Culture Moves Europe
First Comments on Culture Moves Europe

The artists Jean-François Bizieau, Patricia Antón de Vez, Akiko Takahashi and Martina dal Brollo share their experiences in the context of Culture Moves Europe.

Jean-François Bizieau, Performing Arts:
“All the research, artistic experiences and sharing with the artists here will carry me into a new period of creation in the times to come. The richness of this adventure will have great consequences on the development of my work. I hope to work again with several artists I met there.”

• Country of origin: France
• Country of destination: Iceland

During his stay at the Fresh Winds International Art Biennale Iceland, Jean-François Bizieau was able to conduct choreographic research which led to the creation of three new performances – some of them with several other international musicians, dancers, and visual artists. His work explored the power of nature, including through outdoor performances reflecting on the unique conditions offered by the Icelandic winter.

Patricia Anton de Vez, Literary Translation:
"I got to see all the places Clift describes in her book and that was huge inspiration for my translation into Spanish… I loved to be able to imbibe myself in the life of the island and fully understand all the nuances of Clift's memoir and reflecting them in my translation."

• Country of origin: Spain
• Country of destination: Greece

Patricia Anton de Vez explored the surroundings of Greek island Hydra, where Charmian Clift used to live, an Australian writer who was very prominent in Greece in the 1950s and 1960s. The mobility provided Patricia with a direct insight into the area and its people, which helped her with the translation of the second memoir of Charmian Clift, “Mermaid Singing”.

Akiko Takashi, Design and Fashion Design:
“The ‘Culture Moves Europe’ project is the best opportunity to have a focused time in a creative environment and thus be completely back to the art field again.”

• Country of origin: Germany
• Country of destination: Austria

During her project, Akiko Takashi wrote a programme that learns and produces knitting patterns with beautiful randomness. In the future, it could offer fashion artists an opportunity to both explore thousands of existing designs and produce new patterns that have never been seen in man-made knitting before. In a fashion industry where most items are only worn a few times, these unique designs can help people express themselves, be proud of themselves, and the item has a higher chance to be used in the long-term.

Martina dal Brollo, Visual Arts:
“Collaborating with different audiences was an enriching experience because it helped me to see my project from a new perspective. I was a bit stuck before but now I feel inspired to use this experience as an occasion to create new content and reflections”

• Country of origin: Netherlands
• Country of destination: Spain

This project aims to connect different audiences and trigger people's attention on plastic pollution through an artistic perspective and participatory action. The project consists of 2 phases: first, a shared experience of collecting stories and garbage in the environment and a creative moment of “transformation” using a selfbuilt mobile studio is created. Then, an interactive installation is presented at the end of the journey.“

The artist portraits were provided by Jennifer Waag, Team Leader, and Magdalena Rausch, Communication and Outreach Officer for the Culture Moves Europe project.