BALATORIUM Ecological-Cultural Week 2023
The BALATORIUM is the flagship ecological-cultural project of the Veszprém-Balaton 2023 European Capital of Culture programme helmed by the PAD Foundation, both in organizing and conception.The aim of the ECC is to present the ecological context of the Lake Balaton region with the help of cultural and artistic tools and to draw attention to the fact that a common effort is required to ensure the future of Lake Balaton. The two-year programme series will culminate in the 2023 Ecological - Cultural Week.
The organisers of the project are taking as many approaches as possible through music and discussions, workshops, slow landscape walks, art activities and gastronomic programmes so as to highlight the vulnerability of Lake Balaton.
On Saturday, August 19th, the week will debut with a gastronomical event series having an ecological focus, the BALATORIUM Menu,. Restaurants from around Lake Balaton and service establishments in cooperation with szabadonbalaton will be preparing food and drink tastings which will illustrate the ecological challenges of the Balaton region, from the raw materials used in the cuisine, to the processes in the lake to the environmental issues of food supply chains.
Also on Saturday, August 19th, the Voices of Balaton album launch concert will be taking place at the Salföldi Mine starting from 15:00. The album, which was born as part of the BALATORIUM project, consists of songs written by 12 national artists using the sound samples of Lake Balaton. The concert will feature performances from Дeva, Jazzbois, Wave of Sound, Onakom and Józsi Hegedűs. It is worth getting to the venue well before the concerts start to freely have a chat over algae spritzers with ecologists at the szabadonbalaton bar, but you can also take part in a slow landscape tour.
Within the framework of the BALATORIUM Ecological-Cultural Week, the Balaton Limnological
Research Institute in Tihany will be holding an open day on Friday, August 25th. The country's largest biological research institute will receive visitors who can experience the work of the institute by visiting the
laboratories and the historic complex of buildings, as well as by learning about the lake's endemic
and invasive species. It is not only the researchers who are preparing for the day, participants of the BALATORIUM art residency programme will also be exhibiting their work.
Also on August 25th, the Hungarian University of Fine Arts will hold an open day at the artists' retreat in Tihany. The aim of the contemporary art programme is to give visitors the opportunity to get to know the work and everyday life of the József Somogyi art retreat on the shores of the inner lake of Tihany and to learn about the different artistic practices of the university students and their diverse creative processes that are linked to this significant location and landscape boasting the most special features.
The two sites in Tihany are also linked at the programme level: a guided walk will be starting from the Limnological Research Institute on the shores of Lake Balaton to the Artists' Retreat.
On August 26-27th, the Ecological - Cultural Weekend will provide a variety of activities at the public beach of Örvényes. Discussions, workshops, as well as children's activities will help you learn about the ecological challenges of the lake, algae spritzers can be sampled at the szabadonbalaton bar, you can take a moment to read at the beach library, but also try out water vehicles made out of reed and other natural materials.
The "observatory", designed specifically for this weekend, will provide a space where you can talk to experts and artists about ecological issues. SLOWWALK walks along the shore and guided tours of the Balaton Friendly Garden project’s pilot vegetable patch will also be available. MOME will also be present at the beach, where the guests can learn how the students have combined ecological processes with design, in the form of installations and data visualisations, and what kind of educational curricula has been developed for secondary school students in cooperation with the Bakony-Balaton Environmental Education Centre.
Video of the BALATORIUM Ecological x Cultural Weekend 2022:
Events:
Aug. 19th - Balatorium Menu
Aug. 19th - Sounds of Lake Balaton album launch concert / Bánya Kert
Aug 25th - Open day at the Balaton Limnological Research Institute
Aug 25th - Open Day at the Artists' Retreat of the Hungarian University of Fine Arts in Tihany
Aug 26-27th - Ecological x Cultural Weekend / Örvényes
