Slovak Cultural Days at the Museum of European Cultures

Under the motto “Richness in Diversity,” the Slovak Cultural Days will take place at the Museum of European Cultures from August 31 to September 29, 2013.
Slovakia came into being in 1993, following the breakup of Czechoslovakia, and is therefore a relatively young country. It has been a member of the European Union since 2004. In 2013, Košice—alongside Marseille—is a European Capital of Culture. This, too, is one reason to take a closer look at the country between the Danube and the Tatra Mountains.

In this spirit, this year’s Cultural Days at the Museum of European Cultures focus on the people of Slovakia, their culture and the country’s history. The extensive program of events includes lectures, film screenings, music and dance performances, and readings. On eleven scheduled event dates during the exhibition, visitors will have the opportunity to explore the country’s historical and vibrant cultural diversity in greater depth.

Guest exhibitions from the capital, Bratislava, round out the program. They explore traditions in music and crafts as part of the intangible cultural heritage, as well as how these traditions are reflected in contemporary fashion and product design and in music-making.

The country’s most famous son—Andrej Warhola, known as Andy Warhol—invented Pop Art. This seems to have inspired others: in recent years, Slovakia has repeatedly won international design awards in fashion, architecture and product design. The government supports young talent, giving this creative new generation room to thrive.

The exhibition content and many of the works come from the Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage at the Slovak Folk Art Ensemble (SL’UK) and the Slovak Centre for Folk Art Production (ÚL’UV), including works by designers such as Zuzana Labudová, Petra Huraiová and Poncik Ľubica.

The Slovak Centre for Folk Art Production regularly holds competitions, encouraging young designers to engage with traditional forms of material culture and develop new ideas. The results, complemented by several historical objects from the collections of the Museum of European Cultures and the Ethnological Museum, are not only expressions of great artistic and technical precision, but also radiate the vitality of creative culture.