Park of Culture and Sighs
Although we long for belonging, mutual support, and collective organization, in the current circumstances we do not always have enough strength left for this.
Ján Koniarek Gallery, new extension of the Koppel Villa, Trnava
Event participants: Celestína Minichová, Katarína Kucbelová, Martin Kosorin, Paula Malinowska, Omar Mirza, Jakub Molnár, Jelisaveta Rapaić, Ivana Rumanová, Martin Toldy, Martin Zaiček, Lucia Žatkuliaková, other members of the Cultural Union, and invited guests
Concept: Zuzana Jakalová, Eliška Mazalanová, Lucia Tkáčová, Veronika Němcová
Curators: Zuzana Jakalová, Eliška Mazalanová
Spatial design: Lucia Tkáčová
Production: Veronika Němcová
Graphic design: Tereza Maco
Illustrations: Jozef Gľaba
Technical support: Dano Dida
At the core of the Park of Culture and Sighs at the Ján Koniarek Gallery in Trnava is a mutable structure made of plastic crates filled with energy drinks—used to keep ourselves in a state of constant productivity, to fight fatigue, and to deny our own limits and needs. The programme consists of regular events—performances, discussions, support groups, and workshops—prepared on the basis of an open call by members of the Cultural Union. Let us concentrate our energy in ways that allow us to support one another, learn, take care of ourselves, or motivate collaboration aimed at improving our (not only working) conditions.
We draw inspiration, among other things, from the practice of workers’ clubs and workers’ houses, which functioned as spaces and tools for education, rest, and cultural and political awareness among the working class. Originally, such clubs were established through self-help as part of collective organizing and the political emancipation of the working class. Park of Culture and Sighs offers a proposal for the collective creation of such a space/tool under the conditions of late capitalism—by and for today’s notoriously exhausted cultural workers, as well as those beyond the cultural field.
Project partner: KON-RAD spol. s r.o.