The Pôtoň Theatre from Bátovce, together with the partner organizations Company B. Valiente from Norway, Tjarnarbio from Iceland and Kultur-Traverse from Liechtenstein, is implementing a project supported by a grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Financial Mechanism entitled ” Resurrection of Miracle: Development of New Model of Art Festival in Slovak Countryside”.
Project code: CLT02023
Support program: Entrepreneurship in the field of culture, cultural heritage and cultural cooperation
Project implementation date: July 2020 – March 2024
Grant amount awarded: EUR 200,000
All projects are co-financed by the State Budget of the Slovak Republic in the amount of 15%.
If you are interested in learning more about programs and projects funded by the EEA and Norway Grants in Slovakia, visit www.eeagrants.sk.
Resurrection of a Miracle is a unique project aimed at developing audiences, supporting the creation and presentation of contemporary art and building partnerships at the local, national and international levels. The aim of the organizer and partners is to promote values such as creativity, artistic freedom and regional, international and intercultural cooperation through the project. At the same time, the project has the ambition to draw attention to current burning social or environmental topics through art.
The project contains a series of activities leading to the implementation of a unique model of an international site-specific art festival, which will be located in Slovak countryside – on hiking trails.
An important part of the project organised in the beginning of the project was a big Kick-off Meeting of partners of the project, which happened in July 2021. Another interesting event that was organised in April 2022 was the international conference Trends in Creative Work with Audience, which focused on the current trends in audience development in participating countries – Slovakia, Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway.
As part of the project, the Pôtoň Theatre and Cultural Center offers Slovak and foreign artists a special program of artistic residencies, the output of which will be the creation of new site-specific works, inspired by the local environment. Apart from working on the artworks, artists also engage with the local community – they lead workshops for local people and organise public the work-in-progress presentations of artworks.
The works of art created during the residencies will be unconventionally placed on the hiking trails as part of the future festival Into the Miracles – thus creating a unique route to contemporary art.
The planned realization of the festival Into the festival is 1st July – 4th July 2023.
Between September and December 2023, the outputs of the project will be presented together with the documentary material in all the partner countries – in Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland. The project is expected to end in March 2024.
The project Resurrection of Miracle: Development of a new model of art festival in the Slovak countryside consists of a series of activities leading to the audience development and the capacity building of cultural actors. The intention of the project is to create the concept of a new model of an artistic multi-genre site-specific festival and its subsequent implementation in the summer of 2023.
Three foreign partner organizations from Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein are cooperating on the project.
Project activities
Opening conference of the project
The Pôtoň Theatre organized the opening conference for the international project Resurrection of a Miracle: Development of a New Festival Model in the Slovak Countryside. The opening conference took place in the premises of the Pôtoň Theatre in Bátovce on July 25, 2021 from 16:00. The conference included presentations and lectures from foreign and Slovak artists, cultural operators (Michal Ditte, Iveta Ditte Jurčová, Monika Škojcová – Pôtoň, Marcelino Martin Valiente – Company B. Valiente, Elmar Gangl, Martina Morger – Kultur-Traverse, Fridrik Fridrikson – Tjarnarbio). Audhild Nydal Enger – Chargé d’affaires of the Norwegian Embassy in Bratislava, Natália Milanová – Minister of Culture of the Slovak Republic and Jana Dacková – Head of the Program Administration Department of the EEA and Norway Grants Department spoke in a video recording. As part of the opening conference, there was a special opening of Juraj Poliak’s art installation – The Absence of a Miracle Exhausts us. The evening ended with a concert by Ivana Mer and Nina Rosa.
The Kick-off Meeting with partners
The Kick-off Meeting of partners took place between 25th July 2021 and 1st August 2021. It was attended by artists and cultural operators from Slovakia, Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland who were invited to participate in the project. The initial meeting of the partners was a decisive moment for the implementation of the project, during which all partners had the opportunity to meet at the same time in one place and work together on the creation of a new festival model that they are preparing together. The majority of activities focused on strategic planning and organization. The meeting took place in the cultural center Pôtoň in Batovce. Later the meeting moved to Banská Bela village, where it focused on the development of ideas and concepts of works of art and discussions on the possibilities of mutual cooperation. During the 7 days of the meeting, members of the management team and invited artists or managers had the opportunity to visit the locations for the implementation of the festival, which were selected by Pôton´s project team members. In total, all participants covered almost 60 km of the future festival route. The artists had the opportunity to explore the landscape of the region where the festival will take place and to document the locations that are interesting to them.
International conference Trends in Creative Work with the Audience
On April 7th, 2022, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., we held an online international conference focused on audience development topics. The guests of the conference and speakers were experts in the field of art, management of cultural organizations or cultural and artistic projects from four countries – Slovakia, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.
In the first part of the conference, the guests presented concrete examples of good practice from cultural or artistic projects that communicate with the viewer and/or community in an innovative way in the given country. The second part of the conference brought a discussion on topics related to working with the public in critical times. The discussion was moderated by Laco Oravec.
Artistic residencies
The program of special artist residencies runs from July 2021 to June 2023. The goal of the specialized residencies is to create new artworks and productions that will be created specifically for the Into the Miracles festival. At least ten pre-selected artists or artistic groups will participate in the residencies. Each residency stay usually lasts 2 to 4 weeks. Potoň supports the creation of so-called shared residencies, during which the artists involved in the project work on their works in parallel. Most residential stays take place directly in the Pôtoň Theater building in Bátovce. The Pôtoň Theater provides selected artists with more than 1,500 m² of workspace and complete sound, light and projection equipment. The theater building also provides accommodation. Some residencies take place near the location where the final works will be presented.
