List of author's articles
Košice: a city of the unexpected
The old joke has it that Bratislava’s IQ diminishes dramatically on Friday afternoon, when all those who work in the capital go back to see their families in Košice. The rivalry between the citis has given birth to an endless list of similar anecdotes directed against both sides, and if you want to hear them all, you only need to buy a ticket for a football match between Slovan Bratislava and MFK Košice. Then take a trip to the metropolis of eastern Slovakia, well-connected by rail, air and road to the rest of central Europe, and judge for yourself.
City of culture undergoes changes
2013, the year when Košice is to become a European City of Culture (ECOC), is soon approaching, and residents of the city claim that in the past two years, since the city was so designated by the EU, significant changes have occurred that are making Košice a cultural centre for the whole country. But the winds of change have also been swirling within Košice 2013, the non-governmental organisation that is responsible for managing the city’s ECOC efforts.
Košice is a city of motion, says a Parisian (video included)
The beauty of Košice lies in its human relationships and in the fact that it is always able to push you further, says Christian Potiron, a Parisian living in the eastern Slovak metropolis. In the nine years that he has lived in the country, Slovakia has become his home.
Unveiling the forces of contemporary fiction
ONE OF Slovakia’s most renowned literary scholars, Zuzana Malinovská-Šalamonová, associate professor at Prešov University, has devoted her career to the cultures and literatures of French-speaking countries. Her study of contemporary French-language fiction, Puissances du romanesque (The Forces of Fiction), was recently published by Blaise Pascal University in Clermont-Ferrand, France, and was warmly received at the Frankfurt Book Fair. The Slovak Spectator talked with Malinovská-Šalamonová at the launch of her book in Bratislava.
Fostering creativity in Slovak design and architecture
OFFERING a new and unusual way of looking at the buildings we walk past and the objects we use every day was the principal objective of Design and Architecture Days (DAAD), the second edition of which took place in Bratislava between May 24 and 29.
Turbulent times at Trnava gallery
THE FUTURE of Trnava’s Ján Koniarek Gallery (GJK) remains uncertain following the dismissal of its director and the suspension of its programme of exhibitions for 2011. Though it has been several months since Vladimír Beskid left his position, the interest of the media in the gallery’s fate has recently been renewed after a major festival was cancelled only days before it was supposed to start at the GJK.
'US Ambassadors of Goodwill' tour Slovakia
“A SQUARE peg in a round hole” – this is how the members of the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) Band, one of the US military ensembles, are sometimes described in their concurrent roles as musicians and military officers. But after attending one of the five gigs the band recently gave in Slovakia, one would say “a fish in water” is a much more fitting epithet.
The documentary is dead: long may it live!
“DEATH to the documentary” was the slogan of the 2nd DOCsk festival, Slovakia’s only event devoted entirely to documentary films, which took place in Košice between April 13 and 16.
Francophone Film Festival hits Bratislava
ON TOUR, a comedy by Mathieu Amalric that followed an American troupe of real-life burlesque dancers as they toured French port cities, will mark the April 13 opening of the 13th year of the International Francophone Film Festival (FIFFBA).
The “A” Train rolls into Bratislava
ONE OF the most eagerly awaited events on the 2011 cultural agenda of Bratislava is only days away. For a few hours on April 3, Bratislava will become the capital of jazz virtuosity, or so it would seem, with the legendary Duke Ellington Orchestra visiting Slovakia for the first time.
Editor's note
DISCRIMINATION can take various forms and can cause unimaginable harm to minorities living among a dominant majority – a majority that does not encounter obstacles in getting an education, finding a job or simply boarding a bus or expressing an opinion.
Slovak cinema once again holds promise
AFTER A slight downtick last year, the future of Slovakia’s cinema production again looks promising. The first major film event of 2011, the recent Berlinale, brought into the spotlight several young talents who might become the leaders of what the Berliner Zeitung called “a small Czech-Slovak New Wave”.
Northern cultural blizzard to hit Bratislava
FROSTS and snowfalls are expected to last well into early spring in Slovakia, particularly in the vicinity of cinemas, galleries and other cultural venues, and this particular blizzard of culture will be especially appreciated by enthusiasts and sponsors of Nordic culture.
Slovaks discover Japan on the screen
DO YOU KNOW what a deaf teenage surfer, a World War II kamikaze pilot and a private eye might have in common? If you don’t, it means you probably did not attend the mini-film festival recently brought to Bratislava by the Japanese Embassy in Slovakia and the Japan Foundation.
Koreans fight homesickness with food
TTEOKGUK, naengmyeon, bibimbap: for some, they are terrible tongue-twisters; for Koreans, they mean home. But lately, these traditional Korean dishes have started to find their way into Slovakia – to the apparent delight of expats and locals alike.
Grant opportunities in V4
GLOBETROTTING students and researchers can nowadays enjoy a seemingly endless list of different grants and scholarships; however, those coming from or wishing to study within the Visegrad region have an extra ace in the hole since V4 countries have recently been particularly eager to enhance their ties with the rest of Europe by encouraging young people to leave the comfort zone of their homes and get a taste of life abroad.
Košice – a V4 crossroads
THE VISEGRAD exchange does not limit itself to ministerial and diplomatic bureaux: in the eastern Slovak town of Košice, the European Capital of Culture in 2013, for example, it even flourishes in such unusual settings as tobacco factories, churches or swimming pools.
The science and art of making a festival
NO SOONER had the curtain fallen on the 12th Bratislava International Film Festival (BIFF), held between November 4 and 18 in Bratislava, Košice, Banská Bystrica and Žilina, than its management team started getting ready for the next one. The Slovak Spectator, however, took advantage of a momentary lull to interview Matthieu Darras, BIFF’s artistic director, about his first impressions of this year’s event as well as the future prospects for what is the country’s biggest film festival.
Biggest film festival kicks off with new twists
STARS, journalists and fans have been rubbing shoulders in Slovakia’s capital since Thursday, when the 12th Bratislava International Film Festival (BIFF), the biggest and most prestigious local film gathering, kicked off with Carancho, a thriller by Argentinian director Pablo Trapero. With its line-up of almost two hundred movies and many fringe events that continue until November 11, the festival offers much to enjoy.
Slovak haute couture takes to the catwalk
MADRID, Paris, London, New York, Munich or Prague – these are the cities in which some of the contestants for Brillance Fashion Talent (BFT), a prestigious competition for local fashion designers recently held in Bratislava, have worked or studied.
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- No laughing matter: Slovakia’s top comedians kicked out of state-run venue More articles ›
