Tereza Slezak Barčáková
Invited by the city Trenčín, Slovakia
"I just want to tell you - let's hold on. One day it will be over, and we need to plan and be prepared for such a world."
I would like to tell you how hard it is to prepare a major European project during a pandemic. It is difficult, which is not surprising, but beautiful as well. I guess this can be a surprise. The cliché, "you can do anything you set your mind to'' has been working perfectly in my case.
My ears hurt because of earphone overuse. I gained weight. My back aches from sitting. My windows are not clean. Pasta is for lunch again. But everything is ok because I am here. I have got an opportunity to work. In fact, I should be happy to be at home. Currently, the city of Trenčín is in the second round of its candidacy for the European Capital of Culture in 2026. In February we managed to succeed, and we made it to the next round of the most important cultural title competition together with Nitra and Žilina. Now we have a chance to change our city and the region. Even the entire country. Joining in this ,,battle" is a huge commitment and a very serious one for us. In this terrible pandemic era, after a very sad year full of bad and worse news, I clearly see a light at the end of the tunnel. It is European Trenčín caring about its people, culture, city, and nature. It can be its citizens, who are both Slovaks and Europeans. It can be our disadvantaged friends sitting in the front rows at cultural events. It can be creative people working in Trenčín. It can be our communities in suburbs, but also in the city centre. It can be artists, organisations, and cultural managers who always want to do and know more. It can be the Green bridge, city of sustainable fashion, and design hub. It can be an international friendship. It can be a city, where curiosity is more valuable than gold. It is far from ideal to work online on such ambitious plans as my computer screen can act as a big barrier. On one hand, it helps us connect with each other, on the other it also separates us. My first intention was to complain about online work because everything takes longer and efficiency is low. But after a year of the pandemic, you all know it: we are not the only ones who must/want to work under such conditions. Nevertheless, a group of dynamic, determined, and ambitious people who want to break down barriers met in the Trenčín 2026 team, and we are not alone. Citizens of Trenčín are clearly and loudly with us. Therefore, I just want to tell you - let's hold on. One day it will be over, and we need to plan and be prepared for such a world. Culture is the plan. It is a cure which does not conquer covid, but our souls need it even more. Let's applaud doctors but also artists because culture connects even in these difficult times. Culture is a language that everyone understands. In Trenčín, we said to ourselves that culture would not work without curiosity. Curiosity is the starting point, the journey, and the goal. It is a way of perceiving the world and enjoying it. Nonetheless, a question is sometimes more important than the answer. That is why we need to cultivate curiosity. How do you feel about this? Will you join in this exciting trip? |
Chcela by som vám priblížiť, aké to je písať významný európsky projekt v dobe pandémie. Náročné. To asi nikoho neprekvapí. Náročné, ale krásne. To by ste asi nečakali. Chcem vám povedať, že klišé ,,keď sa chce, tak sa dá'', funguje.
Bolia ma uši zo slúchadiel. Pribrala som. Bolí ma chrbát zo sedenia. Nemám umyté okná. Bolí ma hlava z monitoru. Znova mám na obed cestoviny. Ale to je v poriadku. Som tu a môžem pracovať. Vlastne by som sa mala tešiť, že som doma. Aktuálne sa mesto Trenčín nachádza v druhom kole kandidatúry na Európske hlavné mesto kultúry 2026. Vo februári sme postúpili spolu s Nitrou a Žilinou do boja o tento najprestížnejší európsky kultúrny titul. Vďaka nemu môžme zmeniť mesto. Aj región. Vlastne celú krajinu. Už len pustiť sa do tohto ,,boja'' je veľký záväzok, ale my ho myslíme naozaj vážne. V celom tomto príšernom stave, po veľmi smutnom roku, neustále zlých a horších správach vidím jedno svetlo na konci tunela. Európsky Trenčín, ktorému záleží na ľudoch, kultúre, meste a prírode. Sú to Trenčania, ktorí sú rovnako Slováci aj Európania. Sú to kamaráti so znevýhodnením sediaci v prvých radách na kultúrnych podujatiach. Sú to kreatívni ľudia pracujúci v Trenčíne. Sú to komunity na sídliskách, ale aj v centre mesta. Sú to umelci, organizácie aj kultúrni manažéri, ktorí chcú vždy vedieť viac. Sú to návštevy a cesty. Je to Zelený most, mesto udržateľnej módy a dizajnérsky hub. Sú to medzinárodné priateľstvá. Je to mesto, kde je zvedavosť cennejšie ako zlato. Pracovať na takýchto ambicióznych plánoch online nie je ideálne. Monitor je bariéra. Na jednu stranu spája, ale niekedy viac rozdeľuje. V tíme Trenčín 2026 sa stretla skupina dynamických, odhodlaných a ambicióznych ľudí, ktorá chce búrať bariéry. A nie sme v tom sami. Obyvatelia mesta sa ozývajú, že aj oni. Pôvodne som vám chcela rozprávať o tom, aké je to zlé pracovať celý deň a každý deň na diaľku. Všetko trvá dlhšie a efektivita je často nízka. Ale po roku pandémie to už všetci poznáte. Nie sme jediní, ktorí v takých podmienkach musia/chcú pracovať. Chcem vám len povedať - vydržme. Ono to jedného dňa skončí a my si musíme ten svet naplánovať. Kultúra je ten plán. Je to liek, ktorý síce neporazí covid, ale naša duša tiež niekedy potrebuje vyliečiť. Tlieskajme lekárom, ale aj umelcom. Kultúra nás spája aj v týchto ťažkých časoch.Kultúra je jazyk, ktorému rozumie každý. V Trenčíne sme si povedali, že by kultúra bez zvedavosti nefungovala. Zvedavosť je štartovací bod, cesta aj cieľ. Je to spôsob ako vnímať svet, ako mať z neho radosť. Otázka je totižto niekedy dôležitejšia ako odpoveď. Preto ju treba pestovať. Tak čo, pridáte sa na túto vzrušujúcu cestu? |
Tereza Slezak BarčákováTereza is a member of Trenčín 2026 team. In the project she is responsible for the European Dimension and international communication and partnerships. Although she usually writes marketing texts, she was happy to have a chance to step into something artistic through participation in Europe at home. She is an active part of Trenčín's cultural life - she founded festival Priestor and is a member of organisation Hlava 5 mapping and popularizing art in public space.
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About Europe at Home
This project invites different European cities to bring an artistic perspective on the particular moment of our history – the COVID-19 pandemic - that was lived “at home”. “Europe at Home” is a project carried out by Faro – European Capital of Culture 2027 Candidate City. For more information, please send us an email. |
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