The European Capital of Culture and the Embassy of the Kingdom of Denmark in Croatia organised a lecture, exhibition and culinary workshop during this week. All these events took place as part of the collaboration between the city of Aarhus, Denmark, and Rijeka, the former and future European Capitals of Culture.
The programme began on Thursday, 28th November with a panel discussion entitled Retox: The Sustainable Design of Port Cities which put the focus on Rijeka and Aarhus, Denmark, port cities that became or are yet to become capitals of culture. Aarhus went through its European Capital of Culture experience in 2017, while Rijeka will experience it in 2020.
One of the participants in the panel discussion was the President of the Rijeka Architects’ Association and the facilitator of the Rijeka Architects’ Association’s Youth Section, Gorana Stipeč Brlić, who showcased a project entitled Skyscrapers – City in the Clouds, which will be implemented as part of the European Capital of Culture project during next year.
“Rijeka is gradually losing its vibe as a port city, as its port doesn’t operate in the same way as it did 50 years ago, thus making it lose its identity. In accordance with that fact, when creating the Skyscrapers – City in the Clouds project, we wanted to do some research into what kind of city Rijeka is today and, in a sense, we have identified a new element of its identity – its skyscrapers. In many cases, they were built specifically for workers, and when looking at the panorama of Rijeka, their prominent role within it cannot be ignored. We saw the great potential of the flat rooftops of the skyscrapers, especially in the domain of improving the quality of life of the people who reside in them. In collaboration with the residents, we made plans on how to put these flat rooftops to good use. We hope that, within the next year, this project will have been implemented on the rooftops of at least two of the skyscrapers, one located in Rastočine and another in Kozala. The idea is to use the rooftop not merely as a roof, but also as a green area or as a functional terrace, which has become the prevailing tendency in making use of the rooftops of buildings in a growing number of European countries”
, Stipeč Brlić explained.
The panel is part of the Retox programme of the European Capital of Culture project that addresses topics in the area of good civil and environmental practices – socially-sensitive, inclusive, progressive, innovative and practical initiatives and campaigns. The Retox discussions at RiHub provide the citizens with a platform for networking and acquiring the practical and theoretical knowledge required for civil and environmental activism, with the help of carefully selected mentors from Croatia and abroad.
A Fusion of Croatian and Danish Traditional Foods
The panel discussion served as an introduction to the events that took place on Friday, 29th November. Organised by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Denmark in Croatia and in collaboration with the KuHarmonija Centre for Culinary Arts and Personal Development and the Placa 51 restaurant, the two locations became the venues for a masterclass in making sourdough bread. The practical part of the Sour Bread – The Pinnacle of Organic Food masterclass was held at the KuHarmonija, where attendees had the chance to learn the basics of making sourdough bread under the supervision of the renowned Danish chef Simon Clemens. The masterclass continued at the Placa 51 restaurant where chef Simon Clemens joined hands with the restaurant staff in preparing a series of dishes that he decided to call A Fusion of Croatian and Danish Traditional Foods. Restaurant guests were able to try them all, along with the indispensable sourdough bread, which was also served at the exhibition of works of art by various artists from Rijeka and Denmark, which took place in the evening in the former Ivex building at the Delta.
United in Diversity Exhibition
The exhibition United in Diversity Rijeka_HR/ Århus_DK (Ujedinjeni u raznolikosti Rijeka HR/Århus DK) showcased works by the Danish artists Elsa Ploug Isaksen, Bodil Sohn and Kim Grønborg from Aarhus, and by their colleagues from Rijeka Petra Mrše, Dalibor Laginja and Igor Eškinja. Despite the fact that these artists belong to different generations, and differ in terms of their mediums of artistic expression, what brought them all together in the creation of this exhibition is the issue of the relation between man and nature and the surrounding environment.
The United in Diversity Rijeka_HR / Århus_DK programme is organised by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Denmark in Croatia, in cooperation with the Sweet & Salt flagship of the European Capital of Culture project and the DeltaLab Centre of the University of Rijeka.
As a representative of the City of Rijeka, its mayor Vojko Obersnel was also present at the opening of the exhibition.
Damir Halilić Hal, a well-known musician from Rijeka, joined us at the exhibition opening and performed original music inspired by traditional Viking songs.
The exhibition will remain open until 10th January 2020.
