Antena at the TEH Conference at Tartu, Estonia

As an associate member, Anténa is very active within the European network for cultural centers Trans Europe Halles (TEH). This also means visiting the network meetings, and at the end of May 2024 three representatives of Anténa attended the TEH Conference #97 at the cultural center Aparaaditehas in Tartu, Estonia.

The topic of this conference was in line with the topic of Tartu as European Capital of Culture this year: Art of Survival. In these times, this is not only very relevant for Antena’s members in Slovakia, but all over Europe the conditions for culture are getting tough. The good thing is that we could take a lot of inspiration from how others are dealing with it. We got inspired by the speeches and organized discussions, but also by informal talks with all kinds of people from all over Europe. The opening panel, for example, offered many hands-on examples of issues that European cultural centers are dealing with: being canceled/defunded because of political reasons, continuing to work during war, and figuring out how the European Capital of Culture can provide perspectives for the future.

Aparaaditehas was a great host. Their versatile venue used to be a factory and now houses many events and activities, including concerts, theater performances, film screenings, art exhibitions, and markets. Aparaaditehas also houses a number of artist studios, design shops, and cafes. Our central meeting point was a restaurant in the courtyard, but they made sure that we could also explore the rest. We enjoyed a tour through the perspective of an artist and a tour of the galleries. On the last day, there was a party during which we enjoyed very different local artists in all of the venues Aparaaditehas hosts.

The most useful for us were the hub meetings and other networking sessions. Anténa’s member A4 coordinates the arts education hub and organized a workshop on inclusive spaces. We attended the East hub meeting, coordinated by our member Malý Berlin, where we discussed the preparations for a Creative Europe project application. For this conference, TEH collaborated with Reset! network for a radio pop-up. Anténa wrote several articles for publications of Reset! and our network coordinator Ludo participated in a panel at their conference in Lyon this year. So we were excited to hear the conversations they programmed in Tartu.

On the last day, we visited the residency center Maajaam about 30 minutes from Tartu, in the middle of nature. It is a farm for art and tech situated in South of Estonia. It is concentrated on researching, experimenting with and reflecting on the relationships between people, technology and nature. Enjoying art in the forest is possibly the best way to end a conference visit.

Our mobility and membership in TEH netowrk in 2024 was supported using public funding by Slovak Arts Council.