way to come together; we live in the time where there are no more bells to call us to meet.

We change with an every person we meet. We should follow our inner compass.

It’s difficult to express our feelings, not only  bad ones, but also  good ones – it is very difficult to show that we love somebody. We are often left alone in the groups that we function in.

We have to find a new home for us.
We can not take it for granted that there is a place for us.

In October, Raycho Stanev, designer with the New Culture Foundation team, received the Special Award of the Union of Bulgarian Artists for the graphic design on the project ‘The Bell of Bela Rechka’. The award was given during the first Biennale of Bulgarian Design in Sofia. www.design-biennial.com

In November, Beverly and Brendan from Laundry worked with a group of young cultural animators in Warsaw at the Institute of Polish Culture, Warsaw University. Twenty participants will be visiting England in March, half of the group will be working with the Creative Communities Unit at Staffordshire University, and half will be working on the Intercultural Dialogue project in Birmingham. These sessions were undertaken in preparation for their visit.

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From Warsaw, Brendan and Beverley went to Sejny for a partner meeting and to participate in a series of presentations from a range of organisations who had attended the New Agora Symposium. The main topic of discussion was how to develop a network of these groups and how they might take part in the Open Laboratory in Baku next year.

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And finally, here is a series of images from the Open Laboratory in Birmingham, the results of which were presented in Sejny.

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“Details of a Piazza” relates my first impressions from Italy - details of sounds and objects, this is actually what I perceived at first glance having arrived at the place. Everything had to happen really quickly; the challenge was to devise the project on the spot.

The installation resembles a game - eight sounds and eight pictures (all gathered from the square) as main elements which placed together structure a kaleidoscope. The viewer can discover his/her own impression with one move of the mouse which brings about а change in the main pictures, on the one hand, and in the sound, on the other hand.

The sound, to me, is something clear and simple. It has a universal language – everyone can understand it. The installation simply happens, I don’t think about it, I only listen and register the stories/emotions – feelings are universal, too. The sound is a way to reach the core and to play.

Raycho
See more at www.e-rayo.net/details

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Prior to finding a venue for the Open Laboratory sessions, we examined the content that we had gathered from a mix of people (of different age ranges) through specific workshops, discussions and informal chats in pubs, shops, buses and such like. These ‘interviews’ so to speak were designed to provoke a conversation rather than a straight response. This is not easily done. I found myself having to change my pitch and tone of voice to elicit conversations with strangers on a number of topics relating to diversity, sense of identity, community, migration and so on. My years of experience have taught me that people mostly talk openly and honestly when comfortable and, more importantly, when their opinions are expressed as they wish them to be. So one starting point of this project was to challenge ourselves as artists and examine our own assumptions about how we might create work in relation to this context of intercultural dialogue. (I am reminded of times when community artists stressed the importance of the process rather than the end product.)

It was advantageous for us to have a central location in Birmingham and after looking at a number of spaces; the Gallery at the Custard Factory seemed the most appropriate for its location and size. As part of the Open Laboratory we were hosting a group of Swedish artists (from Galleri 54 in Gothenburg), who were showing work and making new work in response to the space and locality. We had also arranged a series of open presentations by artists from Laundry, and other guests.

The ‘round table’ is a significant symbol in the project, as we wish to extend the art of conversation to individuals who work within particular social contexts, such as youth workers, policy makers, socially-engaged artists, and leaders from different faith groups.  A ‘round table’ would appear to be more inclusive rather than the oblong feature of that we are accustomed to seeing in many meeting/board rooms around which the usual banter that occurs is usually debate, discussion and decision making (DDD) and has a hierarchal (and often patriarchal) structure – the head of the table, the chair, the facilitator. For us, a round table is an open space, where dialogue develops – it is not guided (or forced down) a particular path. Instead, it is allowed to grow, to evolve.

For each ‘round table’ we invite a small group of people (5 or six) who do not know each other. The brief to the participants is deliberately vague; there is no agenda presented. The intention was begin a conversation, simply by getting to know each other, and then ask them to discuss the topic of intercultural dialogue. (This session was not facilitated by Brendan or Beverley.)  This ‘round table’ took place in the yurt installed in the gallery space. After a slow start, you could tell an animated conversation was well underway for over 2 hours.  The participants said they could have stayed for another 2 hrs and it had been an enjoyable experience. The conversation was recorded so that parts of it may be used in future ‘round tables’ or creative workshops. There will be other ‘round tables’ in other venues during the progress of the project, and we see this as an informal advisory group, whose documented discussions and comments will influence the progress of the project.

The event opened on Thursday and the space was open to the public through Sunday night. It attracted an audience of over 200 people – about a third of that audience known to us, and the others were mainly people who did not usually attend artistic events. We found that very few people came in response to any advance publicity - despite sending out over 400 print flyers and considerably more electronic flyers. Some of these people came from the flea market held regularly on the weekends at the Custard Factory.  However, this was a bonus as it enabled us to test our ideas out on a totally new (unknown) audience who had no preconception of what they had come to see – ‘I came in because it looked interesting,’ was a typical comment - and they engaged with the installation with fascination, curiosity and interest. This aided the art of conversation. The layout of the space, including placing a yurt as a central point of entry, lured people into the space and begin to converse with each other. Inside the yurt (on a small round table) were a series of envelopes, which contained a question that the audience member was invited to make a response to.  As they examined the existing comments and statements (74 of them, printed as A3 size) hung at head height, the boxes of words and tantalising word games, the environment encouraged conversations and dialogues. It was interesting to see the room go from response to conversation, especially on the chalked boards placed alongside one of the walls in the gallery space.

Galleri54 also created a live performance event, using text based on a response to the broadcast on a local radio station on the Thursday night (see banner image).

During the period of the event, the weather in Birmingham was horrendous and one does wonder if this had an impact on attendance.

From our perspective, the venue had some practical problems around lack of heating (in a spell of very cold weather) and competing events (a sound check in the courtyard outside which drowned out one presentation) which we were not made aware of at the time of booking, but having a large empty space to play with was useful in testing out some of our ideas for engaging with people. It helped us define a series of creative activities, which are both low-tec and easily transportable, and we will use again.

Using the wealth of responses and conversations, we took key elements of the installation to Poland, where we ran workshops at Warsaw University around the art of engaging and connecting with communities. We began these workshops with the conversations that we had captured from the Open Lab sessions. We then used these at the start of a formal presentation of Laundry to an group of with international practitioners in Sejny.

So, as I write, this process evolves and the conversation has begun. People do want to speak, they do want to ask, and providing the right environment is created we can learn and share this, and break down the vacuum of conversational oppression that has been created by political correctness. I remember one comment in particular: ‘in the UK we are now so afraid to offend anyone that we don’t say anything at all and we have created a culture of silence.’

(Big thanks to Geoff Broadway and Bobby Bird for assisting yurt installation!)

