THE DAY Without Art initiative was launched by dozens of cultural, artistic institutions in Slovakia to raise questions like what is art, what is its position in society, and most of all, what would life be like if art were to suddenly disappear?
The initiative plans to evoke the atmosphere if people were stripped of the chance to attend concerts, theatres, galleries or cinemas, or even to read a book. The final aim is to provoke a nationwide debate on the meaning, importance and position of art and culture in the life of humans and society as a whole.
Cultural institutions in Bratislava, Trnava, Nitra, Martin, Žilina, Banská Bystrica, Košice and other towns across Slovakia will place black cloths on their doors, or symbolic black ribbons on their billboards, bulletins or websites every day on which they are not open or operating.
Day Without Art is the pilot initiative of the public debate What Is Art Good For?, which will run on the nacoumenie.sk website, exchanging various opinions on the role and position of art in the widest context, Zuzana Kizáková (PR manager of the Divadelná Nitra theatre festival) informed. Apart from the views of famous personalities as well as ordinary people, the website will also bring documents dealing with the importance and position of art in various countries and from various angles.