“Synoptic” is an interdisciplinary workshop organized by the Hartware MedienKunstVerein at the PHOENIX Hall in Dortmund. Three Hungarian, one Dutch, one Lithuanian and three German artists in the fields of dance, visual arts, experimental sound art, architecture and programming had been invited to participate in the workshop that focuses on visual, media and sound art. Under the direction of Hajnal Szolga, they developed, within a ten-day period, the exhibition “Twilight Zone” featuring interactive installations and a new audiovisual production, which was presented to the public in August 2009. The focus of the event was on media art. In particular, “Synoptic” sought to foster experimental, innovative workshop activities by deliberately bringing together a variety of artistic and scientific fields. In the workshop, the participating artists responded to the relationship between artistic work, artist, and the public. They explored the question of how individuals or the public can be involved in the work’s or the artist’s privacy so that this “holy trinity” forms a harmonious whole and the viewer becomes both mover and actor in the process.

From north to south: What defines the lives of young women in Estonia, Ukraine and Armenia? What are the similarities and particularities of their mentalities, world-views and everyday lives? In the film, “Three Young States, Three Young Women” (Drei junge Staaten, drei junge Frauen), Maris Sanders from Tallinn, Solomiya Vitvitska from Kiev and Gayane Ghazaryan from Erivan provide us with glimpses into their lives. The film is about the normal everyday life of the young women, their worries and joys, their social status. Last but not least it also shows the development of their home countries as independent states after the breakdown of the Soviet Union. The young Russian filmmakers – Evgeniya Svetlakova and Aleksandra Gurkova – present the film in Armenia, Russia, Estonia and Ukraine. After the screening, the viewers are invited to discuss the movie, the everyday life of its protagonists and the development in the countries portrayed. The viewers also have the possibility to exchange their views and opinions on international understanding, tolerance and intercultural cooperation. The film will also be shown at the 2009 MitOst Festival, which will take place in Gdansk on October 14–17.

As part of the photography project “Down the Danube” (donauabwärts), project head Christine Frick took sixty disposable analogous cameras on a trip through nine Central and Eastern European countries, passing them from school to school, from child to child. One by one, the film rolls were shot, three pictures per film, the first in Germany, and the last in Ukraine. The Danube as a geographically unifying element provided the starting point for the project that was designed to build identity. Nine schools from nine Central and Eastern European countries had the opportunity to get in touch with each other by visual means. The images removed the anonymity, as the children of different ages and nationalities created a joint work of photography. They dealt with the same issues and participated in the same event that helped them relate to each other across borders. Christine Frick captured the results of the project on big banners and posters, which will be exhibited at the 2009 MitOst Festival in Gdansk on October 14-17 and subsequently donated to the participating schools. Additional exhibitions are scheduled for 2010.

Photos: top: Christine Frick / middle: Hannes Woidich

More information about the 2009 MitOst Festival is available at:
www.mitost.org/1158.html