“Creating something sustainable with the power of culture”
St. Pölten (OTS/NLK) – “Tangente St. Pölten – Festival for Contemporary Culture” offers over 250 cross-disciplinary events from today, April 30th to October 6th, 2024. The starting signal was given today – with a festive opening in the “Bühne im Hof” and the Austrian premiere of the Opera “Justice” by Milo Rau in the St. Pölten Festival Hall.
In St. Pölten there is “more culture than ever before,” said state governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner at the opening. “With the power of culture” and in close cooperation between the city of St. Pölten and the state of Lower Austria, the aim is to strengthen the profile of the state capital, she emphasized, and also thanked the entire Tangente team. She was convinced that it would be “an unforgettable event Festival” and “the largest regional development project since becoming the state capital”.
Regarding the Tangente program, which is dedicated to the three central themes of democracy, memory and ecology, the state governor said that the task of politics is to “create a space for dialogue” and lay the basic requirements for an open discussion. Especially in the current, challenging times, “a dialogue that is based on appreciation and respect” is of great importance.
Mikl-Leitner was convinced that the Tangente Festival was “creating something sustainable.” In this context, she also referred to the reopening of the synagogue as a “milestone in the Austrian culture of remembrance and commemoration” as well as the children’s art laboratory, which aims to strengthen children’s creativity: “A project that is unique in Europe in its conception and dimensions. “The Tangente will offer “a sensational program,” said the state governor: “In this way, we are strengthening the cultural profile of our state capital and taking our state capital out into the world.”
Mayor Matthias Stadler also highlighted the cooperation between the city of St. Pölten and the state of Lower Austria. The Tangente Festival wants to “show off and move into a new era – with culture, cosmopolitanism and future orientation,” says Stadler. He thanked the festival team “for their commitment and passion,” and with initiatives such as the festival center they succeeded in “networking the local scene with the Austrian and international scenes.”
“The Tangente has long since begun,” recalled Tarun Kade, the Tangente’s curatorial director, in his speech about the application process for Capital of Culture 2024. “The path was difficult, but also full of hope, passion and vision,” he referred to the Planning after the Salzkammergut was awarded the contract. According to Tande, the festival will “provide impulses beyond its duration”.
The opening speech was given by the Spanish author Cristina Garcia Morales. Named one of the best Spanish-language writers under 35 by the literary magazine Granta in 2021, her works have been adapted for film, television and theater and translated into a dozen languages. After the ceremony, the premiere of “Justice” took place in the Festspielhaus St. Pölten, with the Tonkunstler Orchestra of Lower Austria playing.
The Tangente is an international festival with local roots. The program focuses on three themes: ecology, memory and democracy. These are developed from the city’s events and its history. The international guest performances and local collaborations take place at various venues in the state capital; existing institutions are involved as well as the independent scene.
To mark the opening, the Tangente St. Pölten invites you to its opening days from Tuesday, April 30th to Sunday, May 5th. On April 30th and May 1st, the opera “Justice” by Milo Rau, Hèctor Parra and Fiston Mwanza Mujila with the Tonkunstler Orchestra of Lower Austria is on the program. It is part of the focus on ecology in April/May, where the internationally successful project “Shared Landscapes” by Caroline Barneaud and Stefan Kaegi (Rimini Protocol) will also be performed. With the Tangente Street Festival on May 4th, the festival center shows its busy side – entry is free. The art course “The Way of the Water”, which shows 24 artistic positions along the Traisen and Mühlbach that were created in dialogue with the water, is also freely accessible. The “Alien Disko” curated by The Notwist will also be on display. For the first time in Austria is “Freeway Dance”, an extraordinary dance project by the Japanese choreographer Ayaka Nakama. “Tipping Time”, a high-profile climate conference for civil society, curated by Globart in collaboration with Solektiv, will take place in the Sonnenpark. And on May 11th and 17th, the premiere of “Alfa Romeo and the Electric Giulietta” by Wunderbaum will be celebrated. The second focus on memory follows in May/June, and democracy in September/October.
The festival center was opened at the same time as the festival. It is considered the “Heart of the Tangente” and was designed as a meeting place for the people of St. Pölten as well as local and international artists as well as a new cultural meeting place in the city. In the past few months, the Venetian architecture collective Biennale Urbana (Andrea Curtoni, Giulia Mazzorin and Andrea DeLorenzo) designed together with numerous local actors and students from the New Design University St. Pölten, the TU Vienna and the Linz University of Art and Design and almost exclusively through reuse of used materials, a public co-working space, a mediation room and much more.
Further information about Tangente St. Pölten events can be found on the website www.tangente-st-poelten.at.
Further information: Cornelia Ritzer, email: cornelia.ritzer@tangente-st-poelten.at, phone: 0664/60499240.
Questions & Contact:
Office of the Lower Austrian State Government
State Office Directorate/Public Relations
Mag. Christian Salzmann
02742/9005-12172
presse@noel.gv.at
www.noe.gv.at/presse