IN THIS TOGETHER

The two artists visited St. Pölten a number of times during the planning stage, and together we went on strolls through the city to choose buildings and places where they would want to establish an artistic intervention. From the beginning, the key idea was to select several sites in the city where art would be installed in order to establish a kind of route that could be followed while looking at the outdoor artworks. The project was also intended to build a kind of bridge between the city center and the government district.

The planning stage of the project lasted several months. However, when in March 2020 the Covid-19 pandemic reached Austria and the first lockdown was ordered, it became a question whether the project could be realized at all. Then, shortly after Easter 2020, the project was given the green light. Together with Barbara Horvath and the organization art hoc projects, which the two of us founded together and which aims to bring successful international contemporary art to unconventional locations, we began with the realization of the project. Not only the State of Lower Austria, but also the City of St. Pölten and a large number of sponsors helped us to realize the project in the form it took in the City of St. Pölten in November 2020. In the end, the two of us, or actually the three of us—on many occasions we were also assisted by Martina Thaler in all issues relating to communication—established a public art project within only half a year that not only involved all central buildings and stakeholders in the city and state, but which also made a valuable artistic contribution to the discourse in the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis.

As we realized in hindsight, several artistic aspects profited greatly from the moments of insecurity we all felt. Both artists incorporated experiences from the rampant pandemic in their works. The title IN THIS TOGETHER is also a reference to this, of course. While Ventzislavova decided to mount neon messages that were rendered in her handwriting at the main train station, the city hall, and the state parliament—sometimes at a staggering height—Giannotti designed an entire series of drawings from which a small selection was finally realized at the Klangturm, the festival hall, Cinema Paradiso at Rathausplatz, as well as on posters and tote bags, which were handed out for free in the city.

In their artistic interventions, Giannotti and Ventzislavova shared their questions, perspectives, and hopes for Europe with the public. For generations, artists have been trying to convince us time and again that a crisis can function like an engine that sets many things in motion. With their ideas for the public realm, Borjana Ventzislavova and Aldo Giannotti have not only created artworks that react to “the world out there” directly and in real time; they have also given all citizens a source of inspiration, courage, and comfort; an instrument for criticism; and—last but not least—the awareness that, especially in face of such a major crisis as the current pandemic, Europe is an idea that stands for solidarity and for helping one another and is one that reminds us all of our right and our duty to be part of it and to participate in it.

Giannotti’s works in particular were very critical in their approach to the idea of Europe. For example, he wrote “E.U. – All possible directions” in a drawing that was enlarged to a monumental size showing a potted plant with the directions in which it could grow—up, down, left, right—indicated with dashed lines. The plant stands here for a European Union whose development seems uncertain but whose future is clearly in our hands. Ventzislavova also approached the task with a critical mindset and posed the question “Quo vadis, Europa?” at the city hall, while at the main train station she referred to the mythological and eponymous figure of Europa and the pressing issue of migration with her sign that translates as “Her name is Europa. She came over the sea.”

Due to the pandemic, we could only provide a limited art education outreach program. We organized tours from time to time, and there was an accompanying exhibition in the historical Stöhr-Haus building on Kremser Gasse with additional works by both artists. The project was much discussed in the press, and there were many local inhabitants who were enthusiastic about the project, which was the most valuable outcome for me. Someone wrote, for example, “Will the project remain? It has become really important to me.” Especially during the lockdowns, of which there were five during the duration of the project, many people suddenly realized the importance of public art. The public realm is a political realm that is available to us all, but it is also permanently changing. It is where art comes to the people—in this case, art by two artists who are making a big splash internationally and who use art to make their voices heard for a Europe that will continue to grow, prosper, and be unified in the future. Or, as Ventzislavova put it, “It is time to ask ourselves what kind of world we want to live in. Perhaps Europe can be the proverbial beacon of light in this regard. Let’s all participate in this. It’s about us.” With this in mind, it is also a beautiful pro-European gesture that the City of St. Pölten, the State of Lower Austria, and the Austrian railway ÖBB decided to acquire the works that Ventzislavova designed for the city hall, the Lower Austrian parliament, and the train station, thus making it possible for the project to be permanently inscribed into the city and its history.

Lisa Ortner-Kreil