CESTA's eight international arts festival announcement

[Anna Balint]

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VIOLENS 

CESTA’s eighth international arts festival of interdisciplinary collaborations 

August 22 through August 26, 2002 
CESTA (Cultural Exchange Station in Tábor), Czech republic 

Art and violence both seem to stem from the abstract: that place beyond 
logic, the realm of the emotion. When they intersect we are simultaneously
repelled and attracted, frightened and excited. Historically this meeting 
has been wrought with complexity, and as cultural violence in every society
increases, we are prevented by paranoia, censorship and ethical demands 
from asking, and sometimes even posing, some of the most important
questions violence and art together and separately produce: how is violence 
represented, and what or how much of it do we need to resist the cultivation
of fear and the encouragement of dependency? Is violence a tool, a process 
or a result? When are artistic portrayals of violence justifiable? As
intellectual exercise, ritual, or spiritual enhancement? For other purposes? 
Or are they never justifiable? Is violence in art an action, reaction, or
reflection? 

For VIOLENS we are informed by, but not limited to, defining art as social 
discourse and violence as the display of power and the expression of
dominance. CESTA invites artists from all disciplines to explore through 
collaboration violent portrayals, acts or themes towards critical analyses of
their origins, impact and meaning. 

CESTA's festival themes and parameters of cross-national interdisciplinary 
collaborations represent the center's commitment to improving
communication through creative expression. We base our selection of artists 
on a review of applications resulting from our annual open call. Applicants
request CESTA to connect them with collaboration partners or apply as a 
pre-formed collaboration group. For VIOLENS all final festival collaboration
groups must contain: 

1) more than one artistic medium 
2) more than one nationality 
3) work created exclusively for VIOLENS 
4) artists with experience in artistic collaboration 


Festival Application Deadline: February 15, 2002 

For an Open Call Application Form or more information, please contact us at: 
CESTA
Novákova 387
39001 Tábor, Czech Republic
tel/fax: +420-361-258004
cesta at mbox.vol.cz       www.cesta.cz