About the project
Free movement is one of the principles of the EU and crossing borders freely is something most EU citizens today take for granted. But hard borders have been a reality in Europe until very recently and they had strongly shaped the lives of Europeans. With our project we would like to remind citizens of this fact and show, through stories and fates of inhabitants of a border region, how European integration has changed regions, lives and world views.
We will look closely at a border stretch between Slovenia and Austria, which has changed dramatically in the last 100 years. This border was first created with the Treaty of St. Germain and cut through people’s families, properties and livelihoods. Although mostly invisible it became a kind of overarching landmark itself – a chasm, dividing and separating people. Only from 2004 both regions began to grow together again and, very slowly, this chasm is closing. We will use this border, which lies along a popular wine road, as an open air gallery to showcase historical developments and fates of inhabitants and to inspire reflection of the benefits of the Union.
We will examine this concrete border in order to learn more about borders in general. The importance and urgency of this topic is obvious, as we are faced with new ideas of borders, where they have disappeared only recently. Numerous activities (exhibitions, workshops, podium discussions etc.) will involve all generations and promote intercultural and intergenerational solidarity.
PROJECT EVENTS
EXHIBITION OF PHOTOBOOKS
The exhibition of photobooks was on display in the Umetnostna galerija Maribor (Maribor art gallery). On display were over 140 books which arrived for the open call "Changing realities, what lies behind the horizon".
"OFF THE MARGINS" in MARIBOR
The exhibition was part of the Maribor photo festival (with over 30 exhibition in the city). It was shown in the prime gallery for photography - Fotogallery Stolp - on three floors.
"OFF THE MARGINS" in ZAGREB
The exhibition was on display at the Zvonimir gallery in Zagreb and was part of the Organ Vida festival. The festival is one of the biggest photography festivals in the region and every year it attracts a lot of people from abroad. It features exhibitions by famaous and up and coming photographers.
"NIEMANSLAND" exhibition in MARIBOR
The exhibition Niemansland by Dr. Kurt Kaindl was part of the Maribor photo festival (with over 30 exhibition in the city). It was shown in Muzej fotografije Maribor.
"OFF THE MARGINS" in GRAZ
The exhibition was presented in the Uptown art gallery in the city centre of Graz.
NEWSREEL 65 - "We Have too Much Things in Heart..."
In the proximity of Croatia, Italy, and Slovenia, there is a small place that is the site of unimaginable human suffering. It is a place of numerous attempts and failures. An area marked by inexhaustible patience and small expectations.
A place separated from the European Union by forests and hills – forests, hills, and rivers that migrants cross with unimaginable effort.
They call it the forest of darkness. It is a forest in which “to be seen” can be fatal and “remaining invisible” can mean a slight chance. The journey through the forest on the EU border takes between ten and fifteen days. The refugees call it a Game – an exercise in hiding from the gaze of others.
The Newsreel 65 project provides a broken insight into this place, marked by the daily attempts and failures of the refugees trying to cross the border of the European Union, and into the solidarity of the local community.
Watch it here: Newsreel 65
The series of video fragments is accompanied by a booklet – Newsreel Shreds, with contributions by:
Tara Najd Ahmadi, Andreja Hribernik, Jošt Franko, Ciril Oberstar, and Andrej Šprah.
"HISTORY OF A BOARDER" open-air exhibition
We have set up the exhibition on the border line between Slovenia and Austria in between picturesque vinyards. On display are 5 billboards which show the history from 1918 until now.