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Venue: Custard factory gallery, Gibb Square, Digbeth, Birmingham, B9 4AA

Download the promo leaflet (140k)

The Open Lab will profile Laundry projects and partnerships, both current and propositional. Open Lab events include:

Portable - G54@Custard Factory
Galleri 54 is a not-for-profit, artist-run gallery in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was founded in 1954 and since then, several generations of Swedish artists have been actively involved in running it. Portable presents artworks by nine individual artists who are actively working with the gallery and is a taster of what is happening in the Gothenburg arts scene. Laundry undertook an exchange with Galleri 54 last year.

Participating artists: Ann-Sofi Roxhage, Anita Paakonen Ahl, Paula Wallmark Nilsson, Helena Roos, Sara Lännerström, Stina Pettersson, Jonathan Jarl, Theo Ågren, Björn Hellström. The exhibition is supported by the Embassy of Sweden.

Opening Thursday November 6th @ 7.30 pm
Gallery space open: Friday November 7th, 2 pm - 8 pm
Saturday & Sunday November 8th - 9th, 12 noon - 5 pm

Laboratories of cross-cultural practices:
Start Talking - work in progress
This project is structured around three creative laboratories - in Birmingham and the Black Country, in Poland with the Borderland Foundation and in Bulgaria with the New Culture Foundation. Each laboratory is working with groups specific to their area and context, using a range of artistic media to explore the concept and reality of intercultural dialogue in their locality - where the issues are matters of memory, destruction of cultural heritage or environment, social and ethnic conflict, immigration and community building.

Brendan Jackson and Beverley Harvey are our lead artists on the project. As part of a training and mentoring programme, with support from Arts Council West Midlands, four local artists have been awarded bursaries to participate in elements of the project and the international exchanges: Jo Loki, Naz Koser, Simon Walker and Simret Cheema-Innis. During the weekend, Raycho Stanev from Bulgaria will also be presenting a sound piece.

Gallery space open:
Saturday November 8th 12 noon - 5 pm
Sunday November 9th 12 noon - 5 pm
OPEN LAB PRESENTATIONS

Saturday November 8th @ 5.30 pm
Interactive Installations: Gary Stewart

Born in Birmingham, Gary has been Head of Multimedia at Iniva (the Institute of International Visual Arts) in London since 1995, where he curates and implements Iniva’s digital programme – encompassing installations, exhibitions, public and online projects. His recent collaborations include Bitter thickest Blood with Trevor Mathison and Obinna Nwosu, Dubstep Chronicles part of the Massive Attack meltdown at the South Bank Centre, A Story Told with film maker Alia Syed, and Dread Sounds, with Duende and Birmingham Repertory Theatre. Gary will be sharing thoughts on building immersive environments in which stories can happen that are determined by peoples agency and intervention.
www.iniva.org

Sunday November 9th @ 5 pm
Art is my Business: Ania Bas

Ania is a collaborative artist, curator and developer of art projects. Her work explores areas of communication, instability and repetitiveness of everyday life, sustainability and community. Ania enjoys blurring the edges of what art is and can be, and who produces it. She often works in a business environment and has completed two large projects in this field - with Vestas Blades on the Isle of Wight and with Labein Tecnalia in Bilbao, Basque Country. She is going to talk about ways to get into this business. www.aniabas.com

Sunday November 9th @ 6 pm
Off the map - art in Nodar, Beirut, Alexandria: Alicja Rogalska

Alicja works with a variety of media including photography, installation, performance, text and video. Her projects are usually site-specific and process-based. She enjoys working in everyday situations and non-traditional contexts. Her practice often involves collaboration with other people, not necessarily artists, examining issues of identity of people and places, their perception and representation. She has a growing interest in the concept of middle-of-nowhereness and finds the idea of making art in Bishkek or Upernavik more exciting than New York or Berlin. With recent residencies in Portugal, Lebanon and Egypt, in her presentation she will reflect on the kinds of work undertaken in these diverse contexts. www.alicjarogalska.co.uk

Sunday November 9th @ 7 pm
Crossing Borders: Brendan Jackson

Drawing on his experience as an artist and developer of community arts programmes both locally and internationally, Brendan will talk about the organic development of creative collaborations; from the Balkans to Baku, a whistle-stop tour of intercultural dialogue, chance meetings, the Wonders of Warsaw and Kaunas, and maybe a few other places in-between. Some of his creative journeys can be found online at www.brendanjackson.co.uk or www.thevodkaproject.net

A background document - The Pedagogical Province of Bridge Builders - outlining the rational of the symposium can be downloaded here.

November 19 (Wednesday)
Arrival and accommodation of the participants at the RAC Wigry (’Wigry Monastery’)

November 20 (Thursday)
8.00-9.00 – breakfast
Transfer to Sejny by bus
10.00 – 12.00 Presentation of the Borderland of Arts, Cultures, and Nations Centre in Sejny
12.00 – 12.30 - coffee break
13.00 – 15.00 Transfer to Krasnogruda and presentation of the future International Dialogue Centre in Krasnogruda
15.00 – 16.00 – lunch
Afternoon: Discussion about current situation in Georgia
19.00. – Opening of the exhibit devoted to Georgia
Transfer to Wigry
21.00 – dinner

November 21 (Friday)
8.00-9.00 – breakfast
Transfer to Sejny by bus
10.00 – 12.00 - Symposium, session 1
12.00 – 12.30 – coffee break
12.30 – 14.30 - Symposium, session 2
15.00 – 16.00 – lunch
16.30-18.30 – Symposium, session 3
19.00. – Concert: ‘Vertical’ ensemble, Vilnius, Lithuania
Transfer to Wigry
21.00 – dinner

November 22 (Saturday)
8.00-9.00 – breakfast
Transfer to Sejny
10.00 – 12.00 - Symposium, session 4
12.00 – 12.30 – coffee break
12.30 – 14.30 - Symposium, session 5
15.00 – 16.00 – lunch
16.30-18.30 – Symposium, session 6
19.00. – Concert: ‘Bornus Consort’ ensemble, Poland
Transfer to Wigry
21.00 – dinner

November 23 (Sunday)
Departure of the participants

The venue of the symposium is White Synagogue building in Sejny, along with the Borderland Centre:
Borderland of Arts, Cultures, and Nations Centre in Sejny:
Piłsudskiego 37, 16-500 Sejny, Poland
www.pogranicze.sejny.pl

The participants are accommodated at: The Residential Arts Centre in Wigry:
16-412 Stary Folwark
Podlaskie Voivodship, Poland
e-mail: dom@wigry.org
www.wigry.org