Workshops and Work-in-progress presentations
Artist residencies are short-term cultural exchanges between artists and local people. They allow artists to develop a deeper understanding of their host environment and create opportunities for local people to understand and interact with artists from different backgrounds or nationalities. To encourage interaction and exchange between artists and local residents, each residency includes a workshop for the local community. In addition, a public presentation of work-in-progress takes place during each residency.
Creation of works of art for the future festival
Within the scope of this project and with the support of EEAGrants, more than 30 works of art and productions are created for the festival Into the Miracles. Majority is created by professional artists from Slovakia and partner countries. Some artworks are created by students of art schools.
More than sixty artists from Slovakia, Norway Liechtenstein, Iceland, Czech Republic and Ukraine are participating in the artistic process.
Apart from professional artists, project supports and promotes the works of art created by students of 3 Slovak art schools from Bratislava, Banska Bystrica, Košice.
Artists and students involved in the festival explored the festival route and choose locations for which they create site-specific artworks.
Norwegian-Slovak theatre co-production
One of the performative productions created for the future site-specific festival is a Norwegian-Slovak theatre co-production. An international performance called The Call from the Terrace is planned to be premiered as the opening performance of the festival Into the Miracles. The team of creators consists of theatre director and playwright Marcelino Martin Valiente (FR/NO), choreography advisor and producer Gunhild Bjørnsgaard, video artist Jozef Eduard Masarik, dramaturge Katarína Marková and costume designer Iveta Ditte Jurčová. 5 performers collaborate on the co-production: Ľubomír Bukový, Edita Antalová, Filip Jekkel, Magdaléna Škerenčák and Mira Školová. The performance is created for the space of the abandoned building of the former restaurant Terasa, which is located in the spa park in Dudince. The rehearsal process of creating the performance was divided into two phases – the first part in May 2022 and the second part in August 2022. The public work in progress presentation of the performance took place on August 9th, 2022 in the spa park Dudince.
The premiere of the performance the Call from the Terrace is planned to happen on the opening night of the festival Into the Miracles – 1st July 2023 in the spa park Dudince.
Festival Into the Miracles
Into the Miracles Festival is an international multi-genre site-specific festival that takes place on July 1st till July 4th , 2023.
It is an exceptional 4-day long event that features approximately 50 artist productions on more than 70-kilometer long tourist route that connects the villages of Dudince – Hontianske Tesáre – Sebechleby – Beluj – Baďan – Jabloňovce – Pečenice – Bátovce. Participants of the festival (called Pilgrims or Walkers) become pedestrians who walk dozens of kilometres for a unique experience.
Learn more about the festival here: www.intothemiracles.com
Essence of Miracles
Into the Miracles festival will be documented by professional documentarists. The goal will be to create a visual material that can later be presented in partner countries. Photos and videos will focus on capturing the essence of the festival.
The Essence of Miracles is the final part of the project, which consists of:
– 3 project presentations in partner countries
– 1 final conference in Slovakia
The aim of these activities will be to enable artists and cultural workers in all participating countries to acquire know-how and inspire them to develop similar projects. These activities will also disseminate information about the results of the project.
Essence of Miracles activities will run from August 2023 to March 2024.
30/11/2023
A total of 111 people participated in Denník N’s “Cultural event of the year” poll this year. In their answers, they repeatedly mentioned, for example, the collective exhibition Rozptyl in Bratislava, a several-kilometer pilgrimage for art under the name Into the Miracles on the border of Tekov and Hont regions, the films Svetlofóbia and Emília, but also Martina Šimkovičová.
Thank you Zuzana Novotová Godálová, Boris Meluš, Soňa Uriková, Zuzana Pacáková for your vote for Into the Miracles.
https://dennikn.sk/3718267/kulturnou-udalostou-roka-2023-je-kulturna-ministerka-anketa
26/11/2023
Yesterday we realized the last activity of our project. We thank all the visitors who attended the final conference.
22/11/2023
The program of the closing conference is as follows:
15:00 Speech (Michal Ditte – director of Divadlo Pôtoň, Jana Dacková – head of the EEA and Norway Grants program administration department)
15:15 Presentation of project results and outputs (Monika Deset Škojcová – project manager)
15:35 Screening of the documentary film about the Into the Miracles festival
16:00 Discussion
16:30 Vernissage of the exhibition of photos from the festival
21/11/2023
Part of the closing conference for the Resurrection of the Miracle project is also an exhibition of large-format photographs by Marek Jančuch, Stanislav Piatriko and Gabriela Birošová, curated by Iveta Ditte Jurčová.
20/11/2023
On Saturday, November 25, 2023, the closing conference of the Resurrection of the Miracle project, which culminated in the summer with the international festival Into the Miracles, will take place. The event includes a presentation of the results and outputs of the project, a screening of a documentary film about the festival directed by Barbara Vojtašáková and photos from the festival.
19/11/2023
Miroslav Ballay participated in the international festival Into the Miracles and during the summer wrote 60 pages of text about the works of art displayed on the 80 kilometer route between Dudinci and Bátovci. We thank you!
https://poton.sk/miroslav-ballay-into-the-miracles/
13/11/2023
On November 25, 2023 at 3:00 p.m., the closing conference of the Resurrection of Miracle project will take place. We will publish the program of the event soon.
12/11/2023
The organizers of the Resurrection of the Miracle project will soon visit the last donor country – Norway. On November 16, 2023, they will present the project in the Gamle Munch museum.
25/10/2023
We completed the second presentation of the Resurrection of the Miracle project on October 21, 2023 at the Tjarnarbio Theater in Reykjavík, and it was attended by Icelandic artists and cultural operators.
