Cardboardia proposal for the
Győr European Culture Capital 2023
The question raised in the "City" program package respond to the sphere of interests/activity of Cardboardia. For the years of our activity we have been researching similar questions and we have an experience to share.
Travelling around the world we studying local communities, focusing on small towns and villages. We integrate into local communities to better understand their particularities and to understand their self-identification. Usually we do a public event: festival, interactive street performance, sometimes we make a venue as a part of a festival, but all this events are preceded by a set of workshops with local people , we are developing the concept of the project and making the script and create content of event, together we build decorations and props. Cardboardia team is always mixed: local people and visitors, professional artists, performers and people from different professional fields passionate by action in life.
Workshops are focused on basic skills of design, working with cardboard, event and festival management and organizing public events as well as performing and circus skills. But it not about teaching - we create space Cardboardia Laboratory or Cardboardia Embassy, where people can communicate on one level, not stressed by everyday worries, share experience, help each other. Our main goal is to find local people and projects to inspire and develop. Projects and people we are interested in could be different: artists, performers, entrepreneurs, makers, social activists, anyone with passion to create! We believe that after this people will contribute back to local community as well to International community of personages of Cardboardia.
Travelling around the world we studying local communities, focusing on small towns and villages. We integrate into local communities to better understand their particularities and to understand their self-identification. Usually we do a public event: festival, interactive street performance, sometimes we make a venue as a part of a festival, but all this events are preceded by a set of workshops with local people , we are developing the concept of the project and making the script and create content of event, together we build decorations and props. Cardboardia team is always mixed: local people and visitors, professional artists, performers and people from different professional fields passionate by action in life.
Workshops are focused on basic skills of design, working with cardboard, event and festival management and organizing public events as well as performing and circus skills. But it not about teaching - we create space Cardboardia Laboratory or Cardboardia Embassy, where people can communicate on one level, not stressed by everyday worries, share experience, help each other. Our main goal is to find local people and projects to inspire and develop. Projects and people we are interested in could be different: artists, performers, entrepreneurs, makers, social activists, anyone with passion to create! We believe that after this people will contribute back to local community as well to International community of personages of Cardboardia.
Key guidelines
What should we do to create the atmosprere of the city comfortable for living? What advantages does the strong economic background offer for culture? Can small creative projects or even one person effectively contribute?
Are people still distinct by the territory they are living? In our case how to support the feel of "Győrness" among the people?
How should we build the new relationships in the modern society?
In the new fast changing world is it necessary to preserve an institute of the neighborhood? If "yes", which instruments should we use for it?
Nowadays it's easy to change the working place and the place of living. Research shows that a big amount of citizens are newcomers. They don't associate themselves with the city they are living. People are less connected with the places and their neighbors. Literally when city has no owners, it obtains an atmosphere of railway station where all people are just passersby. It's important to make the atmosphere of the city more hospitable and welcome, make it a place you visit once and you want to come back. It's easier to do it when people feel their citizenship. We think that it's important to clearly understand who you are and where your roots came from.
It's important to get experience travelling and meeting different people, but it always good to have home where you can back and feel safe.
It's important to get experience travelling and meeting different people, but it always good to have home where you can back and feel safe.
How can Cardboardia contribute the questions
raised in the "City" program package
raised in the "City" program package
The main goal of our work is to start a creative process that can be runned and developed by local people themselves. Our mission is propose to people different tools to work on it and help them with searching ways of developing on starting point.
We are working on a program that can be developed for all four years of preparation for ECC year. In the framework of it we will form a strong and motivated acting local team, working on the preparation process of all events in frame "City".
Tasks to develop:
1
Trying to find active and interested people and give them tools to express their creativity and fulfill their ideas
We propose to create a permanent independent Cardboardia embassy, a cultural platform for developing chosen topics through discussions, meetings workshops,public talks. It should be a permanent chosen place, hosted by local art center or school. Embassy also can work as a workshop and co-working platform, it should become a space where everyone can feel free and everyone can express the ideas.
This initiative should be curated both personages of Cardboardia, in some general questions, and local activists. To make it work each participant should be personally involved and feel his own role.
This concept reflects the idea of virtual City Workshop and gives opportunities to develop it in the real dimension, giving virtual a role of the additional platform.
This initiative should be curated both personages of Cardboardia, in some general questions, and local activists. To make it work each participant should be personally involved and feel his own role.
This concept reflects the idea of virtual City Workshop and gives opportunities to develop it in the real dimension, giving virtual a role of the additional platform.
2
Researching an actual social and cultural situation and choosing a topic in the context of actual problems and needs
Through open calls for participation in Cardboardia workshops we will found local participants with them we will research first level and main actual topics of discussion for city community. We are planning to invite other artists and researchers for this stage. Next projects will be more deep researching for founded topics with invitation special projects leads from different backgrounds from artists to scientists. The Tower, Flag and Promenade projects can be developed through this workshops!
3
While working on the project, participants become an acting team instead of being just a group of strangers.