The contact persons at the Borderland Foundation/Borderland Centre are:
Ksenija Konopek: ksenija@pogranicze.sejny.pl
Anna Wróbel: anna@pogranicze.sejny.pl
List of Participants
1.    Prof. Ejgidijus Aleksandravičius, historian, lecturer of the Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, Lithuania
2.    Leila Alijeva, Center for National and International Studies, Baku, Azerbaijan
3.    Natia Archuadze, teacher, founder of the youth initiative group ‘Tamarasheni’, Tbilisi, Georgia
4.    Mariana Assenova, journalist, Sofia, Bulgaria
5.    Lasha Bakradze, Georgian National Film Centre, Tbilisi, Georgia
6.    Chris Baldwin, founder and artistic director of the theatre project ‘Spiral’, La Rioja,  Spain
7.    Prof. Tadeusz Bartoś, philospher, teologian, publicist, lecturer at the Pultusk Academy of Humanities, Poland
8.    Edwin Bendyk, journalist and writer, columnist for the ‘Polityka’ magazine, Warsaw, Poland
9.    Piotr Bogalecki, Ph.D. candidate and instructor at the, Chair of Comparative Literature of the University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland
10.    Dr Elżbieta Chromiec, Lower Silesia University of Civil Service, Wrocław, Poland
11.    Krzysztof Czyżewski, Chairman of the Borderland Foundation, Sejny, Poland
12.    Olga Dorokhina, programme manager, South Caucasus Institute of Regional Security, Tbilisi, Georgia
13.    Marina Elbaqidze, psychologist, expert of the  Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development, Tbilisi, Georgia
14.    Dani Erice, director of the theatre project ‘Spiral’, La Rioja,  Spain
15.    Thea Galdava, project co-ordinator, Caucasian House NGO, Tbilisi, Georgia
16.    Łukasz Galusek, architect dealing with phenomenae of cultural space of the Central and Eastern Europe,  Poland
17.    Dr Grzegorz Godlewski, culturologist, lecturer at the Institute of Polish Culture of the University of Warsaw, Poland
18.    Prof. Aldona Jawłowska, sociologist, Institute of Applied Social Sciences, University of Warsaw, Poland
19.    Dr Monika Jaworska-Witkowska, Chair of the Philosophy of Education and Pedagogy of Culture, University of Bydgoszcz
20.    Levan Khetaguri, chairman of the Stichting Caucasus Foundation, rector of the Shota Rustaveli State University,Tbilisi, Georgia
21.    Dariusz Korbański, artist, lecturer at the Academy of Humanities and Journalism, Poznań, Poland
22.    Dr Małgorzata Litwinowicz-Droździel, culturologist, Institute of Polish Culture of the University of Warsaw, Poland
23.    Urszula Markowska-Manista, Katedra UNESCO im. Janusza Korczaka,  Academy of Special Education, Warsaw, Poland
24.    Prof. Juri Mgebriszwili, lecturer at the Department of Cultural Management of the Shota Rustaveli Theatre and Film University, coordinator of the Caucasian Arts Managers Network,  Tbilisi, Georgia
25.    Ashot Mirzoyan, Administrative Manager, City Research Center NGO, Gyumri, Armenia
26.    Huso Oručević, Youth Cultural Centre ‘Abrašević’ Mostar, Bośnia
27.    Attila Pato, philosopher, editor of ‘Ex Symposion’ magazine, lecturer at the University of Szeged, Hungary
28.    Giorgi Pkhakadze, Dean of the Department of Management of the Shota Rustaveli Theatre and Film University, Tbilisi, Georgia
29.    Rasa Rimickaite, translator, Warsaw, Poland
30.    Beata Samojłowicz, head of the Borussia Cultural Community Association, Olsztyn, Poland
31.    Dr Dorota Sieroń-Galusek, Department of Ethnology and Educational Sciences, University of Silesia, Cieszyn, Poland
32.    Tadeusz Sławek, Professor of comparative literature at the University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland
33.    Dick Terdiman, Professor of Literature and the History of Consciousness at the University of California, Santa Cruz, US
34.    Prof. Lech Witkowski, philosopher, pedagogue, Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland
35.    Prof. Cezary Wodziński, philosopher, historian of ideas, translator; Institute of Applied Psychology of the Jagiellonian University in Cracow/Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Science, Poland
36.    Renata Wojciechowska, student of the Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania
37.    Prof. Anna Wyka, head of the specialisation of Cultural Anthropology at the Chair of Sociology of Collegium Civitas, Warsaw, Poland

Good to see you again or hear you again or read you again.

I remember the days when we worked together with Diana at the Radio Free Europe years ago as a democracy fighters:-) Those days I have started to make a great friendship with Diana as two Balkanians who are coming from neighbouring countries, which makes us Komshu (Neighbours). We have a saying in Turkish “don’t pay so much attention to buy a house but gain good neighbour”. She is my very good neighbour with all the love she and her friends are always so generous to share with me.

I also remember when she first told me her future project which would take place in her mother village. I still feel same excitement what I felt when I listened her future project. She quit her job at the radio and moved to Bulgaria to reach for her dream. She reached her dream and named it Goat Milk Festival..

The Goat Milk festival gave me huge inspiration that, with love and honesty, good things can be done together no matter where we come from or which cultures -because when I listen to people’s individual stories who live in Bela Rechka or come to the Festival I can feel the goodness which is existing in each person. Actually this is the best way to understand different cultures than watching movies or reading official history books. When people tell their own stories with their past then we can really understand what is to be Bulgarian or Turk or English or Polish or Pomak. Unfortunately we are forced by the state to obey official histories that are usually full with the lies or they are stories of the big commanders or kings. There is no real people’s stories in them.

The Goat Milk Festival also is the festival which gave me and reminded me of the beautiful taste of my grandmother’s childhood stories. I was able to travel and meet with new places and cultures in my imagination without any hate or prejudice or fears in her stories.

I always heard from her stories how it is important to have a good neighbours because her Bulgarian neighbours saved the her families life during their escape to Turkey after the second Balkanian war. Her stories were mostly about their life experience or neighbour’s life.
The real stories of the real people, like the people who gather in Goat Milk Festival with their personal stories in every years festival.

Personal stories became events and projects then these events brings happiness to the people’s heart during the Festival.

That’s what I can say and write about Goat Milk.

Again I thank you very much to the all people who makes possible the Goat Milk Festival.

A.Murat Yilmam, Bursa, Turkey

A project of this nature that seeks to develop a new creative model of practice, to bring different communities together (some who may be in conflict with each other), enabling the possibility to enter into a productive conversation rather than debate will be a challenge.

Nevertheless we have experienced, albeit on a small scale, that this is indeed possible, and we now wish to expand upon this unique process to involve a much larger network of people and bring current contentious issues to the forefront through a creative conversation.

Material will be uploaded onto the website, whereby visitors to the site will be able to see a step-by-step account of the project’s development. We will highlight the successes as well as the difficulties, capturing reasons and decisions that have lead to the solutions in shaping the project as it unfolds.

It all started with my cousin from Vurshets. I remember her enthusiasm three years ago as she was about to leave for Italy. And I remember what she said when she returned home a year later: “I would never ever go back”. She had had two successive jobs: taking care of an old man and later a woman in the south of Italy. She’d lost weight. She had been through a traumatic experience: her father had died and she hadn’t been able to go back for the funeral.

Vurshets is a small spa town of seven thousand in northwestern Bulgaria, 85 km from Sofia. Despite its recently restored early 20th c. mineral baths, the town has a high unemployment rate. A caustic (and probably exaggerated) internet opinion I recently read claims that what makes this resort distinctive is that “no Bulgarian celebrity has ever been spotted visiting.”

From my frequent visits to the region I know that Vurshets lives two parallel lives. Its men and children stay home, while the women travel to work in Italy. Almost every woman in town has either already worked in Italy or is making plans to do so. Some have not been home for years. They all work as badante - the new profession for women from the East, as I am to learn - care workers privately hired to look after the elderly.