16/10/2023
We have completed the first presentation of the Resurrection of the Miracle project. It took place on October 14 at the Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein in Vaduz and was attended by artists and cultural operators from Liechtenstein.
11/10/2023
In the coming weeks, the organizers of the Into the Miracles international festival will present its essence in partner countries. Essences of Miracles will take place in Vaduz (October 14, 2023), Reykjavík (October 21, 2023) and Oslo (November 16, 2023). The events include presentations by organizers, foreign artists and a screening of a documentary film about the festival directed by Barbara Vojtaššáková.
10/10/2023
The post-production of the documentary material from the Into the Miracles festival, directed by the young Slovak director Barbara Vojtaššáková, is currently coming to it´s end. We will show the short documentary film at the presentations of the project in the partner countries – Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland and during the closing conference for the project, which should take place at the end of November 2023.
11/07/2023
Eva Kopecká was among the pilgrims of the Into the Miracles festival, and she captured the important moments of this unrepeatable event in a report:
https://devin.rtvs.sk/clanky/kulturny-dennik/331798/navrat-k-festivalu-into-the-miracles
08/07/2023
The second report of the Into the Miracles festival was recorded by Jana Močková for Denník N.
06/07/2023
The first report about the Into the Miracles international festival was published in SME Kultúra by Soňa Jánošová. Read here: https://kultura.sme.sk/c/23190970/zistit-ako-vonia-vesmir-vidiet-vnutornosti-v-kostole-a-stretnut-osemdesiat-zazrakov-reportaz
06/07/2023
We want to give special thanks to all participating artists from Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway.
05/07/2023
We thank the funders of the project, namely EEA and Norway Grants in Slovakia, Slovak Arts Council and European Solidarity Corps.
05/07/2023
We thank all partner municipalities, namely: Bátovce unicipality, Dudince town, Hontianske Tesáre municipality, Terany municipality, Municipality of Sebechleby, Municipality of Beluj, Municipality of Baďan, Pečenice municipality, Jabloňovce municipality. We would not be able to make the Into the Miracles festival happen without you.
05/07/2023
The miracles are over. We cannot find the most suitable words for what happened in the last few days on the route between Dudince and Bátovce. We thank all our pilgrims and walkers who decided to attend our physically demanding Into the Miracles festival.
04/07/2023
The program of the Into the Miracles festival ends today at midnight. However, the pilgrims are staying here with us until tomorrow, sleeping in one of the four tent camps that we built for the Into the Miracles festival.
01/07/2023
Today at 15:00 the program of the first day of the festival begins. We start with the presentation of the Terra Apathy production at the Railway Station in Dudince. You can see the entire program of the opening day here:
https://www.intothemiracles.com/01-07-2023-dudince/
30/06/2023
It will start tomorrow. We are ready. Every moment we look at the constantly changing weather forecast and hope that the weather will be kind to our festival.
29/06/2023
If you don’t want to read newspaper articles about Into the Miracles, you can listen to an audio interview from the archives of Radio Regina Západ.
https://reginazapad.rtvs.sk/clanky/z-regionu/330332/put-za-umenim-povedie-z-dudiniec-do-batoviec
28/06/2023
Check out what you can see and experience at Into the Miracles. https://www.markiza.sk/…/bonus/66904-bazilika-pod-sitnom
28/06/2023
SME Kultúra also invites the last participants to the unique international festival Into the Miracles. You have the last days to secure your tickets.
27/06/2023
Today, Matúš Lányi is carrying out a workshop and a work in progress presentation as part of the preparation of his work Basilica of St. Peter, which will be located on a meadow near the village of Beluj.
26/06/2023
Today at 18:00 at the viewpoint above Bátovce, a work in progress presentation of the performance Chronicle of Light will take place. The performance is directed by Iveta Ditte Jurčová. Performers: Ela Lehotská, Mária Danadová, Filip Jekkel.
26/06/2023
Yesterday we organized a movement workshop by choreographer Stanislava Vlčeková for the local theater group from Sebechlieb.
25/06/2023
Today also begins the residency for the creation of the production Help beyond the line. The production is directed by Viera Dubačová and features Katarína Koščová and Daniel Špiner.
25/06/2023
Debris Company’s residency at Stará hora-Sebechleby is starting from today. This exceptional theater group is preparing a performance called Crescendo, which our participants will be able to experience on the second evening of the festival – 2 July 2023.
22/06/2023
We are very grateful for product support from the brands Chistee, Pink Onion, Tekmar, Dixi, Gutta, Dobrý ježko, Bátovce Bakery and Ravita. Thank you for your support!
21/06/2023
We have put tickets on sale for the Closing Night of the Into the Miracles festival, which will take place on July 4, 2023 from 8:30 p.m. in Bátovce. https://www.intothemiracles.com/vstupenky/
Divadlo Pôtoň – Center of Art and Creativity and the artworks placed in it will close the unique international festival and you can be there with us.
19/06/2023
Only 13 days until the start of Into the Miracles. If you’ve been hesitating to get tickets until now, now is the best time. https://www.intothemiracles.com/vstupenky/
18/06/2023
We have put tickets on sale for the Into the Miracles Opening Festival Day, which will take place on July 1, 2023 in Dudince. https://www.intothemiracles.com/01-07-2023-dudince/
It is for those viewers who do not want or cannot walk kilometers for contemporary art, but at the same time would like to experience the atmosphere of the largest site-specific festival in Slovakia.
