Wiener Melange

Project

268850

Status

Submitted

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NEW EUROPEAN BAUHAUS RISING STARS : concepts or ideas submitted by young talents (aged 30 or less)

Project title

Wiener Melange

Full concept/idea title

Description

A (pop-up) festival with interdisciplinary exchange, providing a platform for interested people, students and professionals from various disciplines. This will open up a stage for (young) professionals, who contribute with their work and projects, to an inclusive and sustainable society. The aim of the festival is to create a network of knowledge that will strengthen the local community, who has the courage to research and experiment on new solutions for a caring coexistence. 

Where is your concept/idea being developed or intended to be implemented in the EU?

Please provide a summary of your concept/ idea

Wiener Melange is a (pop-up) festival with interdisciplinary exchange, providing a platform for interested people, students and professionals from all types of disciplines. The festival will take place within three days. During this period creative minds from various disciplines will open the doors to their Werkstätten* for the public—we call this the „Open Office Hours“. This will open up a stage for (young) professionals, who contribute with their work and projects, to an inclusive and sustainable society. The festival's main hub is the Festivalbase, a place where all disciplines come together, which encourages interaction, exchange, debate and dialogue. According to the Bauhaus tradition, visitors and participants are invited to engage on different levels. A continuous, diverse program is offered—from morning gymnastics to lectures, workshops, screenings, an exhibition space and performances. After the Open Office Hours, the festival base will assemble the various disciplines and will provide, in addition to the colorful program mentioned above, a place for dialogue and exchange. The aim of the festival is to create a network of knowledge that will strengthen the local community, which has the courage to research and experiment on new solutions for a caring coexistence in order to shape our future. (*Werkstätten functions in this text as a term for spaces of creation — like offices, studios, association spaces, research centers,…)

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of sustainability and how these would be met

Over the last few years, we have gone through a digital revolution. We are at a turning point in politics and we are in the middle of social and demographic changes. The climate crisis has become an essential topic of discussion which haunts us incessantly. It means to critically question the current state, to identify problems and potentials and to face the challenges in a young, dynamic and idealistic way. The festival is entirely dedicated to sustainability—in terms of the festival program, that is reflected in workshops, lectures, screenings, discussions, etc., but also in terms of the planning as well as the implementation of the festival. The networking of the different disciplines, which actively builds a bridge between art, technology, science and design, will contribute to the formation of innovative approaches to the overriding issue of sustainability. The festival base will be located in a central place in the city, thus allowing accessibility for all citizens in an uncomplicated way. We will work with existing places and spaces, which will be used temporarily for the festival through minimal interventions. Thus, a parking lot or an empty building in the midst of the urban space will become a lively center where everything and everyone comes together.

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience beyond functionality and how these would be met

The goal is to develop a new, contemporary aesthetic that connects to our needs and those of our environment, incorporating climate-neutral materials and technologies. Just as at the Bauhaus, the boundaries between feast and skill, work and debauchery, blur in order  to enable a dialogue aimed at identifying, questioning and responding to outdated structures. In this way, a contemporary style will develop that meets people's needs and creates lively, exciting, welcoming buildings and cities—this can and should happen in harmony with nature. Art acts as the driving engine of inspiration, while technology, with its scientific know-how, serves as a toolbox for change. The festival layout, with its colorful and distinctive graphics, forms the aesthetic frame—creating attention, interest and enthusiasm among the entire population. As a result, an informal exchange and playful engagement is made possible between a wide range of disciplines, encouraging people to learn together and from each other. The easy accessibility as well as the same right of participation of all people creates a place for dialogue and forms the foundation for a vibrant quality in work and communication.

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of inclusion and how these would be been met

A festival where everyone comes together in public space, with a low-threshold and accessible to everyone. The basic idea of the festival is to temporarily transform public space into an inclusive educational space through the most beautiful form of coming together—the festival. People should be invited directly from the the edge of the pavement. We want to celebrate and live community, whilst everyday life becomes an event and a stage. This takes place through the communal activities in form of discussion, communication and through learning with and from each other via lectures, workshops, exhibitions and performances. These activities are complemented by public meals, morning gymnastics, city walks and screenings. Just as the festival was once synonymous with the actual teaching at the Bauhaus, here too, education and festival blur into a larger entity. Education as an exclusive good is out of date, belongs to the rigid learning patterns that have manifested themselves in our education system—Wiener Melange is about a pleasurable use of knowledge and interaction with our built environment. The festival is a place that allows one to experiment, build up expertise and never stop striving for knowledge. It is about the right to an equitable, specific and humane design process not only to be applied, but to be lived.

Please explain the innovative character of your concept/ idea

The aim is to identify and strengthen local knowledge resources and to connect them with one another. A new network is spun across the city— incorporating a wide range of disciplines. This network will offer the opportunity to actively plan our future together. The festival thus opens up the conversation and forms the impulse for sustainable networking and the basis for a process of change in order to be able to deal with the challenges of the 21st century. Part of the festival is also an exhibition that presents the best practice examples and the results of the “New European Bauhaus” submissions. The lectures are also given by pioneers of the various disciplines and are an opportunity for them to share their knowledge with the public. In particular, the festival should also appeal to young people and those young at heart. Young people because they are the driving engine of change and, equipped with the necessary knowledge, can contribute their energy, ideas and thoughts to a more inclusive, more sustainable world. The term “young” is used as an attitude towards life that is characterized by the courage to act, to change and to be free to think, paired with a certain portion of idealism and utopianism that inspire us to change—because that is exactly what we need to meet our current challenges eye to eye and not let them overwhelm us.

Please detail the plans you have for the further development, promotion and/or implementation of your concept/idea, with a particular attention to the initiatives to be taken before May 2022

The festival is scheduled to take place in early October. At the festival base one can get a booklet with an overview of the participating Werkstätten* and the additional supporting program as well as a city map including pedestrian, bike and public transport connections to the individual Werkstätten*. The same information is also provided within an app. The day is divided into different time slots at which the Werkstätten* open their doors to the public. During this time, they are able to offer various formats, from workshops to discussion groups to the opportunity to give an insight into their current projects and works as well as their working methods. The festival base will be given a central location in the city, allowing all citizens to easily access it. The hustle and bustle between the festival base and the Werkstätten* fills the city with movement and life. The project can build on existing (young) organizations that already have a broad network at their disposal. This makes the implementation of the project less complicated. In Vienna there is the possibility to organize it in cooperation with Mies.Magazin, which in the past have planned and implemented the Mies.Festival in the Seestadt Aspern. Mies.Magazin is a young, dynamic team that has experience and already implemented a variety of contemporary projects in Vienna on several occasions. (*Werkstätten functions in this text as a term for spaces of creation — like offices, studios, association spaces, research centers,…)

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that the proposed concept/idea has not been proposed for the New European Bauhaus Rising Stars Awards more than once in the same category.