Visegrad-Balkans Cultural Bridge: The ArtLink Festival’s “Focus Visegrad”

The 2016 ArtLink Young Talents’ Festival has a particular focus on developing inter-regional cultural cooperation between Serbia, the Western Balkans, and the Visegrad Countries – Poland Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary.

The “Balkan-Visegrad Cultural Bridge” project, substantially supported by the International Visegrad Fund, set up an “infrastructure” for a continuous, mid- to long-term cooperation among well-established structures and individuals from all four V4 countries and the artists and performing arts managers in the Balkans, through common performances, training, workshops, roundtables for artists and art managers. The “Balkan-Visegrad Cultural Bridge” also recreates and supports the practice of intra-regional cultural cooperation in the Balkans. The Bridge strengthens artistic and managerial know-how, skills and capacities, predominantly of young people involved thru partner organisations, providing them with a reliable career development framework. The Cultural Bridge’s common programming will continue to create a unique cultural space, as a fresh, joint project and network via the “ArtLink(s) Balkan – Visegrad Festival” Concert series, transferring information, ideas, contacts, concepts, know-how and offering concrete engagement opportunities for targeted beneficiaries. In addition to the above, the project will keep contributing to a positive reinterpretation of the public image of both regions by each other’s citizens.

As a first concrete result of this cooperation, the audience of the 2015 ArtLink Young Talents’ Festival had the opportunity to hear several outstanding ensembles and artists from the Visegrad countries, including the Epoque Quartet, the Janoska Ensemble, violinist Maria Machovska, and pianist Zoltán Fejérvári. The project continued in 2016, throughout the Czech Presidency of the V4, with the organisation of several well-noted concerts, and roundtables, including the guest appearances by the Czech Epoque Quartet and violinist Pavel Doležal, who performed together with the young artists from the Balkans, as well as by V4 experts in the field of cultural management.

The ArtLink Festival program for 2016, scheduled between October 1 and 16 in Belgrade, will – once again – have the at its focus the Visegrad artists and their cooperation with the artists from the Western Balkans. The ArtLink Festival will include common performances of world-famous artists and ensembles from the Visegrad region, among them: the Czech Kamerata Janaček, Polish violinist Agata Szymczewska, Slovak conductor Lukáš Pohůnek, Hungarian cellist Istvan Vardai, as well as the Symphony Orchestra of the Radio Television of Serbia, the ArtLink Chamber Ensemble, and young soloists and artists from the Western Balkans. The Visegrad artists will also share their artistic know-how through ArtLink’s trademark Festival segment of masterclasses for talented young musicians from Serbia and the Western Balkans.

“Balkan-Visegrad Cultural Bridge” sets up an “infrastructure”, for an exchange of knowledge and experiences between the well-established structures and individuals of several V4 countries (Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Hungary) and artists and performing arts managers from the Balkans, through performances, training and education for artists, and in managerial capacities for art managers. The “Bridge” also recreates the practice of intra-regional cultural cooperation in the Balkans. The “Bridge” strengthens artistic and managerial know-how, skills and capacities, predominantly of young people involved through partner organisations, providing them with a reliable career development framework. Cultural Bridge’s common programming creates a unique cultural space, a new, joint project and network transferring information, ideas, contacts, concepts, know-how and offering concrete engagement opportunities for targeted beneficiaries.

The Festival’s program, with a chamber music concept, includes concerts by prominent artists and ensembles from 4 Visegrad countries and common performances by Visegrad artists with their younger colleagues from the Balkans prepared in workshops by the expert team of mentors and artists.

The Project is also a framework of inter-regional cooperation and stimulation of cooperation within the Balkans. It improves cooperation among Balkan partners to “help themselves”, foresees a tangible know-how transfer from Visegrad partners, develops skills and careers of young Balkan artists through master classes and joint performances – both between themselves and with Visegrad mentors, consequently paving the way for a deeper, mutually supportive inter-regional cooperation. It accentuates mutual support for the purpose of advancement of art, promotion of inter-regional and inter-national/ethnic relations, young artists’ career development, audience development and attraction of commercial sponsors advancing corporate-social responsibility in artistic inter-regional cooperation.