17/06/2023
Pupils from Bátovce primary school and the Bátovce community center are preparing animated films under the guidance of experienced lecturers from the Karavan project – Oto Hudec and Daniela Krajčová, which we will present to the public in the work in progress presentation on 19th June 2023 at 4:00 p.m. in the Bátovce Community Center. After post-production, these films will be shown at the Into the Miracles festival.
17/06/2023
Pupils from Bátovce primary school and the Bátovce community center are already actively working on animated films and learning creative art techniques under the guidance of experienced lecturers from the Karavan project – Oto Hudec and Daniela Krajčová.
15/06/2023
Artists Oto Hudec and Daniela Krajčová are already preparing their workshops for Pupils from Bátovce primary school and the Bátovce community center, which will take place from 16th June 2023 to 19th June 2023.
18/06/2023
Michal Ditte in an interview with Mariana Jaremková on the Rádio DEVÍN talked about the preparations and program of the international site-specific festival Into the Miracles, which starts in 13 days. https://devin.rtvs.sk/clanky/kulturny-dennik/329505/blizi-sa-unikatny-festival-into-the-miracles
11/06/2023
We already have only 20 tickets available for the Pilgrims, who will spend an unforgettable 4 days at the largest site-specific festival ever held in Slovakia. We are extending the presale of tickets until June 20, 2023. Be a part of Into the Miracles.
03/06/2023
The artist Matúš Lányi also participates in Into the Miracles.
In his latest floor plans of cathedrals, he focuses on the confrontation of cultural themes and adapts the choice of objects to them. The floor plan created for our festival on the meadow near Beluj shows one of the most religiously and culturally significant objects of sacral architecture – the Basilica of St. Peter. The installation is intended to offer the viewer a space to perceive the full breadth of not only the religious but also the cultural legacy of Christianity and its representatives, including involvement in social issues, but also, for example, the moral failure of individuals.
02/06/2023
Are you wondering why you can’t buy a ticket a few days before the festival starts?
Since the festival takes place on a “green meadow”, where there is practically nothing, we have to ensure the possibility of food and other services. And for that we need to have data well in advance. Our data is registered participants of the event through our ticketing portal and 20 days is the deadline for us.
01/06/2022
We are extending the pre-sale of tickets by 11 days. You can still choose between the Pilgrim (participant of the entire festival) or the Walker (one-day festival participant). https://www.intothemiracles.com/vstupenky/
30/05/2023
The biggest Slovak site-specific festival Into the Miracles starts in a month. You can read more about it here: https://www.intothemiracles.com/najvacsi-site-specific-festival-odstartuje-leto/
28/05/2023
The artist residency for the work “Chronicle of Light” takes place at the viewpoint above Bátovci. Maja Danadová, Filip Jekkel, Ela Lehotská, Katarína Caková and Iveta Ditte Jurčová are preparing a performance for the final day of the Into the Miracles international festival.
28/05/2023
Slovak visual artist Katanari is preparing her series of art works called Sanctuaries.
A series of installations that change the function of hunting perches into oases of safety. They provide protection and the promise of peace and tranquility. They represent nests, dens, or sanctuaries.
27/05/2023
The artist Katanari is currently in Bátovce working on a set of new works Sanctuaries” for the Into the Miracles international festival.
26/05/2023
The fourth Into the Miracles festival day will take place on the route between Baďan and Bátovce. On your 24 kilometer journey, you will encounter 23 works of art in the form of performances, sound designs, interventions and art installations.
https://www.intothemiracles.com/04-07-2023-badan-batovce/
25/05/2023
The third day of the Into the Miracles festival will take place on the route between Stara Hora and Baďan. Along the way, 20 new works await you in the form of performances, sound designs, interventions and art installations. And approximately 27 kilometers of walking. https://www.intothemiracles.com/03-07-2023-stara-hora-badan/
19/05/2023
We realize that Into the Miracles is not an easy concept for the potential viewer. We know that before you can make a final decision whether to go or stay at home, you need to have several questions answered. We are here for you. As kus via social medias or e-mail.
The international art festival, which takes place over 70 kilometers, will never be repeated on such a scale, and we do not want to let you miss out on this unique experience.
19/05/2023
The second Into the Miracles festival day will take place on the route between Dudince and Stara Hora. A route paved with 20 new artworks in the form of performances, sound designs, interventions and art installations. https://www.intothemiracles.com/02-07-2023-dudince-stara…/
17/05/2023
Read about the program of the first Into the Miracles festival day – July 1, 2023 in Dudince. Performances, installations, concerts and artistic fragments of poetry. And the ceremonial opening of the international festival. You can find the whole program here: https://www.intothemiracles.com/category/program/
Tickets here: https://www.intothemiracles.com/vstupenky/
16/05/2023
We are looking for 10 more young people to join the volunteer international team of the Into the Miracles festival. Send applications by May 25, 2023. https://poton.sk/open-call-na-dobrovolnicku-staz/
Start the summer of 2023 and be part of a unique international festival.
15/05/2023
Attention, we have launched a pre-sale of one-day tickets for the Into the Miracles festival. You can buy your ticket here: https://www.intothemiracles.com/vstupenky/
You can still decide whether you want to be a PILGRIM and complete the entire event with us or you will be a PEDESTRIER who completes one of the three festival routes.
PRE-SALE ENDS: 30.5.2023
15/05/2023
Debris Company is working on its performance Crescendo, which they will perform on a meadow in the Sebechleby-Stará hora area. The artistic-musical-movement essay in the audiovisual language develops the concept of “crescendo” as a gradual increase, layering, rise, expansion towards the climax multiplied in one abstract feeling that cannot be concretized in the story.
