Mariainsel

6. Water Biennale YAHOOS-GARDEN in Fürstenfeld

08.06. - 26.08.2018

Image Credits

Duration

08.06. - 26.08.2018

Presented by

A project by Alfredo Barsuglia for the 6th Water Biennale YAHOOS-GARDEN in Fürstenfeld 2018 in cooperation with the Institute for Art in Public Space Styria

Meeting point

Mariainsel, opposite Badstraße 1, 8280 Fürstenfeld

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About the
Project

At the invitation of Günther Pedrotti, initiator of the 6th Water Biennale in Fürstenfeld, artist Alfredo Barsuglia is constructing an island on the Feistritz River, which he has named Mariainsel after the most common first name in the region. Barsuglia, acting as the artistic director of an art and culture festival, has appointed six curators who will fill the island with art, performance and music during the summer months of 2018.


The festival projects will open every second Friday at 7 p.m. starting on 8 June.

Mariainsel, opposite Badstraße 1, 8280 Fürstenfeld
8 June — 26 August 2018, daily from midnight to midnight

The approximately 30m² island was not simply piled up in the Feistritz; the land was reclaimed by separating a spit of land with an approximately 2-metre-wide connecting canal between Feistritz and Hühnerbach.

Just as streets and squares are often named after important figures, the island also bears a name that is currently significant for the region, namely the most common first name in the municipality of Fürstenfeld. The island is being added as a new address in the city and is intended to be understood as a public place for residents. At best, the island will even develop into a new, contemporary landmark of the city or a new place to stay. 

Cultural events take place on islands not only in Fürstenfeld, but also in larger cities such as Vienna (Danube Island Festival), Budapest (Sziget) and New York (The Governors Ball Music Festival). The Mariainsel Culture Festival may be entered into the Guinness Book of Records as the smallest festival island in the world. Mariainsel will put Fürstenfeld at the cultural centre of the region during the summer months of 2018. Despite its geographical limitations, it has gained supra-regional significance: the island is an attraction for the people of Fürstenfeld as well as for tourists and art lovers. Apart from that, there is the possibility of repeating the festival annually or biennially if the artificially created island, with its stage-like platform that oscillates between art, culture and leisure, is allowed to remain permanently.

Programme

8.6.2018, 7 pm
22.6.2018, 7 pm
6.7.2018, 7 pm
20.7.2018, 7 pm
3.8.2018, 7 pm
17.8.2018, 7 pm