When I speak to people in Vurshets about the women who work in Italy, I sometimes hear envy in their voices. I am told that some of the women return from Italy “covered with gold” and like to show off, parading up and down the main street. Everyone seems to be attracted to this job - “you make 500 (Euro) plus a month, you eat and sleep with the person you are looking after, and you are able to save - there is nothing to spend your money on.” Badante is currently the top bread-winning job in Vurshets and the secret behind extensive house renovations over the summer.

A few questions keep crossing my mind. Why is it the women who go on gurbet while the men stay at home, what has reversed the old patriarchal model? Are there really so many old people in Italy to look after? How do these women find themselves a job without knowing the language? How do they deal with the psychological pressures of this job? What happens to their families back home?

I pack quickly and I am ready to go. I’ve got two addresses. My cousin has spoken to a friend who is looking after an old woman near Ponsacco, Tuscany. The woman’s house is big and she has agreed to put me up for a night. Before that I will stay with Svetla, another Bulgarian in Ponsacco who rents out rooms for 10 Euro per night. I take a minibus. It’s the driver, me and another six women, all in their fifties and sixties, returning to their jobs in Italy. The square in front of Sofia’s Central Railway Station is heaving with buses, cars and minibuses, all of them bearing ‘Italy’ signs.

The stories I hear on the road are many and varied. It was all once illegal. From border crossing to actually getting a job. There are several Bulgarians in Rome who rent out rooms and serve as middlemen, a service for which you pay around 500 Euro. Now that Bulgaria is in the EU, more and more women are acquiring legal status and are able to get social security and benefits such as a 13th month salary and paid leave. They are also free to look for employment on their own, if they like. Bulgaria’s EU membership has given them more independence. Everybody is pleased with the EU (I’ve never seen a more Euro-optimistic group).

By 1 a.m. we reach Ponsacco, a small sleepy town the size of Vurshets, not far from Pisa. None of the women I meet in here thinks of her work as badante as hard work. “It’s hard for them (the Italians), not for us. They don’t know what hard work is. I want to see them work a two-decare field of corn, the way I used to.” For many, taking care of an ailing elderly person was part of their responsibilities at home. The only difference here is that they get paid for it. No one thinks of it as hard work…. especially after they’ve worked hard, physical jobs in Cyprus or Greece, or poorly-paid ones in Bulgaria.

Yet most of the women I talk too are categorical that once they learn the language and sort out their papers they are going to look for another job - in a bar, cleaning part-time or something else. One of the things they didn’t think about before they came here is that this kind of work builds up psychological tension that needs to be addressed.

Something that came as an even greater surprise is that they encountered loneliness - the loneliness of someone who is confined to one space for 24 hours a day. It’s a new, unfamiliar experience for all of them; their previous lives were lived in the company of husbands, children, family, friends and colleagues.

Some of the women have divorced their husbands back in Bulgaria; others maintain parallel lives. They keep sending money home to support their families and they spend short periods of time with their husbands and children during the summer. After which they return to their new lives.

None of these women think that it’s strange for them to be here, abroad, working, and that their men and children are not with them. They explain it away in economic terms. “It’s very hard for men to find work here. No one is going to hire a man as a care worker and, without language and a permesso (work permit), other jobs are impossible to find.” All of the women support their families at home, including those who have started new relationships in Italy. Of the ten I speak to, there is hardly one who hasn’t experienced a change in her family life.

One of the days I wake up to the bell of the Ponsacco church. There is a funeral. I later take a walk around the piazza, where Ponsacco’s old men spend their days sitting and chatting. I don’t know if I was aware of it there, but I later realise how much suffering and death there is in the working lives of Bulgarian women as badante. Almost all of them have been through a death already. A 26-year old woman has experienced it twice - people dying in her hands. To be taking care of foreigners in their final years, to be surrounded by dying people - it can’t be easy, I find myself thinking. At the same time, I try imagining it from the point of view of the old Italian people: it can’t be any easier to allow a foreigner so closely in your world in the final years of your life, before death. It’s an exchange of suffering suffused with an intimacy I am unfamiliar with - something deeper and more important than meets the eye. True intercultural dialogue - the subject of so much talk across Europe - is under way in these lonely moments shared by two people from two different worlds. It’s a quiet, gentle, imperceptible kind of process: one of these two worlds, the more affluent, is outsourcing its suffering; the other, the world I come from, is accepting to service this suffering with lightness and a certain dose of naivete.

I try to obtain statistics about the number of Bulgarian women working in Italy but without luck. Those that are legal are still very much in the minority; a lot depends on the initiative of individual Italian employers. What I do know is that most of the women from northwestern Bulgaria end up in Tuscany.

I wonder about the consequences of this type of emigration on Bulgaria. It seems to me that there are at least two scenarios. A positive one is that through the experience of these women we are going to turn our eyes on the pain and suffering many Bulgarians are experiencing at home. A new understanding of psychic health may arise, a new understanding of what it means to provide adequate care. But someone - here in Bulgaria - must help these women talk about their experiences and their feelings when, or, perhaps more appropriately, if they return. Otherwise, the population drain will continue, possibly accompanied by new psychological problems and illnesses.

In the end, I think that what is happening to these women is the best that can happen. Each of them is implementing her own version of Virginia Woolf’s notion of creativity - a steady income and a room of her own.

Diana Ivanova is a freelance journalist and cultural manager. She received Austria Presse Agentur’s journalism award for “Writing on Central and Eastern Europe” in 2005.

This article originally appeared in Bulgarian in Capital
on 8 February 2008 and can also be found online at http://www.signandsight.com/features/1675.html

Read on or download the text amateurethos.pdf

We are living in a world where the word ‘professionalism’ is steadily gaining in importance. The necessity of professional work and professional attitude presses us almost palpably. On the other hand, the word ‘amateurism’ is always associated with all the worst - lack of competence, of seriousness, of quality, etc. But it seems that it is particularly important to promote the ethos of amateurism in our times. I understand that this may only concern a small circle of people, but I think that it is here, in Czarna Dąbrówka – this special place in Poland where practitioners of an alternative culture from different countries used to encounter - where I can be understood.

The amateur that I would like to support here is not one of the extremes of the opposition: ‘professional - amateur’, ‘certified - uncertified’, ‘institutional - uninstitutional’. That would be too simple. If it is a must to call for such a differentiation, I would like to point to something more universal. Among all thinkable walks of life there are two distinctly recognisable ones: that of a possessor, a man at work, equipped with skills lifting him up the social and financial ladder on one the hand, and that of a vagabond, pilgrim, poet, chanter, minstrel, holy man on the other. From time immemorial a man has had a choice between two paths in his search of the truth: the path of painstakingly punctilious studies, acquisition of artistry and expertise, and the path of intuition, disinterestedness, spontaneity, and effort. And although the paths are not mutually exclusive, and many good qualities that one attitude will appreciate, can be respected by the other, for example an open heart, it is the escalation of feelings that is decisive here, that can exceed a certain level.