14/05/2023
Debris Company were with us for the projects Night Wanderers Bátovce (2015) and Miracles (2017). It would be strange if they didn’t participate in Into the Miracles. The site specific artwork by Debris Company is realized for the unique space of Sebechleby – Stará hora. They are currently on their residency stay in Bátovce.
10/05/2023
More than 50 new artworks are created for the international art festival Into the Miracles. Today, artist Dávid Demjanovič started working on his new object Tribute to the Bread Roll in Bátovce.
21/04/2023
Frequently asked questions and answers:
– Will there be Into the Miracles again next year? No, it won’t.
– How many kilometers will I walk a day? Approximately 25 – 30 kilometers.
– I can’t come for the entire duration of the festival, will it be possible to complete only part of the route? Yes, at the end of April we are launching a pre-sale of 1-day tickets for walkers.
– Where can I find out more information about the festival? At www.intothemiracles.com
10/04/2023
Do you want to participate in Into the Miracles and document your journey as a pilgrim on the seventy-kilometer long route between Dudince and Bátovce? We announce an open call for an artistic residency during the Into the Miracles international festival.
https://www.intothemiracles.com/open-call-foto-reportaz/
Send your applications, portfolios and professional CVs by April 30, 2023.
04/04/2023
We have launched the sale of tickets for the international festival Into the Miracles taking place on 1-4 July 2023 on the route between Dudince and Bátovce.
03/04/2023
We have launched our new website for the international festival Into the Miracles. You can find it here:
https://www.intothemiracles.com/
20/03/2023
We will be launching our festival website shortly. Please come back to us by 10th April. On the following website we will soon publish programme of the festival, registration form, organisational details and ticket sale. www.intothemiracles.com
01/03/2023
Our festival route will be more than 70 kilometers long. It is 10 kilometers more than we originally planned. We will present more than 35 works of art. We will publish the list of works and participating artists soon.
05/03/2023
The visual of our project has been created. Its author is Viktória Jehlárová. We will introduce it to you soon through posters and other promotional materials.
28/02/2023
During February, we participated in several presentations of artwork concepts designed by students from the art departments we approached. We originally planned to present 4 student artworks as part of the festival. Today we already know that there will be more than 15 of them.
20/02/2023
“Into the Miracles is a journey to the sources of inner strength. In the tumultuous times we live in, our stopping, slowing down and breathing are important. We can walk and take time to think. To have time to perceive the beauty in the silence. Works of art delicately complement nature. The physical and the spiritual harmonize. The impulses for thinking are created by the pilgrim themselves through their openness and receptivity; the artists, through their works, accompany the pilgrims´ thinking. The proximity of other people, also wandering, is another source of balance and harmony,” says Iveta Ditte Jurčová, the festival’s programme director.
18/02/2023
“The event is a continuation of our smaller projects that we implemented under the brand “Miracles” in 2017-2018 in Bátovce and in France. In these, the audience travelled roughly four kilometres and mostly performance art and contemporary dance were presented.”, adds the festival dramaturg Michal Ditte to the origins and history of the upcoming festival. “Preparations for the current project have been underway since 2019. Our original intention was for the audience to exchange the comfortable seating in cultural institutions for nature, to wander in search of contemporary art, to be alone with themselves and in silence. In the meantime, however, came the pandemic and then the war in Ukraine. These events give the four-day journey through the landscape completely new contexts and scope, which we are analysing and evaluating in the project team.”
17/02/2023
The festival route leads from Dudince, through Terany, Hontianske Tesare, Šipice, Sebechleby, Stará Hora, Baďan, Beluj, Jabloňovce, Pečenice and ends in Bátovce. The organizers make use of existing tourist routes of local importance, which they, however, interconnect by temporary marking. Walkers will pass through small villages, meadows, and forests on the border of the Tekov and Hont regions. In addition to artists, the project involves local operators, activists, producers of gastronomic products, as well as representatives of local governments.
16/02/2023
More than thirty-five works by Slovak, Czech, French, Norwegian, Liechtenstein and Icelandic artists will be placed and displayed along the route. Visitors to the event will be able to see works of contemporary performance, music, and visual art, as well as sound design and literature along the seventy-kilometre pilgrimage. All works are created particularly for the festival and will be performed or displayed for the first time during the festival. Into the Miracles will be a unique event whose concept has no equivalent in Europe.
25/11/2022
From November 17th till November 19th 2022 we were visited by students of the Department of Fine Arts and Intermedia from the Technical University of Košice. The playwrights of the Into the Miracles festival and the coordinators of the Resurrection of the Miracle project presented them with the project’s intentions, the artistic concept of the festival and the possibilities of their involvement. The students also visited some of the selected locations of the festival, where they will be able to place their works.
30/10/2022
From October 24th till October 26th 2022 we were visited by students of the Department of Fine Arts and Intermedia from the Technical University of Košice. The playwrights of the Into the Miracles festival and the coordinators of the Resurrection of the Miracle project presented them with the project’s intentions, the artistic concept of the festival and the possibilities of their involvement. The students also visited some of the selected locations of the festival, where they will be able to place their works.
10/10/2022
From October 6th till October 8th 2022 we were visited by students of the Faculty of Fine Arts from the Academy of Arts in Banská Bystrica. The dramaturges of the Into the Miracles festival and the coordinators of the Resurrection of the Miracle project presented them with the project’s intentions, the artistic concept of the festival and the possibilities of their involvement. The students also visited some of the selected locations of the festival, where they will be able to place their works.
03/09/2022
In the autumn of 2022, there will be three more short artist residencies of young students of Slovak art schools. The Pôtoň cultural center invited 3 art departments to cooperate with the upcoming Into the Miracles festival: Department of Fine Arts and Intermedia – Technical University of Košice, Department of Architectural Design – University of Fine Arts in Bratislava, Faculty of Fine Arts – Academy of Arts, Banská Bystrica.
