Report on the implementation of the project within the Bilateral Fund on national level for 2016
Project title: Freedom of Expression / Free Feeling in Cartoons The Cartoonists Gallery MiA from Drobak, Norway and the PRERAG ag...
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Project title: Freedom of Expression / Free Feeling in Cartoons
The Cartoonists Gallery MiA from Drobak, Norway and the PRERAG agency and the Wave cultural
center from Prešov, Slovakia implemented the bilateral activity entitled Freedom of Expression / Free
Feeling in Cartoons in May – September 2017. The exhibition introduced works of leading world
cartoonists, such as Constantin Sunnerberg, Pawel Kuczynski, Luka Lagator, Otto Lothar, Angel
Boligan, and also Slovak cartoonists Rasťo Visokai, Bobo Pernecký, Miroslav Barvičák, Rado Repický.
Cartoonists express the freedom of expression, thinking and acting and show a balance of certainty
and responsibility for an individual and society. Our exhibition on the basic topic of freedom and free
feeling is very important for young people, whom we have significantly addressed.
The basic outcomes of the projects are as follows:
1 Partnership Agreement between the Cartoonists Gallery MiA from Drobak and the PRERAG
agency in Prešov
2 detailed reports
The joint exhibition entitled Freedom of Expression / Free Feeling has been organised in 4
premises, 2x in Norway (Drobak, Oslo) and 2x in Slovakia (Prešov, Košice)
1 joint catalogue Freedom of Expression / Free Feeling, 400 pcs
1 discussion forum in Drobak
3 workshops for students from primary schools in Drobak
3 discussion forums in Slovakia (1 in Košice, 2 in Prešov)
3 involved cartoonists: Arifur Rahman from Norway, Rado Repický and Ján Fiťma from
Slovakia
Information and publicity outcomes:
… 3 articles in printed media SK (print screens enclosed)
1. An article of 5th June 2017 about the events in Norway - the newspaper Večerník
2. An article of 27th September about the events in Slovakia – the newspaper Večerník
3. An article in the Ta Take Town quarterly magazine about Prešov
Interview for RTVS radio
A radio interview for the RTVS radio Regina was released on the 13th September in the morning.
We cannot provide a link, though, as there is no archive for this morning broadcast. Peter Rázus
provided the information on the project and on the exhibition opening that took place on this day, in
the evening.
TV report for RTVS link
An RTVS report on the project and the opening of the exhibition in Prešov was released on the 20th
September 2017 in the programme “Ahoj Slovensko”.
…. releases on tOONs Mag portal (printscreen, link)
- a video from the opening of Free Feeling / Freedom of Expression exhibition in Drobak
- an invitation to the opening of the exhibition in Prešov and the information on the project
… outcomes of Internet campaign (links)
Additional outcomes:
20 sent emails in SK about the results
15 sent emails in NOR about the results
74 participants at the Drobak exhibition event
25 participants at the Oslo exhibition event
98 participants at the opening of the exhibitions in Prešov and Košice
87 participants at 3 discussion forums in Prešov and Košice
13 participants at the discussion forum in Drobak (20)
60 participants at the workshops in Drobak
32 students involved in Košice and Prešov
120 displayed cartoons in Prešov
120 displayed cartoons in Košice
The events organised in Oslo in May 2017
Exhibition in the Cartoonists´s Gallery in Drobak
The first exhibition was organised by the Norwegian partners in the premises of the Cartoonists´
House in Drobak on the 15th May 2017. The Slovak team was welcomed by the Drobak museum
curator Vigdis Wolden, the directress Kjersti Lillebø, the cartoonist Arifur Rahman, the other workers
of the Norwegian cartoonists’ gallery and personalities of cultural and social life of the town of
Drobak. The Norwegian partners installed the joint exhibition of the cartoons that resulted from two
international competitions. In Norway it was Freedom of Expression and in Slovakia Free Feeling.
Altogether 120 cartoons were displayed.
It was a festive event, which was officially opened by the ambassador of the Slovak Republic in
Norway, Mr František Kašický. The official Slovak delegation at the opening also included the
chairman of the Association of Slovaks living in Scandinavia and a Slovak radio journalist who
interviewed the project team members for the Slovak radio. The recording was used in the radio
programme for the Slovaks living abroad.
The accompanying events:
A Discussion Forum - the opening of the exhibition was followed by a discussion at which the
Norwegian hosts informed about the project, the Free Feeling cartoons competition and the joint
exhibition. The Slovak guests (Peter Razus, Vladimír Moško) introduced the joint Freedom of
Expression and Free Feeling project, Brain Sneezing competitions and exhibitions and the activities
of Brain Sneezing gallery in the Wave cultural centre in Prešov. The ambassador, Mr. Kašický
informed about the cooperation with the Drobak and Brain Sneezing galleries, which resulted in two
exhibitions at the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Oslo in 2016 and 2017. The participants of the
discussion then responded to the visitors´ questions about the project and Slovakia related issues.