Legend has it that while filling up human vessels with life, God filled some of them with several drops of love beyond capacity. I do not know whether he did it out of a momentary lack of caution, or it was his well-thought-out intention. All in all that has resulted in several people wandering around the world and being unable to find home. It is impossible to teach them rationality and effectiveness. They are unruly with respect to existing borders, norms and codes, and they stick to madness, deprived of a sense of belonging. They are troublesome. Sometimes there is an open conflict on a large scale, as in the Middle Ages when that stiff shell of the institutionalised Church was upset by the Franciscan element. Or in the Jewish tradition in 18th century when the community of rabbis and teachers of the law, deeply absorbed in studying the Torah and observing all those obligations and restrictions, was invaded by a spinning disc of Chasidism.

The power of such a disc is spontaneous, irrational, as a flash of a spark. That is why in this world it lends so poor a foundation to erect anything on it. That is why it will surely yield to the those who rule here, who build houses and republics and who deem the very idea utopian. And even if the power of this spinning disc finds here its way, reaches power and gets institutionalised, it will soon die out and transform into its own grotesque imitation.

Sometimes the community marginalises and persecutes those whose energy feeds the movement of the spinning disc; they are misunderstood and there is then no will to understand them. In such an event the power may destroy the community. A conviction will grow stronger that it is only danger that could be expected from it. Well, it was Plato himself who wanted to drive out poets from his Republic. For many times the rulers of the 20th century have proved to be afraid of the power of a poet and they resorted to ultimate measures: Gumilow, Mandelstam, Lorca were all murdered , Brodsky, as a parasitic individual in the community, was sent to a forced labour camp. Such examples could be multiplied.

But the wisdom of a community is measured against the extent of its ability to domesticate such people, to understand them and appreciate their message, to find a place for them in its own structure and abstain from changing them in the name of its own self-love, on the contrary, to protect their otherness in the name of common good. There were many cases, weren’t there?, when the very existence of a poet, chanter, jester, or yurodivyi, not only presented no danger to a community, but also protected it.

Thus, maybe it is among those people you can find individuals who have the name ‘amateur’ inscribed somewhere deep inside. But it is too big a generalisation, and it is not enough. That would again be too simple. I have taken another track that, as I noted earlier - seems to be more actual than the opposition of ‘professional - amateur’ and that introduces us to more interesting a context, but we should again try to abandon it. Because I do not want to isolate a specific figure, who could be identified with the amateur; what I want is to follow a specific path of experience and research resulting in a significant presence in the world and a significant fashion of evaluating. I would like to ask about it and refer to various examples.

Maybe the amateur is part of us, of each and every one of us, that breathes, fights for self-expression, existence, that drives us or is suppressed by us, that should be protected and remembered? That is why I would like to talk about the ethos of amateurism, but not about the amateur himself, who is historically dependent and mythologically confined, for example to the myth of a vagabond or minstrel. I intuitively feel we should free ourselves from that kind of images. I want to stress that point, for we are generally not free from the rule of various myths, but I would like to protect my amateur against it. On the other hand, it is worthwhile to talk about the ethos of amateurism as specifically as possible, even if words did not come easy - I feel that we still know little about this problem. And even those who act in the territory of the ethos, do not fully know its boundaries, do not know how to protect it, and when they happen to betray it.

Ethos in the Greek tradition defined life in accordance with the morals, it was certain existence in the world. And somewhere at the beginning of this tradition ethos was identified with daimonion. It was Heraclitus to say that the ethos of a man is his daimonion. The daimonion is supernatural existence within a man, his inner voice that resounds in him from birthday. The Greek happiness - eudaimonia - literally means ‘to have a good daemon’, to be more specific - to recognise one’s daimonion, and to know how to call him. Thus, happiness means to be able to recognise one’s daimonion. This is the very understanding of ethos I would like to refer to. I do not mean acquisition of skills to live in accordance with the morals, with a certain acquired ethics of a community, of a culture, but the inner voice existing in a man from birthday.

The amateur - the one guided by his heart - who would not want to endorse this meaning of the word? But does it mean anything today? And what is its relation to what is amateur, to our private life, to specific artistic work that is here of particular interest to us?

The truth is that in relation to quite a number of people such attitude is full of vigour and creative when they are young. It is then easier to be adopted, and to be defended. Those groups who emerge in the context of the ethos of amateurism, are doing far better at the beginning, when they are building, when their youth powers are with them. And then a very difficult period comes, when they are older, experienced, and when the powers coming from practising the ethos are very scarce. They reach a line beyond which there is helplessness and incapacity.

That can be connected with the age of a group or a particular person, but not necessarily. And at this point culture - to use an official name - starts to seduce them and they cannot resist it. A man balancing at such a threshold is unable to refute the arguments of those whose foundation is the official culture, their profession, of those whose social and material situation is clear. Such a man feels endangered. Eventually he often accepts a compromise. Some say - maturity, not compromise; another confrontation of childhood dreams with day-to-day reality, maturity and social duties. He gradually accepts those arguments, he has got well-grounded justifications at hand, and he is imperceptibly leaving his place and cannot hear that sigh of relief that those who have seduced him produce; the relief that they feel whenever another one has joined them and in doing so he proves that it is the way it should be, and that there is no other way.
The question that continuously haunts me is how to resist to this doubtlessly stronger opponent. In other words: how to survive with the ethos of amateurism throughout the whole life, and not only until maturity? Where to take strength from in that sense of belonging to nowhere?

In his tale entitled “Knulp”, Hermann Hesse relates a story of a vagabond from Schwarzwald, who as a very talented, intelligent and comely man spent his all life on roaming the country without achieving anything material and thwarted all hopes that anyone may have put in him. Towards the end of his life, Knulp runs into a stonemason, his former fellow-vagabond, who now owns material property, a family and every night goes to bed in his own room. And this is what the stonemason said: “Look, Knulp… You could have got more than wandering and poverty throughout your whole life. You have gone to waste. You know, I am not a scholar, but I believe the Bible (…). You will have to excuse yourself, you will not just get away with that. You had been entrusted with far more than others and you have squandered everything.” And later the voice-Hesse and God himself answers in these words: “Despite his being ill and tired he was keeping his eyes open, his nostrils moving vigilantly. (…) Wandering aimlessly he could only now see every hollow on his path, every change of winds, every track of game (…). He was not scared at all; he knew that God could do us nothing (…) Listen - said God - I needed you the way you are. You have been wandering in my name and giving the settlers longing for freedom.”

Everyone who has even had little experience with the ethos of amateurism, gets the stigma of social duty, feels hard pressed to work for benefits, and material gains. Each and every amateur feels the stigma. Hesse’s point is quite inconspicuous here, it seems improbable for this magnitude of social reason and logic to be balanced with something so petty and simple; for the point is not to excuse oneself before the people, the point is to hear the inner voice that gives us our place in the world. God needs us the way we are. But it is not easy to raise to the occasion, this task often runs counter to the image the people have about our behaviour. That is why the ethos of amateurism - like it or not - often becomes the ethos of fighting with the blackmail of social acceptance.