09/08/2022
We invite you to the work in progress presentation of the Liechtenstein artist Martina Morger, which will take place on August 10, 2022 at 8pm in the garden of the Pôtoň cultural center in Bátovce.
The artist will present the art installations she worked on during her stay in Bátovce. The works will be placed near the wine cellars near the village of Terany in July 2023 during the Into the Miracles festival.
Martina Morger’s work entitled Arrangements reflects our desires, needs and fears. It is an installation reminiscent of an altar where we gather, stop and refresh ourselves. An unexpected oasis.
04/08/2022
From August 1st, 2022 to August 11th, 2022, the artist residency of the Liechtenstein artist Martina Morger is taking place. Martina Morger lives and works in Liechtenstein and Hanover. Her performance and installation works speak about care and desire. She is the co-curator of the Perrrformat project, which brings performative art to the urban, public space. In the spring of 2020, Martina was a studio scholarship holder at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris and is the laureate of the Manor Art 2021 prize.
03/08/2022
Pôtoň Theatre is preparing a co-production site-specific performance “Call from the Terrace” in cooperation with the Norwegian Company B. Valiente. The work in progress presentation will take place on August 8, 2022 at 10:00 p.m. in the premises of the former spa terrace in Dudincie. The official premiere will be part of the unique international festival Into the Miracles on July 1, 2023.
The project’s Norwegian partner organization – Company B. Valiente – chose the former spa terrace in Dudinci for the realization of its new work, which is currently in a dilapidated and devastated state, despite the fact that for several decades it was a meeting center for guests as well as local residents of the spa town on southwest of Slovakia.
02/07/2022
On July 8, 2022, our current resident Karin Ospelt from Liechtenstein will have her mini-concert in our new Art Park.
Karin is a singer, songwriter and visual artist. As a musician and singer, she collaborates on the projects AEIOU (Danceable Synth Pop), Chaos Ark (Neo Soul) and Pioneer Plant (Jazz). In addition to the concert, you will also be able to see the essence of her upcoming work, which will have its first premiere at the Into the Miracles International Festival in 2023 in the churches of Beluj.
26/06/2022
ARTIST FROM LIECHTENSTEIN COMES TO US SOON
Karin Ospelt, a Liechtenstein visual artist, singer and musician, arrives on July 13 for her artistic residency. During 10 days she will work on the creation of her work for her chosen location from the festival route. She will also prepare a mini-concert, a workshop for the local community and a public presentation of the work.
23/05/2022
REHEARSAL PROCESS FOR NORWEGIAN-SLOVAK CO-PRODUCTION CONTINUES IN DUDINCE
The international performance The Call from the Terrace will be created for the abandoned building of the former Terrace restaurant, which is located in the spa park in Dudince. From today, the rehearsal process of creating a performance is already moving directly to this location. The international artistic team will be working here until May 29. After a few months break, the whole team will return here to complete the work to its final form. The public presentation, the preview of the performance, will be given in the spa park on August 9, 2022. Later, it will be one of the productions that will open the international festival Into the Miracles, on July 1, 2023.
14/05/2022
WE BEGIN REHEARSAL PROCESS FOR NORWEGIAN-SLOVAK CO-PRODUCTION
From tomorrow, May 15, 2022, the first phase of the rehearsal process for the Norwegian-Slovak co-production begins. The international performance called The Call from the Terrace is planned to be presented as the opening performance of the festival. The team consists of french theatre director Marcelino Martin Valiente, norwegian choreographer and dancer Gunhild Bjørnsgaard, video artist Jozef Eduard Masarik, playwright Katarína Marková and author of the art concept Iveta Ditte Jurčová. Five performers collaborate on the co-production: Ľubomír Bukový, Edita Antalová, Filip Jekkel, Magdaléna Skerenčáková and Mira Školová. Artists start their residence right at the Pôtoň Theatre. In a week they will move to Dudince.
07/04/2022
THE ONLINE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE IS SUCCESSFULLY ORGANIZED
Thank you to everyone involved.
In the course of two weeks, we would like to publish a record of lectures and discussions, as well as written lectures.
06/04/2022
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE HAPPENS TOMORROW
The conference Trends in Creative Work with the Audience starts tomorrow, April 7, 2022 at 10:00. The conference will take place on the online Zoom platform and interested parties must register here: https://forms.office.com/r/vhzRRhpbtT.
Please register today the latest. As it is an international conference, it will be conducted in English without simultaneous translation.
02/03/2022
CHANGE OF THE DATE OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE TRENDS IN CREATIVE WORK WITH A VIEWER
Due to the outbreak of war in Ukraine, we agreed with the project partners to postpone the online international conference a month later. We would like to create space so that we can at least partly reflect the current situation during the conference.
The conference will take place on Thursday, April 7, 2022 from 10:00 to 13:00 online. It will be held in English. You can find out more about the conference on our social networks.
01/03/2022
ICELANDIC ARTISTS ARE FLYING HOME
Over the weekend, we ended a month-long residency of Icelandic artists working in progress with a presentation of the artwork that was created, which will be officially presented as part of the international event Into the Miracles in 2023.
The authors Hallveig Kristín Eiríksdóttir and Arnar Geir Gústafsson presented a mind map of their work and the process of its implementation. In addition, they organized a discussion for the audience associated with a workshop on the topics of artistic freedom.
