VISIONS BY BEATE WINKLER

Implementation of the project

Art: The exhibition "Transforming"

Project by Beate Winkler, opening in Autumn 2021, at Jecza Gallery Timişoara

The European and in Austria living artist Beate Winkler will inspire the project by the exhibition "Transforming" which marks the beginning of #newTogether.

She will display different types of her work which are closely linked to transition processes: she involves her paintings in processes of transformation.
They are partly controlled by her, and partly exposed to influences out of control.
In her art, she integrates the symbol of the blank paper and she works mainly with "old material" like handmade paper and ink.
She rolls her papers in and out – lifting them into sky, nailing them on walls in different ways and formats – or installing small painted books on the wall of the exhibition venue.
Her credo is to trust in transformation processes, in changing our perspectives, in changing our way of thinking and acting.

#newTogether dialogues

An interaction between art and civil society
Results integrated in Timişoara 2023 - European Capital of Culture

Beate Winkler develops an interaction with the visitors of her exhibition and participants of the project related workshops.
She explains e.g. in a letter the need for visions and asked the visitors to write or to paint their dream or hope for a new TOGETHER on a small painting by her.

Once dropped in a "Box for the Future", all these written or painted dreams and hopes (a word, a sentence, a symbol or a painting) will be displayed at the National Theatre/Sala 2, a prominent public space in the centre of Timişoara as part of a "common vision for a new TOGETHER".

This interaction in Timişoara will last longer than the exhibition and shall continue till the end of 2022.

Book of visions for a #newTogether

At the end of the project all the contributions of the participants to this project, all the collected visions for a new TOGETHER will be analysed and further elaborated to concrete proposals by the project board, documented in a "Book of visions for a new TOGETHER" and integrated in Timişoara 2023 - European Capital of Culture.

The "Book of visions for a new TOGETHER" will also contain the results of the workshops explained below. It is planned to hand it over to the Mayor of the city of Timişoara, the President of Romania and to one of the Vice Presidents of the European Parliament, asking them to take into account the results of the book in their future work.

"The ability to fantasize is as real as our ability to eat. A house you can live in may seem more important than a dream castle – but even the house we lived in was a dream castle before we built it."
Ruth Cohn, founder of the Theme-centered interaction

Panel discussions/Workshops

Panel discussions in cooperation with local partners and cultural stakeholders on the topic of a new TOGETHER will be, besides the exhibition, the basis and inspiration of workshops, where models of success are expected to be presented and concrete proposals for positive developments for a new TOGETHER will be elaborated.

In this way, networks between various parts of the civil society will be established or strengthened.

Six themes are considered:

Culture
Education
Environment
Business
Media
Social affairs/Inclusion/Community Development

What it is about:

"We cannot direct the wind. But we can adjust the sails."

The change we are confronted with daily is obvious - and profound, since it involves almost all aspects of life.

Not reacting to this situation and hoping that all will be over soon, is an option - yet not the smartest one. A better idea is to react actively and strategically to the situation on the long term.
This is the essence and the concern of our common project #newTogether.

My essay: "We have more options than we think" is yet another incentive to take up the situation and to actively shape it.
It can be found here.

Beate Winkler

Background

Beate Winkler is an artist and human rights politician. After years of leading positions in the field of human rights - she was the first female director of an EU agency, the current EU Fundamental Rights Agency, which she has built and led for a long time - art is at the centre of her life.

Solo exhibitions e.g. in Warsaw, Berlin, Graz.
Their goal is also to give impulses for change processes, to create space for pre-, post- and lateral thinking and to connect the disconnected.
In her projects, art and social dialogue work together, for example: Installation "Art of Change", Haus der Bundespressekonferenz Berlin, 2017.

She has initiated numerous innovative projects, e.g. the European CIVIS Media Prize and has published widely.
Further information: website; Instagram

The exhibition "Transforming"

Impact

Target audience and partners

The dialogue between local artists and the art of Beate Winkler is essential.
Different sorts of art shall be integrated in the entire project, e.g. performance, music, literature.
It´s the essence of art to create visions and to address emotions which are always
a part of any transformation process.

Target groups:

Representatives of the civil society
Experts in the field of intercultural dialogue
Artists
Teachers
Media representatives
Peers in the field of culture
Pioneers of innovative change and creative solutions

Partners

Austrian Cultural Forum Bucharest will approach organisations of the Romanian Civil society, especially those which are focused on education, intercultural dialogue, social development and environment.
Confirmed partners:
Timişoara National Theater, Jecza Gallery, Asociaţia Plai, CONCORDIA