Association for Research, Support and Protection of Karst Landscapes
The Third Krasopis: 25.-27.10.2024
Eine Veranstaltung
von:
Karst mountains inspire artists, scientists and anyone who loves to dive into landscape. We are very happy to introduce people to the Croatian festival scene who found a way to get into dialogue with nature through their creation, their work or just their curiosity. During the festival we will speak with musicians, visual artists, poets, karstologists, speleologists and people who research the mythology of karst regions.
We'll present many perspectives on the mountains. How does Karst sound? What is it telling? How does it look like? What can we know about it? Join us on this research journey, we would appreciate it!
It's important to notice that the Karst is one of the most complex and diverse landscapes and ecological structures, and that it is, because of the leading - and mostly stereotypical - narratives not that visible.
On this site and live at the festival we will present up-to-date scientific Karst perspectives (dolines, caves...). A small group of activists will show us how environmental activism can artistically or politically or work on the protection of rivers.
The idea of the gathering is to bring our participants together in conversations and exchange of experiences to give space to complement each other for a new image of a world that could be less reductionist than the existing one.
Participants 2024
Ivo Lučić
Ivo Lučić is karstologist with body and soul. The field of his research is wide as the Dinaric Karst and there are obviously no borders to his interests. He shed light on nearly every aspect of Karst landscape (in his books, research reports, journalistic works: geological aspects, speleoplogical, biological, cultura--historical, meteorological and many more. With his knowledge as well as his critical perspective on human interventions in nature and the obvious love for karst mountains, he'll add on the festival to the artistic impulses and in the same time guarantee the necessary grounding.
Slavko Polak
Slavko Polak is a biologist and curator of the Notranjski muzej in Postojna, Slovenia. From a scientific point of view, he researches the flora and fauna in the cave systems of the Karst, especially the chemosensuous conditions and the adaptions of their inhabitants in an evolutionary perspective. But besides his research he is also very talented in the drawing of the underworld. Even in the museum it's his job to develop a form of narration for the zoological or botanical phenomenon in order to bring it closer to the visitors. This mixture of interest in science, art and narration turns him into a perfect member of the Krasopis-Family!
Nikola Madžirov
Nikola Madžirov is an essayist, poet and translator and one of the most important writers of his country (Macedonia). He was born in Strumica, where still lives. His collection of poetry "Relocated Stone" (Not translated, but check this one: "Remnants of Another Age", 2013) he circles around reality, not only in its physical presence, but also in its wider, maybe even bigger presence, on the coordinates between the Cosmos and Earth, between time zones, varied in space, always on the move, while simultaneously pausing. His metaphorical view on things will bring us new dimensions to the Krasopis-Festival, probably relocate stones...
Foto: Bloodaxe Books
Katarina Ivanišin Kardum
Katarina Ivanišin Kardum is the artist whose work will give the visual frame of the Krasopis-Festival in 2024. Her exhibition at the MSU in Zagreb (Museum of Contemporary Art) was the depiction of geological field studies in the Dinaric massiv, titled "The Same Sky". Her pictures (oil on canvas) are breathtakingly precise and deep and really transfer the magnetism of the Dinaric Karst. And also in her exhibition "Birds" (Photography) at the UZF in Zagreb she showed her extraordinary talent in reading the metaphores of physical or biological objects, and landscapes and offering these perspectives to the viewer. Krasopis will be more beautiful, richer and even more precise, just because of her exhibition!
Foto: dulist.hr
Dimitrij Mlekuž
Dimitrij Mlekuž is professor for Archeology with a special interest in landscape archeology and the relationship of humans with animals. His idea of archeology takes the landscape, the animals and plants into account, evaluating multi-sensuous approaches in perceiving the environment in which humans find shelter. On the other hand he researches archeological topographies and explores possible interpretations. The titles of his scientific works ("Listening to Landscapes", "Time Geography", "The Ethnography of Cyclops") fill us with great curiosity and even excitement. We can't wait to welcome him at the Krasopis-Festival!