20/02/2022
INVITATION FROM ICELANDIC ARTISTS
The workshop and work in progress presentation of Icelandic artists entitled “A being being!” will take place at the Pôtoň Theatre on February 26 from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm. The workshop will focus on spatial perception. In addition, it will address the issue of freedom. Viewers should wear appropriate clothing and footwear.
After the workshop, the Pôtoň Theater and the visiting artists will invite you to visit the premises of the theater and the studio in which the concept of the prepared work was created. We will discuss the very creative process of creating a new work, which will be presented at the site-specific festival Into the Miracles in 2023.
01/02/2022
ICELANDIC ARTISTS IN BÁTOVCE
The first artist residency of the international project Resurrection of a Miracle has started in Bátovce. We are hosting two artists from Iceland – Arnar Geir Gústafsson and Hallveig Kristín Eiríksdóttir, who are preparing a series of new works for next year’s Into the Miracles festival.
You can learn more about our artists here.
20/12/2021
SAVE THE DATE: INTERNATIONAL SITE-SPECIFIC FESTIVAL INTO THE MIRACLES
The multi-genre international site-specific festival Into the Miracles will take place from 1st July to 4th July 2023. The festival already has a chosen route that measures more than 60 kilometers and connects the villages of Dudince – Hontianske Tesáre – Sebechleby – Beluj – Baďan – Jabloňovce – Pečenice – Bátovce through hiking trails, which our future spectators – walkers should overcome to experience an unconventional artistic adventure. We will bring you more information about the festival in the coming months.
15/11/2021
MEETINGS WITH PARTNERS
In recent weeks, we have had several important meetings and interviews with our local partners. We were discussing the organization of the festival and the construction of tent towns with the mayors of the town of Dudince and the villages of Sebechleby, Baďan and Bátovce. We are happy that they are interested in cooperation with us and want to bring something new to the region. On the other hand, we regret that we are severely constrained by the current pandemic situation in the meetings.
25/10/2021
WE ARE WORKING HARD TO DEVELOP NEW MODEL OF FESTIVAL IN SLOVAK COUNTRYSIDE
The work on our project is significantly marked by the current pandemic situation. A working group of cultural managers, artists and experts in PR, fundraising and marketing regularly communicates with each other using online tools, but personal meetings in creative work are extremely important. At the end of October, we managed to organize a work meeting in Bátovce, where at least part of the organizational team met. We are working hard to bring contemporary art to the Slovak countryside in the summer of 2022 and to connect it unusually with tourism, discovery of local beauties, but also with current topics that we want to communicate with the public. It is a challenging but beautiful work which, we believe, will bring interesting results.
01/10/2021
SAVE THE DATE: THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE „TRENDS IN CREATIVE WORK WITH AUDIENCE“
The Pôtoň Theater organizes an international online conference focused on creative work with the audience. The online conference will take place on March 9, 2022 and will feature six experts from Slovakia, Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland, who will present innovative cultural and artistic projects implemented in the mentioned countries. The conference is intended mainly for artists, cultural operators and students of art and cultural programs.
We will publish more information about the conference at the beginning of the year 2022.
08/09/2021
COME ON A HIKE WITH US
Days from 21st till 23d September we reserved for another test tour along the trail of next year’s international festival MIRACLES. You can be with us and pass sixty kilometers in three days.
If you want to experience it with us and give us feedback on the difficulty of the chosen route from Dudince through Hontianske Tesáre, Šipice, Sebechleby, Beluj, Baďan, Jabloňovce and Pečenice to Bátovce, write us a message at divadlo@poton.sk.
15/08/2021
THE FIRST SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITIES OF THE PROJECT ARE BEHIND US
At the end of July, we carried out several important activities of the Resurrection of Miracle project. Kick-off Meeting with our partners took place from 25th July to 1st August 2021. It was attended by artists and cultural operators from Slovakia, Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland, who were invited to participate in the project. The introductory meeting focused on discussions towards the idea of the festival, strategic planning, risk prevention and the delegation of tasks in the project. Together with partners and artists, we walked almost the entire 60-kilometer route chosen for the festival. The participating artists explored with us the relief of the landscape and interesting locations in the region, where they would later place their works of art. For the last three days, we moved to Banská Belá, where we spent the first shared artist residency in isolation, focused on the development of ideas and concepts of works of art and discussions on the possibilities of mutual cooperation.
28/07/2021
WE TALKED ABOUT THE PROJECT WITH THE PUBLIC
On Sunday, July 25, we held an opening conference, at which we presented the visions, aims and goals of the project, its ideological starting points. We also introduced the audience to all involved organizations and foreign artists who are involved in the project. The opening conference was attended by artists and cultural operators from Slovakia and partner countries, mayors and representatives of surrounding municipalities and the general public.
17/07/2021
THE GREAT KICK-OFF MEETING IS COMING
Introductory meeting of partners for the international project Resurrection of a Miracle: The development of a new model of the festival in the Slovak countryside will take place from 25.7.2021 to 1.8.2021. It will be attended by almost 20 artists and cultural operators from Slovakia, Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland. The meeting will focus on strategic planning and organizational meetings towards a joint project. At the same time, together with our partners, we will walk a trail of almost the entire 60-kilometer route on which we will place our festival. At the end of the meeting, there will be a shared artistic residence in Vila Bela in Banská Belá.
01/07/2021
60 KILOMETRE LONG ROUTE FOR MIRACLES FESTIVAL
In recent days and weeks, we have been intensively visiting the surrounding region. We walked long kilometers of hiking trails, we also walked off the hiking paths. We met with mayors from the surrounding villages. We managed to compile a route for our future festival, which will be almost 60 kilometers long. We will release the information about the route to the public at the opening conference for the project, which will take place on July 25 at 16:00.