With no doubt in the heart of this conflict there is the question of work, various attitudes towards it, and various understandings of the word. It might seem that it is as simple as this: you either work or not, you either learn and do something or day-dream, in other words: you are either a professional or an amateur. For it is a universal opinion that an amateur is somebody who does not work as he should.

But let us look at what is going on around us, at artistic work, from the amateur point of view. I am sorry to simplify or… exaggerate a bit but this is to present a sharp picture. The amateur perceives a big race, he can see stressed-out people who impatiently gain consecutive levels of professional skill, who are technically more and more efficient, but tired of competitions and ambitions, hungry for prizes, looking for cunning advice on how to play the game. The more tired they are and the faster the machine is, the deeper aversion they have to those who do not participate in the race, and the greater superiority they demonstrate over them. And they can only find two explanations for that: they either do not feel like it or cannot do it.

But the amateur has his doubts. He feels there is something dear he would like to get, but it is not mastery. He does not trust that vector of work either, it will probably not lead him to the longed-for place. His travel has taught him that you cannot look straight at a tree if you want to see it. His presence in the world is that of a watcher who tries not to frighten game away. He is surprised at the hubbub people make because of artistic work. Work - he used to repeat to himself - is like rain, which quietly penetrates life, it is transparent and it does not like being talked about too much, being universalised, because if it is, it will become impenetrable for the searcher.

Sometimes the amateur produces a superb thing, which, naturally, does not mean he is able to repeat it. He might have problems with that. “He is not the owner of any lock - wrote Marina Tsvetaeva. And that is why he opens all locks. And he opens every lock instantly, that is why he will never open the same lock again. He is not the owner of the mystery, he is a passer-by.”

I do not know if Boryska, one of the main characters of Andrei Tarkovsky’s film “Rublow”, would once again be able to find proper clay to make a bell, and to faultlessly mix necessary components of the alloy. Boryska’s story is one of the most beautiful stories about the ethos of amateurism I know. The prince made him the builder of the bell only because they believed that Boryska’s father handed down to him the mystery of bell-making before he died, which he did not. He was not the owner of the mystery. Knowing nothing, guided by his heart, he led the elders, each of whom was a master of his trade, but none of them could excavate a bell from under the earth, rough matter, and make it sound clearly. The crazy boy has got nothing in common with his co-workers: he digs the pit himself which a professional bell-founder would never do, he has not got their peace and surety but he is unusually open, and he provides the world with this openness, he risks his life, he yields to different time that forces him to wait and abstain from acting when work should be being done, he is also different from them in that he does not get the earthly benefits from his work, he does not go for his prize to the prince. What they understand as happiness, he perceives as unhappiness. He struggles through the mob in the opposite direction to get where Andrei Rublow is waiting for him, a silent master who has lost his faith, and his creativity. Rublow needs Boryska, he needs his heart to pick up the brush again. His hand, be it technically proficient, is nothing without a spark. Tarkowsky lights on this black and grey film to shine all colours of Rublow’s icons.

The virtue of waiting, in defiance of all logic, transports the amateur to another time, it transports him to other hands. It is true he is then unbearable, and makes you furious; as masters were because of Boryska. No one knows why he is waiting, and what he wants, as one caddik from Przysucha used to do, when he never started the prayer on time and continuously waited for something, although the faithful always waited for him in the synagogue. And Stalker, the protagonist of a film by Tarkovsky - whom did he listened to, or what made him choose the path he chose, through the zone, in that particular moment and in the way he did it?

That can make people furious, and that does so, they often shrug their shoulders. But it is not what the amateur is afraid of most. Let me quote Tsvetaeva once again: “Do not be afraid of the notebook with crossed out parts, not of a blank page, but be afraid of your own and wilful page.”

There are many more situations in which the amateur with his way of acting and evaluating is unpleasant to people, when he is unfair, intolerant, when he causes annoyance and disgust. For example, it is difficult to make him get to like well-made things, products of perfect skill. Sometimes when he looks at them he - what a shame - surrenders to boredom and stubbornly looks for a flaw in something that does its best to eliminate errors and weaknesses. What is more, among those things he - bastard! - sometimes finds the worst, clumsiest, poorest one. And even an expert will not do - he will not understand its poor quality, its clumsiness, its relative badness… With his all heart he will be defending something that an expert would not even take a look at.

The same applies to history, for whose appreciation and gratefulness so many people look. The amateur can hardly see it, disregards it and evaluates it in a completely different way. In that he resembles a mother - whenever the world presents happiness to her son, she sees unhappiness. But can the world love her son? Has the world got a heart?

However critically you could evaluate those disadvantages of the amateur, you must admit it is those disadvantages that make it difficult for him to participate in the great race in the field of artistic activity, although he may want to take part in it. But his departure has its own consequences.

Do try not to work and see if inactivity is as simple as that. For some time the very inactivity may be an essential problem in itself: do nothing. Just now, when the pressures of ambition, of competition and of material gain are so strong, just now try and to the question what do you do?, answer this: nothing; what are you working on?, nothing; what can you do? nothing. The point is you should ask yourself a right question. Whom will I be when I give everything out, when I have got nothing? when I am not able to do anything? and I gain nothing? Am I still existent? Have I got my own name?

At such moment the amateur charges his batteries. You can punctiliously work for many years, you can learn a lot and gain a lot, but the moment in life will come when you will have to give it all up, when you will have to give it away for free. And then, if you are still on your feet, if they still remember your name, that may mean that for all those years you have been working on something completely different, on something incomparably more powerful than any earthly skill or possession.

The title of our meeting in Czarna Dabrówka contains the word ‘theatre’, but actually I cannot see a single actor, set designer or director among us, in the sense of a name in life. I think that even if he wanted to adopt that kind of point of view, in other words to identify with any of those terms, the amateur would always suffer a defeat. Because even if he intensely practised for all his life, attained thorough mastery and were able to compete with best professionals, and even if history confirmed his achievements, his life would remain unfulfilled for him and for his inner voice.

I do not know why this is so. Maybe his longing is too strong? Maybe the tale about the human vessels overflowed with love by God is not completely fictitious? All in all it is somewhere else that the amateur must look for his name, for his mystery. There are many trails around. I would like to draw your attention to that which inseparably connects the amateur’s creative work with his life ethos and its continuous presence in his life.

You cannot conceal or isolate anything here. The amateur would never be able to identify with his skill, no matter how perfect it is. Any cover of forms or skills immediately gets transparent. If there is something wrong with his life ethos, you will always see that through the most perfect act or technical skill. That’s his actual curse.

We have all come across fare dodgers in our lives. There are people who can be fare dodgers and who almost always manage to steal a ride. There are also other people who will never manage to do so, because at their first attempt a ticket inspector will turn up and fine them. Those are amateurs. They will never manage to steal a ride.

Maybe some of the listeners of my story have come to a conclusion that they should stop working, disregard skill, throw away books, do not pay attention to accusations of the community, and all arguments of those who attack us for our amateurism, but that would be… a disaster. Believe me, there are numbers and numbers of examples of degradation among amateur circles, which are full of cheap spontaneity, warm self-satisfaction, glad layabouts, intellectual infantilism, where you can buy all this alternative trend for nothing.

