The White Night - Experience Magic of Art in the Heart of Zagreb
The White Night festivals have become a popular all-night art manifestations held in many cities all over the world. Some cities use the French phrase Nuit blanche (or Nuits blanches, if the event takes place more than one night), but here in Croatia, we call it Bijela noć. The main idea is to have museums, galleries and other cultural institutions open and free of charge for one night, while the centre of the city provides space for art installations, performances by musicians and street artists, various themed social gatherings, and other cultural activities.
This will be the third year in a row that Zagreb is going to participate in White Night festival and every year Zagreb’s programme offers different forms of artistic expression. This year's theme is the year of sustainable tourism development since the year 2017 was proclaimed an international year of sustainable tourism for development. The White Night will include attractive artistic interventions, performances and installations that will be held at various outdoor locations and cultural institutions, and again display Zagreb, its streets and squares in a new and different light.
The hidden corners of Zagreb, its streets and squares with the help of various lighting installations, performances and interventions will become a kind of urban oasis that visitors will be able to explore and enjoy in the evening hours on September 30, 2017. Will you be there? I know I’m coming! Check out what you can expect in a full programme below.
Zagreb – Full of Art
One of the most beautiful buildings in Croatia’s capital, an astonishing piece of architecture, Croatian National Theatre, will be one of the main locations during The White Night. The light-auditorial installation will be inside a theatre building, and two hundred light bodies will create a new composition of the theatre architecture in which it will communicate with the outer and inner space, opening in a different colour spectrum. The rhythm of colour and light is synchronized with works of the most famous composers of classical music performed live by the composer and musician Alen Sinkauz. Surely, this is a must-see event!
Image Credit: TZGZ Download Zona, M. Vrdoljak
At Mazuranic Square (Cro. Mazuranicev Trg) you can see "Spectacular" which is a multi-channel audiovisual installation. A great number of screens of different dimensions will be placed among greenery to bring this event to life. The basis of this is a narrative of "Haramba's Egg", which tells about the brave egg that leaves his village so that he wouldn't be eaten. Along the way, he meets animals that join him in the search for a better place. Using the basic motifs, the installation through animal characters updates the relevant topics for life in the city, the relationship with the public space, architecture and everyday life in the city. If you are a parent who wants to enjoy The White Night with kids, I would suggest bringing them to see this performance.
At one of Zagrebians’ favourite park, Tomislavac, you can wander around woods. Yes, you've read that correctly! During The White Night festival, there will be a thick forest on the asphalt of Zagreb where you'll have the impression that you have, for a moment, gone astray in a forest, and with the help of modern technology, you can, if you look at it, find some strange mummies.
A bit further, you’ll see that Strossmayer Square opens up as a science square in a new vision centred around the statue of Josip Juraj Strossmayer and at the beginning of the HAZU building. The central statue of J. J. Strossmayer, a man who is the founder of Croatian scientific and cultural institutions, will become the crossroads of science and culture. A few meters away, at Zagreb’s very own Central Park, or as we locals call it – Zrinjevac, the percussionist Kaja Farszky and the composer, musician and performer Nenad Sinkauz will host a kind of music-stage performance as an instant composition featuring pans and pots with water and brushed paper. I’m sure their performance will definitely create a new rhythm of the night.
Image Credit: TZGZ Download Zona, M. Vrdoljak
My favourite part of this year’s program will be held in Nikola Tesla Street. Tesla’s inventions are as useful as they are artistically challenging. Young Croatian inventor Ivan Kožar has produced a musical Tesla coil, which will, with the help of dancers under the creative leadership of Emil Matešić, give a performance with sparks of several millions of volts. Basically, if you decide to come, you’ll be able to feel the power and sound of the Tesla's lightning in the public space and see how powerful they cross the Zagreb air by hitting the body of the dancer. Most importantly, after the performance, visitors will be able to experience the power of lightning in their hands with the help of neon tubes and, of course, do not worry, you will be completely safe. I’m beyond excited about this since I’m a huge fan of Tesla’s inventions and can’t wait to see this with my own two eyes.
Indoor experience
If you want to participate, but don’t feel like wandering around outside, then you're lucky because the organisers teamed up with Zagreb’s Archeological Museum, Cinema Europe, Croatian School Museum, Museum of Arts and Crafts and Gallery Nova (What, How & for Whom/WHW). Each of these offers their own unique programme and will be worth visiting. Whether you’re into science, arts, crafts or contemporary exhibitions and performances, The White Night festival surely has an event for everyone’s taste. Gather up your friends and family and turn it into a fun night trip. Discover what Zagreb has to offer under the cloak of a dark and starry night while you’re embracing artistic messages from performers around the city. Most of all, have fun and know that you are participating in a festival that is held all around this gorgeous globe of ours.
PROGRAMME
Header Image Credit: TZGZ Download Zona, M. Vrdoljak
Author: Paula Bracko