The atmosphere of the event was very friendly and the visitors appreciated high quality of the
displayed cartoons.
3 Workshops - as the project had raised interest of local schools, the Norwegian partners invited
school children to the workshop, that was run by the cartoonists Rado Repický and Arifur Rahman.
Rado Repický prepared a short interactive presentation about Slovakia and used the genre of comics
for the main workshop activity. Rado used his own comic strips with deleted parts, which children
were asked to fill with their own pictures. The workshop resulted in plentiful pictures that were later
displayed at school in Drobak. Each group was divided into two parts and Arifur Rahman worked with
the other groups. He introduced them to the basis of drawing a cartoons character. Around 60
students participated in this activity. The Invitation to the workshop is enclosed in the attached files.
Exhibition at the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Norway
The second exhibition was organised in Oslo at the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Norway for the
members of other foreign embassies, Slovaks living in Oslo and invited guests from cultural
institutions. The exhibited cartoons consisted of the works of the cartoonists participating in the
project (A. Rahman, J. Fiťma and R. Repický) and of the awarded cartoons from the joint exhibition
Freedom of Expression / Free Feeling. Slovak and Norwegian partners had an opportunity to present
our project, institutions and activities to the audience. Kjersti Lillebo introduced the gallery in Drobak
and the project Freedom of Expression, Peter Rázus introduced the Brain Sneezing Gallery in Prešov
and the Free Feeling project, Vlado Moško talked about the Wave cultural centre and its activities
and Rado Repický about his artistic work. After the official part, a discussion followed, in which more
details on the project, cartoons creation and related activities were provided to the participants of
the event. Many thanks go to Mr Kašický, the ambassador, who made it possible to present the
outcome of the Slovak-Norwegian project and helped to promote both the project and high quality
cartoons as an important means of reflecting the current world.
A meeting of the partners
After the opening of the exhibition, the members of the project team held a meeting in
which they reflected on the activities in Drobak, agreed on details of media presentation and
details of September activities in Prešov. They discussed plans for further cooperation,
including establishing the Cartoons´ Partnership and publishing the joint Freedom of
Expression cartoons catalogue. They also discussed a joint exhibition at the next literary
festival in Lillehammer and ways of using displayed cartoons for educational purposes, e.g.
when explaining human rights at primary, secondary schools and at university (the
experience of Slovak partners with the cooperation with Presov University.
Visits to cultural institutions in Oslo
Visits were planned for the 17th May. However, this day is the biggest national holiday in
Norway, the day of the Norwegian Constitution. The Slovak team had change their plans as
most cultural institutions in Oslo are closed on this day. After attending a festive parade of
students in national costumes and brass music bands, the members of the team visited the
quarter Grünerløkka, famous for its independent music clubs and galleries.
The events organised in Prešov and Košice in September 2017
The exhibition in Košice
The first event in Slovakia was the Free Feeling / Freedom of Expression exhibition, organised in
Košice, the gallery that was established in the premises of a former heat exchanger. The co-organiser
was the Slovak cartoonist Rado Repický and his students from the Secondary Arts School in Košice,
volunteers involved in the project. 70 cartoons were displayed in the gallery and the guests from
Norway (the Drobak cartoonists’ gallery directress Kjersti Lillebø and the cartoonist Arifur Rahman)
as well as the members of the Slovak project team (the cartoonists Rado Repický and Ján Fiťma, the
project manager Peter Rázus and the interpreter Magda Rázusová) took part in the opening of the
exhibition. After the basic information about the project and the exhibition was provided, the
audience had a chance to discuss art related issues with the partners from Norway and to enjoy the
presentation of Jan Fiťma, who showed how to draw a caricature.
The accompanying event
Discussion forum II in Košice
Art students participating in the discussion were mostly interested in the activities of galleries in
Norway and chances that they provide to young artists. Kjersti Lillebo provided the information on
the activities of MiA galleries in Oslo and the surrounding area and Arifur Rahman talked about his
life of an artist in the country that has offered him a refuge.
The exhibition in the Wave cultural centre
The main event was the opening of the Free Feeling / Freedom of Expression exhibition in the Wave
cultural centre on the 13th September 2017. The event was promoted on the Slovak radio Regina on
the day of the event and on social networks (Brain Sneezing, toons Mag, Wave, etc.). The organisers
addressed cultural and educational institutions by email invitations as well as individuals interested
in arts and cartoons. Altogether 120 cartoons were exhibited, equally representing Free Feeling and
Freedom of Expression competitions. The exhibition brought a selection of excellent cartoonists
from many countries of the world. The displayed cartoons mostly concerned freedom of speech and
other basic human rights. The displayed cartoons and the list of the authors can be seen in the
catalogue that was published as one of the main outcomes of the project and was available to the
participants of the exhibition opening.