But following this trail I could also defend the ethos of amateurism. Let me elect a different set of arguments - I am aware of the point in time we are meeting in. I can imagine a different moment in time, when I would talk about intensive technical work, about gaining professional skills, about the pursuit of excellence. But today these words are deprived of their former magnitude, they have surrendered to the unifying and conquering powers of the world, which as an addiction provide pleasure, suck out arduous work of people, and then throw away empty vessels. Work is done in stress and with great intensity, at the end of our tether, but the work’s energy consumes itself. Something has been forgotten like a buried well in our yard. This something steals peacefulness from them, Vagabonds of the East. At sunrise they will get up to work again. For the dead point must be reached by two arrows to revive: the first arrow is the one of belonging to nowhere, refusal; the other arrow must authenticate the first one. This is as Alexander Wat wrote in his poem entitled “Hölderlin”: ‘to authenticate one’s belonging to nowhere”.

Only now has the other side of my story uncovered, the side of undivided attention, of that effort to certify, of ultimate consistency of one’s actions. And this is the most arduous work. “Victorious refusal” - Tsvetaeva again. I cannot say much more about the other side, but I think there is no need, though. Hesse told us a lot about it in his story about Knulp. This is the simplest thing, the simplest ritual - hearing one’s inner voice, freed of all ideologies, open to the space of mystery.

Let me finish with a certain disturbing anecdote from “Parallel Lives” by Plutarch, which is still another attempt to get to the heart of the ethos of amateurism: “When they told Antisthenes that Ismenias is a master flutist, he rightly responded: ‘So, he is no good for anything else, for if he were, he would not play that good.’”

Translated by Tomasz Wyszkowski

In spite that the term ‘intercultural dialogue’ is invoked today so often, it is used in many different contexts and, as a consequence, its meaning varies. What is worse, the term has recently acquired a nature of a word-emblem, meaning everything and nothing at the same time. I would like to share some of my reflections in order to define the way how the notion of intercultural dialogue can be understood from a practitioner’s point of view…

Intercultural dialogue
means a program of educational and artistic nature, implemented in a particular community and in a particular place. It is directed to inhabitants of multi-cultural cities andregions, where the people of different nationalities and religions live side by side. The program can also focus on the areas which arecurrently inhabited mostly by only one dominant group, but with the rich traditions of cultural diversity, which still consist an important element of local memory and identity.

Intercultural dialogue
means a practice of ethos of tolerance in the sphere of daily life. Arts and education constitutes a vehicle that makes this practice possible. And for this, a workshop, craft, and a long-term perspective are required.

Intercultural dialogue
strives to answer the question how the tradition of cultures’ co-existence, which for ages has been crucial for development and level of civilization of such regions, can be put in a contemporary context, and how this potential can be revitalized and used to build open societies.

Intercultural dialogue
can be accomplished only as a long-term activity. That is why it looks for some long duration forms. The events that happen only once (like for example an exhibition, a festival, or a seminar) are treated only as stages of the process, which is conceived on a wider scale.

Intercultural dialogue
is directed to various social groups. It is not directed to national minorities only. Instead, it strives to perceive a community as a whole, crossed within with some borders and divisions which need bridges to be built between. The young generation is a special target group for the program. It is somewhat like training a sense of harmony during the musical education: the earlier the training begins, the better.

Intercultural dialogue
serves social integration. It is not an assimilation program. Cultural differences (that is language, religion, customs etc.) are favorable for the dialogue. It can be helpful in cultivating and preserving them, by means of the art practices. But it does not stop at the differences. It initiates dialogue, co-operation and interaction. It reinvents the agora for the society– a place for meetings and civic identity.

Intercultural dialogue
is needed for all the places which have experienced wars among the neighbors and ideologies hostile to ‘the other.’ But it is not a conflict resolution program. Activities based on education and arts provide for recalling the positive tradition of common cultural heritage. In this sense, the program can have some preventive and therapeutic impact.

Intercultural dialogue
is a participation program. It seeks such forms that would enable the largest possible part of a community to participate in creative process, to find analogies with individuals’ personal life experiences and vicissitudes, and to involve in shaping the content of the program.

Intercultural dialogue
can be a regional (designed, for example, for the Caucasus) or an international program. It is important, however, that the activities should be related to the ‘organic work,’ carried on every day basis, for a particular community and in a particular place.

Intercultural dialogue
should be rooted in, and develop from this particular place and community, within the pale of which it is implemented. It is important for this, what we call the ethos of tolerance and the richness of civilization, to be imbibed with the local tradition, so they could be recognized as a value deriving from the local wisdom. This is not in conflict with universality, which is an important aspect of the program too. It just means discovering an universal dimension in locality. Thus, the program is even closer connected to the people and place, which it has as its objects.

Intercultural dialogue
tends to activities of an interdisciplinary and comprehensive kind, by which the new models aimed at social change and development can be worked out. The most favorable institutions for implementing the program would be Centers for Intercultural Dialogue, launched especially for this particular goal and specialized in a long-term work in this field. It is not excluded, however, that the program could be successfully carried on by other institutions like for example, museums, culture centers, theatres, schools, or NGOs.

Intercultural dialogue
is also a kind of craft that should be learned and studied for years. For this reason, the program includes educating the culture animators. This would be a new opportunity for individuals who are pedagogues or artists with a passion for community engagement, but often remain in the background of the general social change process and fail to find their place in it. The result is that the general cultural activity is not of such significance for the society rebuilding like it could be, if we take into account how powerful potential it has, and how important for people their cultural identity is.

Intercultural dialogue
is based on three pillar-notions which determine the dialogue practice: active culture (there is no scene, on which ‘a performer’ is presenting something to the others, but one creative process based on participation), Buildung (’organic’ work on the grassroots level) and long duree (long-duration process, arranged for long period of time).

The Age of Global Dialogue Download pdf

The Dialogue Decalogue:
Ground Rules for Interreligious, Interideological Dialogue Download pdf

The Cosmic Dance of Dialogue:
Dialogue of the Head, of the Hands, of the Heart Download pdf

The image above shows Vijecnica in Sarajevo, where Bosnia’s National and University Library was housed. The library held an estimated 1.5 million volumes, among them 155,000 rare books, unique archival collections, 478 manuscripts, the national collection of record of all the books, newspapers and magazines published in Bosnia since the 19th century, books published abroad about Bosnia’s history and culture, as well as the central research collections of the University of Sarajevo. In diverse languages from Persian to Arabic to Croatian, the multi-ethnic history of Sarajevo and Yugoslavia had been carefully catalogued and stored on the shelves. In August 1992 it was bombarded with incendiaries from Serbian nationalist positions across the river. The library burned for three days and the building was completely gutted, with more than 90% of its irreplaceable contents reduced to ashes. The result is what a Council of Europe report called “a cultural catastrophe.”

Dr. Kemal Bakarsic, librarian of Bosnia’s National Museum, described the burning of Library as thus: “All over the city sheets of burned paper, fragile pages of gray ashes, floated down like a dirty black snow. Catching a page you could feel its heat, and for a moment read a fragment of text in a strange kind of black and gray negative, until, as the heat dissipated, the page melted to dust in your hand.”

