St. Pölten 2 0 2 4 Europe at Home – Rescaling Distances
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St. Pölten 2 0 2 4 Europe at Home – Rescaling Distances 05 Introduction 08 Contribution to the long-term strategy 18 Cultural and artistic content 56 European dimension 63 Outreach 71 Management 91 Capacity to deliver 98 Additional information 2 3 Chapter 0 Chapter Radius Mid-sized cities are an encouraging blueprint 330km for how Europeans will live together in future In Europe 80 per cent of the population live in an urban context – roughly in equal parts in Prague mid-sized cities and in major cities. Plzeň Brno Mid-sized cities ... * Český Krumlov Lower ▶ usually have between 20,000 and 250,000 inhabitants. Austria ▶ usually fi nd it di cult to defi ne their own identity, Linz Vienna overshadowed as they are by a nearby metropolis Munich Bratislava St. Pölten ▶ are often closely linked to smaller or larger towns in their vicinity ▶ are found to have a good mixture of social milieux within their Salzburg neighbourhoods – there is no such thing as “immigrant ghettoes” Budapest ▶ encourage social networks to mingle more freely than Veszprém is the case in metropolises Graz ▶ display a self-image that is signifi cantly better than the image projected on them from outside Maribor ▶ boast a surprisingly diversifi ed cultural o er ▶ are especially child-friendly Ljubljana ▶ have a great deal of vacant spaces and underused sites Zagreb Trieste Rijeka Czech Republic Lower Austria Krems Grafenegg Melk St. Pölten Vienna Slovakia Neulengbach Culture Region St. Pölten Lilienfeld Radius 30km Hungary Radius 100km Mid-sized city (20,000 to 250,000 inhabitants) * Mittelstadt – Urbanes Leben jenseits der Metropole, Small city (less than 20,000 inhabitants) Brigitta Schmidt-Lauber, Campus Verlag, 2010 City (more than 250,000 inhabitants) 5 Chapter 0 Introduction – General considerations Has the concept of the programme described for the ECoC year changed between the pre-selection and the selection stage? If yes, please describe the new concept and explain the reasons for the change. There are many St. Pöltens in Europe. Mid-sized cities like us are home to almost half of Europe’s population. We hold the keys for how Europeans will live together with their diversity of cultures in the future. We only need to change direction. Now. This is the result of our process, which has brought peo- We are convinced that tackling these problems and de- ple together in our city and deepened cooperation with veloping approaches is likely to be especially promising the Culture Region St. Pölten. Europe faces a multitude when undertaken by a mid-sized city. Here the physi- of challenges and no one can solve them alone. cal distances are short, many people know each other The continent’s mid-sized cities with a population and developments are slower but more comprehen- between 20,000 and 250,000 are signifi cant living en- sible. The limited self-confi dence compared to a me- vironments. They are big enough to experience the ur- tropolis and the resulting high degree of self-criticism ban challenges of the time at fi rst hand, and small and increase the desire and the possibility for change. This agile enough to develop and test surprising and unusual is precisely what we have seen happening in our city solutions together. Our bid Europe at Home – Rescaling over the last year. Distances is therefore a signifi cant impulse to fi nd sus- Like so many of Europe’s mid-sized cities, St. Pölten tainable solutions for the challenges that are waiting is usually beaten far below its value. We can and will to overwhelm us: go on the o ensive and show that fresh and innova- tive ideas, as well as art of high quality, can also come ▶ The issue of social inclusion, the need to fi nd a con- from a supposed provincial city. Indeed, they may even structive approach to migration and to adopt a sus- be more likely to come from such a place. ECoC year is tainable attitude towards our environment all demand an ideal challenge to bring together the necessary en- the reduction of social distances. ergies and e orts. ▶ The gap between urban and rural environments, the mobility issue and the interchangeability of places ▶ Our city is located at the heart of Europe, midway be- and mid-sized cities call for a redefi nition and a re- tween East and West and midway between North and assessment of spatial distances. South. That said, we still have a lot to do in the way ▶ Coming to terms with the past – for example with of including Europe in our everyday lives, of learn- National Socialism – and our responsibility for the ing from intra-European exchanges and of registering future in light of climate crises demand a rescaling and returning all the inspiration that Europe can give. of temporal distances. ▶ The people in the Culture Region St. Pölten do not feel connected to St. Pölten by heart. Our city has been the All these questions and issues urgently require capital of Lower Austria for more than 30 years but it solutions everywhere in Europe. is yet to succeed in becoming an emotional heart for the region and the province as its living cultural centre. 6 7 Stimulation and activation Chapter 0 Chapter 0 of European (cultural) tourism Our Compass The network we have established in Europe has made Our vision for rescaling distances counts on the force of Linking Europe one thing quite clear to us: we are not alone. There are movement and the power of transformation. The artis- Diversity, migration, to St. Pölten 2024 many mid-sized cities in Europe that are living in the tic programme brings us closer to the European ques- EU-neighbourhood and citizenship, shadow of a nearby metropolis. We have invited cities tions during the journey along three tracks: nature and science, sense of place, and vice versa Digitisation of roughly the same size as us to join us in forming a nature and climate movement dedicated to: ▶ COME CLOSER – Social Distances At a time when our societies are drifting apart and when Challenging Europe (discussions, research, evaluation, Rescaling Distances there is a real danger of disintegration of Europe and Visibility of the new approaches, experiments) a withdrawal behind national borders, St. Pölten 2024 European Union In a time of societies drifting apart, the danger of the wants to advance the rescaling of social distances as Ar tist disintegration of Europe and the retreat behind nation- a counter strategy. ic a al borders, St. Pölten 2024 consciously wants to focus nd C on the supposedly foreign and distant by means of ar- ▶ CHANGING ROOMS – Spatial Distances ul tistic and cultural formats. This hopefully will open the It is time to create a new connectivity in the city, the tu Eco r nomy a eyes, ears and hearts of local residents and of visitors region and in Europe and to assign new functions to on & l ati Cre P nic at alike to new and better perspectives. spatial resources. u ive r m I o To translate our preoccupation with social, spatial om nd g C u st r and temporal distances into an innovative programme ▶ THE LONG NOW – Temporal Distances r a ie 1. Par s m ticip likely to attract Europe’s attention we have taken the Distances between the past and the future need to be g ati in & pr on m ild edge opaga a u wl tin nd following steps: shortened as do those between remembrance and our B no s for re g e y f k nce sid an a t o ie en d c i r t e t c n pe s n i responsibility for the future – if we are to reach the io x in a v a it e s b e p s h i g a li e a u in n ▶ r p g n Together with our artistic team we have recast our promised land of sustainability. C q a in . c a g a h g n a 5 s s c g u & u a narrative as an artistic vision and a high-quality cul- c e o s l l t t m u l u i E e i v n r v i k a e e tural and artistic programme of European relevance What attitudes, what methods are most likely to help c t s l n a r n n l o i t l o f l u a e e c and have concretised this programme in collabora- us meet the challenges all of Europe is faced with? How a n r t i e o - tion with various partners. can we truly rescale distances – or, in other words – how v e h n h t o t Stimulating a g e ▶ f For the development of the programme we have re- can we really get closer to each other? What we need G n p n o e o r o r b t d i t 2 s alised four specifi c open calls to involve institution- is a change of perspective or even a complete change u movement of u e o g . E h d d e c S i n h e r c u p t al and local players. of direction: a i a h l t e t European a t n u w i t h s n e r ▶ s i t t We have conceived the <CulturalChangeCampus> a a g l a e l i r ö n l v t p mid-sized cities P o e a r u s t .