The programme of the opening:
A performance of pantomime and saxophonist Mario Gapa Garbera
Introductory talks of the exhibition organisers (project partners)
Presentation of cartoons creation by the cartoonists Ján Fiťma and Arifur Rahman
Time for viewing the cartoons and talking to the cartoonists and organisers
The accompanying events
Discussion Forum III in the Wave cultural centre
Participants: students from the Secondary Arts School and Secondary Civil Engineering School in
Prešov.
Introductory talks of the Slovak and Norwegian partners
Question time – the focus mainly on life and art experience of Arifur Rahman
Presentation of cartoons creation by the cartoonists Ján Fiťma and Arifur Rahman
The meeting with students was one of the highlights of the time spent in Slovakia, and empowered
the effect of the exhibition on the students. The impressive cartoons dealing with sensitive issues of
human rights addressed young people more intensively when they learned about the experience of a
young man who had to leave his own country because of his cartoons.
Discussion Forum IV in the Atrium restaurant
Participants:
representatives of cultural and social institutions and organisations in Prešov:
PRERAG agency, Senior Citizens Centre in Prešov, Literary Café Viola, Wave cultural centre
Norwegian partners representing the Cartoonists´ Gallery MiA in Drobak
guests from Ukraine, the cartoonists Vladimír Kazanevsky and Michajlo Schlaffer
The participants of the 3rd discussion forum mainly discussed the potential of further cooperation.
PRERAG agency directress Iveta Stromková informed the participants about the current programme
area 2014 – 2021 of the EEA grants and Norway grants, and focused on the programme Cross-border
cooperation that involves also Ukraine. The representatives of each institution presented
themselves, pointed out their fields of interest, and suggested their possible contribution into the
future Norwegian-Slovak-Ukrainian cooperation. The participants of the discussion agreed on the
establishment of a new NGO - the Slovak-Norwegian-Ukrainian Society. It will be the task of the
PRERAG agency to prepare all the necessary measures and inform the partners by the end of
November 2017.
The role of the team members in the activities in Norway and Slovakia:
Kjersti Lillebø: project coordination and communication with Slovak partners, organisational
provision of activities in Drobak, representation of the Drobak gallery at the opening of the
exhibitions at the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Oslo and in September in Slovakia; involvement
in the discussion forums in Norway and Slovakia.
Vigdis Wolden: communication with Slovak partners in the preparatory part of the project,
organisational provision of activities in Drobak, mainly workshops for local schools pupils. Mrs.
Wogden, due to her illness, could not arrive in Slovakia; therefore, in the second part of the project
was substituted with Mrs. Kjersti Lillebø
Arifur Rahman: has been cooperating with Slovak partners for a long time, he secured online media
presentation of the project on his tOOnsMaG portal. He was in charge of the installation of the
exhibition in Norway and co-lead the workshops with pupils in Drobak. His works were displayed at
the exhibition at the Embassy of SR in Norway. He represented the gallery in Drobak at all the events
in Slovakia and addressed mainly young people, who participated at the opening s of the exhibition
and discussion forums.
Slovak partners:
Peter Rázus: coordination and management of the whole project, securing communication with the
media and presentation of the project in the media.
Magdaléna Rázusová: securing communication with the Norwegian partners, interpreting at all the
project activities, writing and translating of the detailed final report.
Rado Repický: co-leading of the workshops for pupils in Drobak; involvement in the discussions in
Drobak and at the SR Embassy in Oslo; installation of the exhibition at the Embassy; involvement of
his students in the preparation of the exhibition and in the DF in Košice and promotion of these
events.
Ján Fiťma: could not participate in the events in Norway due to an injury; participation in all the
events in Slovakia; giving a lesson of caricature portrait in Košice and Prešov; involvement in
discussion forums and in media presentation of his experience with portraying.
Vlado Moško: introducing activities of the Wave cultural centre and the Brain Sneezing gallery at the
events in Norway; installation of the exhibition at the Embassy; at the discussion forum IV
presenting involvement of the Wave club in a follow-up project, mainly using their experience with
the Alternative Quotient festival.
Saška Sirko: responsible for photo and video documentation; together with Vlado Moško in charge
of the organisational provision of the exhibition and discussion forum in Prešov; in the planned
follow-up activities will be a regional manager of Norwegian-Slovak-Ukrainian cooperation.