In a process of slow restoration, today the building is little more than an empty shell. The burning of books and the destruction of cultural artefacts and symbols represent the failure of dialogue. The opening event of the New Agora Symposium in 2006, organised by the Borderland Foundation, was held in Vijecnica with keynote addresses from Dr Mustafa Ceric, the Grand Mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Leonard Swidler, Professor of Catholic Thought and Inter-religious Dialogue at Temple University, New York.

The Symposium brought together a diverse group of cultural practitioners, artists, writers, workers in community development and conflict resolution, journalists and media workers. It was from this gathering that a group emerged to work together on this intercultural dialogue project and develop these laboratories of cross-cultural practice.

Brendan Jackson is an artist working with Laundry
www.brendanjackson.co.uk

Selection takes place in late August. Details can be downloaded here. laundrybursary.pdf

This was the fifth Goatmilk festival. This is how the organisers describe the event: ” It is, most of all, a meeting place… And an event that tries to put the questions about personal memories and collective memory (a ”high voltage” question in our society) in a new perspective and environment - offering at one hand the relaxed ambiance of one authentic Bulgarian Balkan village like Bela Rechka with its hospitality, goat milk and walnut trees and, on the other hand, innovative and new approaches from the European debates and art world in the field of memories, identity and new culture.”

We counted 15 different nationalities attending the workshops and events along with the local residents. Here is the programme for the festival and a gallery of images.

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23.05.08
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11-16.00
Wonders of Bela Rechka - workshop with guests and kids –
Brendan Jackson and Paulina Paga, Laundry (Birmingham, UK)

13-15.00
Belly dancing workshop –Adem Murat (Turkey)

17.00

Exhibition PLACES AND SOUNDS WE LIVE WITH – photos of children from Zanozhene, workshop done by Maria Dzelebova.
Stories with bells – reading the best stories from the contest of New Culture foundation (presented by Nikolaj Bojkov, writer and Manol Peykov, publisher)

18.00
360 degrees Bulgaria – memories from above, Alexander Ivanov is photographing Bulgaria from the sky (presented by Radmila Mladenova)

19.00
Turlak songs – traditional songs from North-western Bulgaria
Group from Montana language school

20.30
Film screening: Alphabet of hope by Stefan Komandarev (Bulgaria)
Conversation with the author

22.00
Jazz with Mirsolava Katzarova

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24.05.08
—————-
11-13.00
Wonders of Bela Rechka - workshop with guests and kids –
Brendan Jackson and Paulina Paga, Laundry (Birmingham, UK)

11-13.00
Belly dancing workshop –Adem Murat (Turkey)

A New Bulgarian Souvenir - Bulgaria – workshop with Sariev gallery – Plovdiv and New Culture Foundation. What is your favourite souvenir? Do you want to make a souvenir of Bela Rechka? Come and work with local materials and excellent tutors (V.Sarieva, Zv.Alexieva, G.Ivanova)

12.00
Why we need to forget? – psychoanalytical view on memory, presented by Elysabeth Vykoukal, group psychoanalyst, Sigmund Freud University, Vienna

14.00
Brass orchestra, Varshetz

17.00
„Romeo and Juliet” by W.Shakespeare – theater in the mani hall + A feeling about a bell – theater journey to the place of the stolen bell. Valerija Valcheva& Marij Rossen

20.00
Film screening (big hall). Bells from the Deep –Werner Herzog (Germany)

20.00
Bells (of Bela Rechka) – sound installation
Raycho Stanev (around the Rakia house)

Concert
21.00 - Dulce Canto – group for Jewish music (Sofia)
22.30 - SALAMURA – Turkish songs (Gemnik, Turkey)
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25.05.08
—————-
11-16.00
Wonders of Bela rechka - workshop with guests and kids –
Brendan Jackson and Paulina Paga Laundry( Birmingham, UK)

A new Bulgarian souvenier - Bulgaria – workshop with Sariev gallery – Plovdiv and New Culture Foundation

11-13.00
Belly dancing workshop – Adem Murat (Turkey)

11.00
Bells (of Bela Rechka) – sound installation. Raycho Stanev (around the Rakia house)

15.00
The Glass bead game of Hermann Hesse - open talk and reading seminar on the meaning of the game and the book - Krzysztof Czyzewski/Poland

17.00
The rakia house – open talk on the future: presenting people that have done the renovation, stories about rakia producing Boris Velkov, Herbert Heuss, Mariana Assenova

19.00
Memories in loss – Babak Salari (Canada/Iran)
Born in Iran, emigrant in Canada, Babak’s main area of photographic interest is in chronicling the lives of those living at the margins of society. In Bela Rechka presents his work in Afghanistan and Iraq.

20.00
Screenings – the best of GOATMILK – presents Stanislav Miler(Czech Republic)

21.00
Concert in the open Mamapapa&friends
(Prague/Bratislava/Berlin) – music from Central Europe

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OFF-FESTIVAL
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15,16 &17 May
Тhe sound of memory - Sensory Labyrinth Theatre

16-18 May
Photography workshop with kids from Zanozhene –
Maria Dzelebova, Plovdiv

11- 24 May
Volunteers from Bulgaria, The Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany work on restoring the Rakia-house in Bela Rechka
People in dialogue

[Show as slideshow]

Participants came from an educational music project with young people which aims to create a modern Sejny music from the polyphonic tradition of Polish, Lithuanian, Russian, German and Jewish sounds. These are new sounds which arise from the sensibilities of the young people involved.

It is the combination of the music of acoustic instruments with the sound structures completely generated by machines, the sounds from the old scratched vinyl records combined with the rhythm of computer processor. Composing and arranging of already prepared sounds on home computers and adding their texts to it, words which are a record of their own perceptions and descriptions of reality, their values and relations among people. Often, these texts are full of very sharp criticism and bitterness.

The idea of this project is to make that phrase “I’m from Here” contain the deep consciousness of cultural past, as well as the reflection about present situation. We want the music made during the project to reflect contemporary life. The project and the new music has arisen from workshops were held by internationally acclaimed musicians such as Paul Brody (Berlin), Alan Bern (Berlin), Pete Paulau (Minsk), Patryk Zakrocki (Warszawa), Dj Lenar (Warszawa).

The co-ordinator of the activities is Michal Moniuszko and you can find more information at:
www.myspace.com/sejnymuzykamiejsca

[Show as slideshow]

Participants:
Alexander Phoundoulakis, Etz Hayyim Synagogue, Chania, Crete
Beverley Harvey, Laundry, Birmingham
Brendan Jackson, Laundry, Birmingham
Paulina Paga, Laundry, Warsaw
Diana Ivanova, New Culture Foundation, Sofia
Mariana Assenova, New Culture Foundation, Sofia
Yana Deliradeva, New Culture Foundation, Sofia,
Krzysztof Czyzewski, Borderland Foundation, Sejny
Anna Wrobel, Borderland Foundation, Sejny
Ksenija Konopek, Borderland Foundation, Sejny