Twenty-four days in the south of Linz. The Festival of Regions 2009 is banking on presence and participation.

Picture: Anna Meyer

In collaboration with Linz 2009 Cultural Capital of Europe, the Festival of Regions, the focal event for contemporary,  site-specific art and culture, is pitching its tents for twenty-four days on the squares, streets and park lawns of the urban development areas, Auwiesen and solarCity in the south of Linz and, with more than fifty events, is offering the opportunity for numerous encounters with the normality of urban living. At a press conference attended by the head of the provincial government and cultural affairs officer, Dr Josef Pühringer, and the deputy director of Linz 2009, Uli Fuchs, the chairwoman, Susanne Blaimschein, festival director, Martin Fritz, and project curator, Doris Prlic, presented the freshly printed guide and details of the festival program. 

Participants

AHS, Volksschule 52 solarCity & Hartlauerhof - Caritas Einrichtung für wohnungslose Männer / AKKU – Arbeiten mit Alltag / Peter Arlt, Hans Kropshofer, Georg Ritter, Die Fabrikanten / Peter Arlt, Max Rieder / Frank Bölter / Marcelo Cardoso-Gama & Johanna Kienzl / Jakob Dietrich & Kai Maier-Rothe (bu’nostik), ekw 14,90, Reinhard Gupfinger, Anna Hilti & Stefanie Thöny & Anita Zumbühl & Nora de Baan, IFEK - Institut für erweiterte Kunst, Johanna Kirsch, Daniel Ladnar & Esther Pilkington, Clemens Mairhofer & Lucas Norer & Sebastian Six, Stefanie Mold, Leo Peschta & Gordan Savičić, Doris Prlić / Marlene Haring / Susanne Jirkuff / Uwe Jonas, Antonia Low, Ulrike Mohr, Jürgen O. Olbrich, Matthias Schamp, Petra Spielhagen, Roi Vaara, Wolfgang Aichner, Roman Pfeffer / Karl-Heinz Klopf / Andrea Knobloch / Sabina Köfler, Kristina Kornmüller, Stefan Messner, Petra Moser, Ulrike Seelmann, Felix Vierlinger / Martin Krenn / Anna Meyer / OKIPS / Pfarrzentrum Marcel Callo / Petar Radisavljević / Rebekka Reich & Oliver Gather / Heidi Schatzl / spotsZ / Karl-Heinz Ströhle & Martin Strauß / Stadtwerkstatt & Radio FRO / Streetwork Ebelsberg-Pichling / Kaspar Wimberley & Susanne Kudielka (Interviews with participants - German language version only! ...)

The Festival of Regions 2009 

The Festival of Regions has been taking place since 1993 every two years at changing locations in the federal state of Upper Austria, and since then has developed into a focal contemporary event for present-day, site-specific art and culture. The Upper Austrian cultural affairs officer, and head of the provincial government, Dr Josef Pühringer, affirms, "The Festival of Regions is an indispensable contribution to Upper Austrian culture. Many exemplary projects have been able to set strong accents and have become models for advanced practice in the area of contemporary art and culture". 

In 2009, in collaboration with Linz 2009 Cultural Capital of Europe, the Festival of Regions is orienting itself toward the southern edge of the city of Linz along the Traun River, with a focus on the satellite city Auwiesen and the residential complexes of solarCity. Away from the inner-city orientation towards density, utilization and entertainment, and at a certain safe distance from spectacles propagated on all sides, the Festival of Regions is interested in the factual or perceived normality of urban life. The deputy director of Linz09, Ulrich Fuchs, recalls the process of decision-making: "From early on it was clear to us that we wanted to have the Festival of Regions as a major item on the program. I had already heard of its high quality before I came to Linz, and direct contact confirmed what I had heard. For our intention to also play the stage of Linz outside the centre, the Festival is the logical partner, and we are glad that it is now taking off." 

Constant presence, outdoor signals and innovative ways of participating.

Festival director, Martin Fritz, outlines the concept of intensive local ties and an active presence on location: "After a long phase of preparations in which we were able to build up relationships, we and our partners will 'hang around' for twenty-four days, longer than ever before, and in this period we will be active and visible. On the squares, streets, park lawns, and gardens, in historic settlements next to voestalpine, on the Millstream, at Weikerl Lake and at many other interesting places such as the Supaklub at Ebelsberg Castle, camping in a do-it-yourself store or together building the Linz Acropolis next to the bowling alley in Auwiesen. Whenever anybody wants to come, we will be there. For all the many events you will be able to find us and meet others. With numerous works in public space, more than sixty participants, of whom no less than 29 are from Linz, and more than fifty events, you won't be able to miss us."

The constant presence of the participants (in the projects: Zizlau eighty-three, Outpost, Pilot Project Auwiesen, Linz Acropolis, Gassi, Garden of the Senses, Journey to Surinam, home:entertainer and Living in Hope) creates many opportunities for dialogue and exchange which are intensified by artistic outdoor signals (Rent, Electricity, Gas; Naked City; Monitoring Auwiesen; Signposted and Gravel Extraction over the Traun) and innovative forms of participation (Democracy and Welfare for All, 20 to 24 Today, Claim Your Space, The Other Side, Breeze and Nomad City Passage). A dense non-stop program of events and several discourse and dialogue projects (Local Tour, Normality in Crisis, The Last Session, On Location in Suburbia), together with the offer of services and communication by the constantly manned festival reception (in Auwiesen and solarCity) take care of opportunities to deepen and intensify festival experiences.
 
Playfully analyzed

An independent focal program, Playfully analyzed, is dedicated to the experimental use of public spaces. The curator, Doris Prlic comments, "Most of the works develop groups; after all, it is better to play together than on your own. The arenas for the program are inner courtyards, lawns and parks, parking lots as well as hidden and unused spaces. The possibilities for using spaces and the attractiveness of open spaces are fathomed in this way. Which open spaces were planned when building the housing estates? Are the spaces being used by residents? In which locations in the estates does one find unexpected, unplanned room for play?"

Potentials and perspectives

The festival's chairwoman, Susanne Blaimschein, is looking forward to the plentiful opportunities for contact and communication. "We are always concerned with activating the places and the social potentials of present-day art and culture. We are inviting the public to come by in the south of town several times in May. The two long weekends in the festival period are suitable for visits as well as the easy accessibility with Tramlines 1 and 2 or, on Sunday, with the Water Shuttle that has been set up especially for the festival." In the name of the festival committee, she emphasizes a further aspect: "Through the collaboration with Linz09, already in the lead-up we were able to work intensively on location and step up our engagement with the locations and themes in the direction of full-year operation. This could be an interesting perspective for the festival from 2010 on."

Finally Blaimschein underscored, "As already announced in May 2008, a new festival director will be appointed as from 1 January 2010. By considerately announcing his plans at an early stage, Martin Fritz has given us the opportunity to have a discussion of perspectives and has created the basis for an exemplary process for appointing a new director. Immediately after the festival we will readvertise the position of director. Anyone interested in it should definitely take a look at this year's festival".