Zoran Žmirić
Zoran Žmirić is one of the most important contemporary writers in Croatia. In his birth town Rijeka he is also quite well-known as a musician. His books talk of lives, even childhoods, where the Karst regions have been the scenery. The inner life of his protagonists, one could say, carries Karst landscapes within, rough on the surface, with sharp edges and deep cuts, but under them there are warm and lively hearts and inner rivers of emotions. His latest novel "Tall grass" (Visoke trave, Fraktura, Zaprešić 2023) tells the story of two friends whose world gets torn in the Nineties of the last century, when burnt houses stand between tall gras, and later in Ireland where they meet again in the middle of another kind of grass. There are rarely writers who are able to portray the traumatic experiences of the people in the regions of former Yugoslavia as vividly as Žmirić does.
Jelena Popržan
Jelena is a musician and the Hotel Balatura has a long-standing relationship with her. First of all as a participant of the festival "Poetry meets Music" and later in a Sevdah-cooperation with concert. She plays viola and has a sensational voice, finished her studies of classical music in Graz and Vienna. But to classify her music wouldn't be appropriate. She wanders between Jazz, WorldMusic, Chanson and experiment (especially by playing any object she can find) In Tribalj she will present her solo program. Considering Karst landscapes one could say: if there's anyone who could make a stone sing, it's definitely Jelena Popržan!
Foto: Vladimir Pavić
Milan Soklić
Milan Soklić is one of the most well-known translators from German to Croatian language. He translated Thomas Mann, Joseph Roth, Peter Sloterdijk and a lot other writers. But he is a writer and a mountaineer, too. This cobination turns him automatically into a Nature writer. His book"Excursion into the Karst" speaks of the life episode of the vitalist Hans Driesch on his journey to a research station in Sicily. He makes a pause inTrieste, gets to know a lot of new people and takes this legendary excursion into the Karst, a trip that will change Driesch's inner life.
For this year's festival Milan read Jan Röhnert's "Earthtimeday" and will present it together with us!
Suzana Marjanić
Suzana Marjanić is a scientist at the Institute for Ethnology and Folkloristics in Zagreb. She is an expert for myths and rituals, and for cultural animalistics. As co-editor she published the extraordinary text collections of historical, mythological and culturological animal studies, the so-call Bestiarium. In her latest book "Cetera Animantia", which she will present at the Krasopis-Festival, she explores ethno-zoology, respectively zoo-ethics. The human dealings with animals, all the mythological and folkloristic associations, the benefit they bring and the ehtical ideas in general influence our actions in every moment. It does something with us, and has consequences for the animals. What a deep and interesting subject!
Foto: Večernji list
Jan Volker Roehnert
Jan Volker Röhnert has studied German literature, he is professor at the TU Braunschweig, and he is a writer. His latest book put a big focus on the Karst. "Walking the Karst" is a literary exploration of nature and in the same time the description of experienced mountain walks. It's a dialogue between the mountain phenomenon of Karst and authors of different literary eras who wandered the Karst just like Jan does. It's a walk between small, individual observances and the big context of the Karst. Last year we could have a glimpse on his latest poetry book "Earth-Day-Time". This time, we'll really dive in!
Hrvoje Jurić (Philosopher)
Hrvoje Jurić is a professor for philosophy in Zagreb. He has a special interest in bio-ethics. He is one of the editors of the magazines "Philosophical Research" and "Synthesis philosophica". Besides that he writes poems. His book "On the Less and even Lesser" is a collection of poetical (!) essays on minorities and beings which we as humans tend to see as less worthy, refugees, for instance, or animals, or things and phenomenon we love to look down on.
Goran Andlar
Goran Andlar is a professor for landscaping. His focus lies on the human influence on landscape and the question what integrative landscape-management might mean. There's an extraordinary sensivity needed to perceive the vulnerability of certain landscapes and a lot of knowledge on how traditional landscaping (i.e. with dry walls) can protect it. And yes, sometimes it's even necessary to research places where radical, even violent influence brought imbalance and to offer this information to the public. Just like he co-curated with other colleages an exhibition about the bay "Slana" on the island Pag which was used as a concentration camp during the NDH times .
