The eighth edition of pulzArt was held in the spirit of reinvention
The 8th edition of the pulzArt Contemporary Arts Festival offered special musical, theatrical, literary, and cinematic experiences, and exciting workshops that invited everyone to reinvent and experiment to awaken their curiosity towards contemporary art. The festival brought artists from 7 countries to Sfântu Gheorghe and the 34 events organized in 13 locations gathered 2,500 participants in 4 days.
The festival opened with a concert by the Munich-based jazz band Fazer, whose overwhelming energy combined with extraordinary talent was felt by the audience.
The 8th edition of pulzArt offered high-quality performances, we laughed heartily at Belgian visual artist Miet Warlop’s “After All Springville”, experiencing a range of moods and emotions from awe to sensitivity. In “White Rabbit, Red Rabbit”, we were invited on a journey about freedom of choice by our actors from Sfântu Gheorghe, who quickly turned us into the accomplices of Iranian Nassim Soleimanpour to carry forward the story of his rabbit with all the risks, small and large. We saw the delightful non-verbal puppet performances of the Strangeface company. In the play “Beached”, Arnold’s relaxing afternoon at the seaside turned into an unexpected underwater adventure, and Sergei, the protagonist of “Spaced”, also made his debut in front of Sfântu Gheorghe’s audience, whose members were able to hold the puppets in their hands at the end of the performances. One thing is for sure: theatre and puppet theatre experiences will stay in our minds for a long time.
The common denominator of the festival’s literary programs was the special, unique approach of the invited authors to the smaller and larger reality of our everyday life, of our community’s existence. In the opening, the writer Szvoren Edina was “unveiled” by literary historian Pieldner Judit about her works, her unique worldview, and her relationship with writing. The author was also present in two high schools in Sfântu Gheorghe, where she gave a unique literature class. The writer Vasile Ernu also joined us, in a meeting with the public moderated by the writer Andrei Dósa, about his life, his work, and his conception of the nation. The writer stressed that only those who have experienced being a minority themselves can react sensitively to minority issues, as his novels prove. Jászberényi Sándor, writer-journalist, had a lot to say in the discussion moderated by writer Miklóssi Szabó István. Jászberényi told about the various places he has been to, including the Ukrainian war theatre. What is war like? – asked the audience, and the writer did not shy away from answering this question with unabashed sincerity.
In the evening, the DJs who took care of the atmosphere in Zamat Cafe satisfied all our thirst for partying – whether it was light beats or complex tunes with live instrumentals, everyone found their favorite. Hugo Kant surprised us with his flute complementing his danceable beats, Egoless added bass guitar to his varied electronic harmonies, and Perkucigó fascinated us with the rhythms he added to Küb Beat’s selection of tunes. But we were also spoiled by the engaging, brightly colored visuals and local DJs such as Beast, Grid, and Dobri.
We also had a film weekend at Cinema Arta, where the Italian documentary “The Importance of Being an Architect” and the short film “Noise” could be watched, followed by a discussion with the local artists who contributed to the latter. Local architects’ ideas are often limited by fixed forms, and the sense of enclosure suggested by buildings is echoed in this short film.
The 8th pulzArt left an unforgettable imprint not only in our hearts and memories but also on one of our city’s buildings. One of the outside walls of the Csipike kindergarten is decorated with a reinterpreted symbol of folk art: a tree rising to the sky, growing from a seed into a bird of the soul.
As part of Sugár János’s “Time Patrol” project, 59 stories by volunteer storytellers were recorded in five locations in Sfântu Gheorghe, and over the course of five days, passers-by told almost 600 minutes of stories, some of which can be read in the “Time Patrol” newspaper, available for purchase at MAGMA Contemporary Art Exhibition Space (Libertății Square, no.2).
KreaCo Studio has given the space in front of the “Tamási Áron” Theatre a polish with an experimental interactive installation using 3D mapping. The pulzArt Play panel that was mounted in front of the building came to life through the interaction between special light effects and human movement: projected elements ripple and roll in reaction to people approaching the installation.
We had fun in the workshops too, accepting the Lego Challenge where art and drawing structures were created under the guidance of Young Engineers Afterschool, printing custom linocut symbols on different canvases in Jánosi Ágnes-Anikó’s textile workshop, and making ingenious theatre masks with the help of Russell Dean from the UK.
At pulzArt we look for new, vibrant worlds that transcend the barriers of our times and inspire us, and at the closing concert, we found all of this performed by the Brits from Noya Rayo! Thank you for joining us!
Organisers: Sfântu Gheorghe City Hall, Prospero Cultural and Youth Association, “Kónya Ádám” Cultural House
Co-organizers: “Bod Péter” County Library, Cimborák Puppet Theatre, Tone Troopers Audiovisual Youth Association
Partners: the Transylvanian Art Centre, Háromszék Dance Ensemble, M Studio, Székely Mikó College, Tamási Áron Theatre, Young Engineers, Zamat Café
Sponsors: MOL Foundation “Új Európa”, Park Hotel, Niedax, B the Hotel, Sepsi Value Centre, Sicmob.