A space free from social, cultural and generational boarders, where everyone feels free to express. Moreover trough workshops the participants obtain basic skills of design, working with cardboard, event and festival management, creative economy and organising of public events, art in public spaces, as well as performing and circus skills.
4
Holding international conferences
To attract to the discussion more experienced specialists, to get the inspiration, practical networking and exchange the experience, we suggest to hold international meetings, inviting such participants as Meeting of International network for contemporary performing arts IETM, European Seminar for the Development of Street Arts, Fresh Street by Circostrada, Tandem a cultural collaboration programme that strengthens civil society. Such events give an opportunity to present local projects and artists on the international level and to be be in the context of international agenda.
5
The aim is to avaken an acting and creative potential of local people
So far Cardboardia has made a lot of projects in Russia, UK an different European cities. Our experience shows that the long-lasting impact persists after even short term project. Usually our Laboratory work up to 1 month. Experience that people get while participating helps them to find like-minded neibhours or to change their work or to start to their own creative business.
6
The project will have a foresseeable outcome.
Concentrating on the closer aims, such as festival, interactive performance, parade, public workshop, team will build a sustainable system of creating and sharing. I very important to create system that give opportunity for local people to be in charge, but same time have possibilities for cooperation and co-productions.
We are making a series of projects ending with public events, that demonstrate the opportunities and ways of collaboration local and international people (artists, producers, performers, managers etc.) Through the atmosphere of public events tourists and newcomers attracted as well.
We are making a series of projects ending with public events, that demonstrate the opportunities and ways of collaboration local and international people (artists, producers, performers, managers etc.) Through the atmosphere of public events tourists and newcomers attracted as well.
There are a lot of examples when festivals and citywide holidays have a big impact on the different spheres of life of the city. Personages of Cardboardia collaborate with many from it that connected to really small towns, that searching for new perspectives for developing. For example - Festival of Thrift in Redcar, Handmade Parade in Hebden Bridge, village Dvorjaninovo in Russia,
We set up a Cardboardia embassy in the Dvorjaninovo (109 km from Moscow) and worked there for a 4 month's. But in fact there is no end of it, instead of it there is a working example of long-lasting cultural impact on the chosen area.
Our task was to draw the attention of the audience from neighboring cities and Moscow to the new processes taking place in the village. Make the place attractive for tourists. Our customer was the developer, whose goal was to attract the buyers to the land and customers to build in the village new houses. It was also planned to build a hotel on the territory.
At Cardboardia Embassy we made everyday open workshop where people can come anytime and contribute to construction of toy layout of the area where Dvorjaninovo is located. It was space where people can actually met, we organize parties and dinners for local people and try to found the ways for informal discussions and searching for new form of cooperation. Someone making cheese, someone have a stable, we found even ostrich farm... Our proposal was joint forces to build out new touristic routes between local farmers. Main event was Harvest fest that was visited by 500 people, first time this field saw this amount of people.
Now hotel "Bolotov Dacha" with Ciferblat Cafe and "Mark and Lev" farmer's shop opened in area and attract a lot of tourists. More local farmers join community of village. New citizens show up and new investors try to build houses for rent in a field.
Our task was to draw the attention of the audience from neighboring cities and Moscow to the new processes taking place in the village. Make the place attractive for tourists. Our customer was the developer, whose goal was to attract the buyers to the land and customers to build in the village new houses. It was also planned to build a hotel on the territory.
At Cardboardia Embassy we made everyday open workshop where people can come anytime and contribute to construction of toy layout of the area where Dvorjaninovo is located. It was space where people can actually met, we organize parties and dinners for local people and try to found the ways for informal discussions and searching for new form of cooperation. Someone making cheese, someone have a stable, we found even ostrich farm... Our proposal was joint forces to build out new touristic routes between local farmers. Main event was Harvest fest that was visited by 500 people, first time this field saw this amount of people.
Now hotel "Bolotov Dacha" with Ciferblat Cafe and "Mark and Lev" farmer's shop opened in area and attract a lot of tourists. More local farmers join community of village. New citizens show up and new investors try to build houses for rent in a field.
| Festival "Harvest" video |
Thrift Festival, UK
Thrift Festival is a good example of a local event than become a national attraction. It promotes local community and sustainable living, attracts a positive attention of media and people to the region and forms the reputation. Supports the economics, attracting tourists and visitors.
The organizers invited Cardboardia to find new ways to attract the local community. Cardboardia participated in Thrift festival for 3 times. First time we provide small 2 days workshop in Redcar area, mostly for local artists, after it some people join Cardboardia community and join some projects after, include organizing performances and parade in Redcar .
The organizers invited Cardboardia to find new ways to attract the local community. Cardboardia participated in Thrift festival for 3 times. First time we provide small 2 days workshop in Redcar area, mostly for local artists, after it some people join Cardboardia community and join some projects after, include organizing performances and parade in Redcar .