15/06/2021
OPEN CALL: NORWEGIAN-SLOVAK THEATRE CO-PRODUCTION
The Pôtoň Theatre announces an open call for performers, video artists and costume designers for the upcoming Norwegian-Slovak co-production, which will premiere in the summer of 2022.
Deadline for applications: 15.7.2021
More information here: https://www.poton.sk/…/open-call-resurrection-of-miracle/
08/06/2021
OPENING CONFERENCE ON THE INTERNATIONAL PROJECT RESURRECTION OF THE MIRACLE
The Pôtoň Theare organizes the opening conference of the project Resurrection of Miracle, on which it cooperates with partners from Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland. The opening conference will take place in Pôtoň Theatre in Bátovce on 25 July 2021 from 16:00. The accompanying program will include a special opening of Juraj Poliak’s art installation and a concert by Ivana Mer & Nina Rosa.
The accompanying program of the opening conference is carried out within the project Center of Arts and Creativity, which is supported from public funds by the Slovak Arts Council.
01/05/2021
PROJECT CONTRACT IS SIGNED
At the end of April 2021, we signed the project contract for the Resurrection of Miracle project with the Ministry of Investment, Regional Development and Informatization of the Slovak Republic, which manages grants from the EEA and Norway. Our project was supported within the program “Entrepreneurship in Culture, Cultural Heritage and Cultural Cooperation”.
There is nothing stopping us now from rolling up our sleeves and getting to work.
12/03/2021
THE LINE BATOVCE – OSLO – REYKJAVÍK – VADUZ IS NOW OPEN
The preparation of international project Resurrection of Miracles has begun with an online call with all the international partners. A very pleasant meeting, which however brought more questions than answers for now. Especially considering unceasing pandemic in Europe and in particular in Slovakia, where the majority of the project activities is supposed to happen. The project team will be facing many challenges.
01/03/2021
PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS FOR THE PROJECT RESURRECTION OF THE MIRACLE ARE SIGNED
A major international project must also have large – fifty page long – partnership agreements. Together with the Icelandic Tjarnarbíó, the Liechtenstein Kultur-Traverse and the Norwegian Company B. Valiente, we are officially starting to work intensively on a new project.
Pôtoň (SK)
Monika Škojcová, project manager
E-mail: skojcova@poton.sk
Company B. Valiente (NOR)
Gunhild Bjornsgaard, general manager
E-mail: gun.bj@online.no
Tjarnarbíó (ISL)
Sindri Þór Sigríðarson, manager
E-mail: sindri@tjarnarbio.is
Kulture – Traverse (LIE)
Elmar Gangl, president
E-mail: info@kultur-traverse.com
Opening conference on the project
FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF THE PROJECT
The Pôtoň Theatre from Bátovce, together with the partner organizations Company B. Valiente from Norway, Tjarnarbio from Iceland and Kultur-Traverse from Liechtenstein, is implementing a project supported by a grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Financial Mechanism entitled ”Resurrection of Miracle: Development of New Model of Art Festival in Slovak Countryside”.
Project code: CLT02023
Support program: Entrepreneurship in the field of culture, cultural heritage and cultural cooperation
Project implementation date: July 2020 – March 2024
Grant amount awarded: EUR 200,000
The project is co-financed by the State Budget of the Slovak Republic in the amount of 15%.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The project Resurrection of Miracle: Development of New Model of Art Festival in Slovak Countryside benefits from a 170 000 € grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Grants. The project has been co-financed from the State Budget of the Slovak Republic in the amount of 30 000 €. The aim of the project is the audience development, support od the art creation, presentation of contemporary art and development of partnerships at local, national and international levels. The project includes a series of activities leading to the realization of a unique model of an international artistic site-specific festival, which will be placed on tourist routes.
INFORMATION ON FINANCIAL SUPPORT
The EEA and Norway Grants represent the contribution of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway towards a green, competitive and inclusive Europe.
There are two overall objectives: reduction of economic and social disparities in Europe, and to strengthen bilateral relations between the donor countries and 15 EU countries in Central and Southern Europe and the Baltics.
The three donor countries cooperate closely with the EU through the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA). The donors have provided €3.3 billion through consecutive grant schemes between 1994 and 2014. For the period 2014-2021, the EEA and Norway Grants amount to €2.8 billion.
• The priorities for this period are:
• Innovation, Research, Education and Competitiveness
• Social Inclusion, Youth Employment and Poverty Reduction
• Environment, Energy, Climate Change and Low Carbon Economy
• Culture, Civil Society, Good Governance and Fundamental Rights
• Justice and Home Affairs
Eligibility for the Grants mirror the criteria set for the EU Cohesion Fund aimed at member countries where the Gross National Income (GNI) per inhabitant is less than 90% of the EU average.
The EEA and Norway Grants scheme consists of two financial mechanisms. The EEA Grants are jointly financed by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, whose contributions are based on their GDP. Norway Grants are financed solely by Norway.
All projects are co-financed by the State Budget of the Slovak Republic in the amount of 15%.
If you want to know more about programmes and projects financed by the EEA Grants in Slovakia, visit www.eeagrants.sk. You can also visit a Facebook fanpage Granty EHP a Nórska na Slovensku.
Case study: Buy Immortality – Story of a Successful Fundraising Campaign (Marek Adamov)
Trends in Creative Work with Audience in Iceland (Fridrik Fridriksson)
Including Everyone – Current Trends in Work with Audience in Norway (Gunhild Bjørnsgaard)
Bringing Miracles to Slovak Countryside: Site Specific Projects of Poton Theatre (Monika Škojcová)