Dijana Posavec
Dijana Posavec is the director of the Rudolf Steiner Center in Donji Kraljevec, which is also the birth place of the founder of the anthrosophy. "What we give to the land, nature will give back to us", that's a motto of the Center. Anthroposophy deals a lot with human embedment in nature, in its direct environment, which is the reason why Rudolf Steiner in his speeches, and later farmers all over the world found techniques which are successfully used up until now. The well-known term "bio-dynamics" comes from this tradition. But, what would bio-dynamics mean in Karst landscapes? Is it possible to do agriculture without pesticides? Really? How? Dijana Posavec will tell us more. We are so happy that she will share her knowledge at the Krasopis Festival!
Anne-Kathrin Godec
Anne-Kathrin Godec is a writer, poet and translator. Together with her husband she owns the literary hotel Balatura where she organized during the last 15 years reading events, conversations and festivals . But the whole time she is magically drawn to the nature in the environment surrounding her. As she grew up in the forests and walked on paths covered by fir needles in the Black Forest in Germany, the Dinaric Karst seemed a little alien to her at first. During her wanderings through nature she started to read the landscape with its own alphabet, slowly drew nearer and found a new world.
Werner Anselm Buhre
Werner Anselm Buhre is an artist and a photographer from Vienna. Together with the biologist Kurt Albert Chytil he wrote a fascinating monography about the Austrian zoologist and animal illustrator Paul Pfurtscheller (1855-1927), about this wanderer between nature and art worlds, about this natural scientist with artistic talent or artist with scientific background. Werner Anselm Buhre will introduce him to us at the festival and participate in exciting conversations on nature and its visual presentation for educational and artistic purposes. We are looking forward to meet him!
Iva Korbar
Last year Iva Korbar turned out to be the performance-artist of the festival. She is an artist, a dancer and very familiar with the first human form of expression: language. She is able to perfectly translate the subjects around nature and inner human conflicts into a body narration which is sometimes more precise and more poignant than words could be.
We are so happy to announce another performance in the Karst!
Vanja Lazić
Vanja Lazić is an artist in Bosna and Hercegovina. And as art is one of the strongest tools to touch people with subjects, she uses her art to move people. Art and activism go well together, because art does not want to preach, but to touch and move. Art has the capacity to tell new and different stories about the environmental focal points, even for kids.
With her children's book "Rivers Full of Stories" she inspires the youngest to perceive the Bosnian waters with new eyes and to love them. Because, you will protect what you love!
Sandra Josović
Sandra Josović studied political sciences, worked as a journalist and communication scientist, and at the the "Center of Vital Interest" she deals with communication. She does the public relation work and organizes events. And yes, that's one of the most critical elements of environmental protection: holding contact with the public, the eraliyation of events and the engagement in public discussions that have to be held. Not always an easy job to do, but definitely inevitable.
Vladimir Topić
It's possible that environmentalism changes things, we could learn that recently with the river Una, when there had been plans to build a smaller water craft station near by its source. Thanks to a group of committed biologists, ecologists, geologists and others, this could be prevented. One of them was Vladimir Topić. He studied ecology at the University of Banja Luka and works since 2022 for the Centar for environment in Banja Luka, especially in the field of energy and climate change. We are excited to hear how the sensational success for the Una was possible!
Sandra Polić Živković
Sandra Polić Živković is an educator, in fact. But her heart belongs to photography. She lives and works in Rijeka, where she had already several individual and group exhibitions. Her photographic view is influenced by walks through the "Hrvatsko primorje" where she doesn't produce typical landscape photography, but portrays her objects with a very special, very close view. The exhibition "View on Rock" will be presented during the Krasopis-Festival. We can't wait!
Hrvoje Jurić (travel writer)
Hrvoje Jurić is a travel writer. On his journeys he explores a life with animals in a very practical way. Together with his dogs he thousands and thousands of kilometers by bike. He travelled the Karst, but went in deep contact with nature in other places, too. He wrote several travel books and portraits. His very popular books "Towards the North", "On Edge" and "On the Ice Road towards the End of the World" witness his experiences in an impressing way.