Hebden Bridge Handmade Parade, UK
Handmade Parade in Hebden Bridge, UK started in 2008 as a small local event, made by artists Andrew Kim and his small team. It promote local artists and makers, celebrates the creativity, variety and the uniqueness of Hebden Bridge and its surrounding areas. For ten years of its existence it becomes markable festival that attracts participants not even only from the UK. It was start with not more then 150 participants and some local people come out to look on strange freaks, but now it more then 2000 participants and more then 15 000 people come from around towns to see this great show!
Last years not only local artists join workshops. For example Cardboardia team participated 2 times in Handmade Parade. First year Cardboardia team and local families worked together for a month to build objects and costumes for parade and rehearse special performance. Later some people from Habden Bridge join Cardboardia projects and Personages of Cardboardia back to contribute for parade with new ideas and art!
Last years not only local artists join workshops. For example Cardboardia team participated 2 times in Handmade Parade. First year Cardboardia team and local families worked together for a month to build objects and costumes for parade and rehearse special performance. Later some people from Habden Bridge join Cardboardia projects and Personages of Cardboardia back to contribute for parade with new ideas and art!
Kartonkamsk, Cardboard Town, Perm,Russia, 2012
Materialization of Cardboard towns is an experimental project where on the limited area and limited time appear social and economical structure of the real town. So far Cardboardia has build 11 Cardboard towns, with its own infrastructure, currency and financial system, social institutions. The biggest one was in Perm, Russia in 2012. For the two weeks of its existence 400 000 tourists came to it during 3 weeks.
Each participant, citizen of the Cardboard town was encouraged with his ideas. You can run a shop or make an exhibition and present to the citizens and tourists of cardboard town. Local people, that went as a visitors stayed and became a citizens.
Each participant, citizen of the Cardboard town was encouraged with his ideas. You can run a shop or make an exhibition and present to the citizens and tourists of cardboard town. Local people, that went as a visitors stayed and became a citizens.
Cardboardia collaboration with big amount of international partners that work in the junction of social and community work, art and architecture, gives us an opportunity to involve them somehow as an advisers or participants in the development of the project in Győr.
One smaller but late example of Tyran of Cardboardia curating experience is Polytech Festival in Moscow in 2018.
One smaller but late example of Tyran of Cardboardia curating experience is Polytech Festival in Moscow in 2018.
Polytech Festival, Moscow, 2018
The Polytech Festival of science, art, and technologies is a large-scale popular science educational weekend organized in Moscow. Tyran of Cardboardia was one of the curators of the festival, so far, Cardboardia presented own festival venue and besides that invited performers and makers teams: Stalker Teatro (Italia), Cardboarders (Netherlands) and Noisy Toys (UK), who made a unique venues and projects.
All the venues was highly interactive and were organised with the help of local Moscow people and with the help of Cardboardia interns.
All the venues was highly interactive and were organised with the help of local Moscow people and with the help of Cardboardia interns.
about
Cardboardia
Who are we and what do we do?
Cardboardia is an independent community of artists, performers, event-managers and specialists in different areas of humanitarian knowledge around the world. It was founded in 2007 and since then its leader Sergey Korsakov, journalist, 'Foolosopher' and producer, has together with his colleagues been developing Cardboardia in different directions and expanding its activities. Today the community has three permanent embassies - one in Moscow, Russia, where it was set up, one in Hebden Bridge, UK and one in Riga, Latvia, and a lot of mobile embassies around Russia, Poland, Denmark, Taiwan, Greece, Finland and Slovakia.
Cardboardia is a research project exploring topical social questions. Today, one of the most important matters is how to communicate in our modern fast changing world. Cardboardia offers opportunities for people to meet and to build relationships through art and creativity, thus producing alternative platforms for cooperation. It shares its ideas with local communities and in different ways it helps them to establish, or reestablish conditions for collaboration, for celebration and perhaps even preservation of a local sense of community or neighbourhood. In a world of more and more possibilities for increased mobility and the globalization of information, people are also searching for new forms of community building, based not on territory or just some interest that might unite them, but on new forms of integration and community yet to be found.
Cardboardia supports the creative economy implementing new intellectual achievements in its activity. Every Cardboardia programme gives an opportunity to try out new creative ideas and 'get out of the comfort zone', learn unusual skills and in the process make new friends. Anyone can experience different forms of art, such as theatre, music, performance and architecture in new and interactive ways.
Cardboardia supports the creative economy implementing new intellectual achievements in its activity. Every Cardboardia programme gives an opportunity to try out new creative ideas and 'get out of the comfort zone', learn unusual skills and in the process make new friends. Anyone can experience different forms of art, such as theatre, music, performance and architecture in new and interactive ways.
Statistics
More then 50
projects made by Persoanges of Cardboardia last two years!
Not less then 10 000
interns and personnages of Cardboardia all over the world
Around 50
towns around the world where was setup different Cardboardia embassies and laboratories
from 50 to 50 000
visitors of the public Cardboardia venues per day on different festivals
+7 968 942 69 95 (W/App, Telegram)
tyran@kupiworkshop.com
tyran@kupiworkshop.com