Rok Mihevc
Rok Mihevc is a data scientist. On the this year's Krasopis he'll present dolines of Slovenia and Croatia, recorded with lidar-systems. Together with his father Andrej Mihevc, a legendary geomorphologist, he published a study for Slovenia based on the records. Another study foir Croatia is already in the process.
Lidar-systems! That's a perspective we never saw on this festival!
Program 2024
Friday, 25.10.24
Venue: Seminar House, Hotel Village Balatura
17:00
Katarina Ivanišin Kardum
Opening of the Festival and vernissage of the exhibition of Katarina Ivanišin Kardum
With: Katarina Ivanišin Kardum, Anne-Kathrin Godec
17:30
The Path to Hum: Landscapes, mountains, animals and humans in the succession of transhumance
With: Hrvoje Jurić (Filozof), Anne-Kathrin Godec and Ivo Lučić
18:45 (in the wine cellar of the hotel)
Exhibition "A View on Rock", Sandra Polić Živković
19:00 Dinner (for the participants)
20:00
Nikola Madžirov - Premmješten kamen (Transposed Stone)/ Jan Röhnert - Erdtagzeit (Earthdaytime)
Man and Landscape: Poetry between Longing and Belonging
With: Nikola Madžirov , Jan Röhnert , Milan Soklić
Presentation & Translation: Anne-Kathrin Godec
Concert: Jelena Popržan
Saturday, 26.10.2024
Animal studies - The Relationship of man with animals
10:00
Excursion into the Karst
Picknick
(Return around 13:00)
14:00
Karst Fauna
Lecture by Slavko Polak, biologist and curator of the Notranjski Museum Postojna
14:45
Nature and fauna in the museum
Katarina Ivanišin Kardum
15:15
The Wall boards of Paul Pfurtscheller, zoologist and artist in the Austrian-Hungarian monarchy
Presentation: Werner Anselm Buhre
Werner Anselm Buhre, co-author of the book about the Austrian zoologist and artist Paul
Pfurtscheller, (the other co-author is Kurt Albert Chytil, 2024. Die Wandtafeln des Paul
Pfurtscheller: Ein sorgsam detailverliebtes Leben),
.
16:00
Suzana Marjanić (anthropologist)
Cetera Animantia (lecture)
16:45
Man and Animals - On the Need for a Zoo-ethics
With: Hrvoje Jurić, philosopher
17:30
Round Table Talk: Representation of the Fauna in Karst Landscapes
With: Katarina Ivanišin Kardum, painter and museum educator, Werner Anselm Buhre, Slavko Polak, Hrvoje Jurić, Ivo Lučić and Anne-Kathrin Godec
19:00 Dinner (for the participants)
20:00
Zoran Žmirić: Tall Grass
Literary Event
With: Zoran Žmirić, Anne-Kathrin Godec
21:30 (in the wine cellar of the hotel)
Concert: Goran Tomić Trio
Sunday, 27.10.2024
Karst, Nature, Landscapes
10:00
Rok Mihevc
Cultural landscapes of Adriatic Croatia
10:45
Forming of Karst Landscapes from Prehistory to Modern Times
Dimitrij Mlekuž
11:15
Cultural Landscape in Adriatic Croatia
Goran Andlar
12:00 Rudolf Steiner, Perspective on Agriculture
Dijana Posavec
13:15: Lunch (for the participants)
14:30
Activistic view on rivers
With: Sudjeluju: Vladimir Topić, Vanja Lazić, Sandra Josović (CZŽS Banja Luka)
15:30
Geotrauma in the Dinaric Karst
With: Anne-Kathrin Godec and Ivo Lučić
17:00
Man and Landscape: Karst round up
With: Goran Andlar, Teo i Aida Barišić, Anne-Kathrin Godec, Sandra Josović, Hrvoje Jurić,
Vanja Lazić, Ivo Lučić, Rok Mihevc, Slavko Polak, Dijana Posavec and Vladimir Topić
19:00 Dinner (for the participants)
20:30
Hrvoje Jurić: Towards the North
Multimedia Book Presentation
Krasopis 2023 - Impressions
Krasopis 2022 - Impressions
