CLOSE ENCOUNTERS 08, Vienna * Bratislava * Budapest

With its CLOSE ENCOUNTERS project, the SOHO festival, held in Vienna’s Ottakring district from 17 to 31 May 2008, focused on the city’s cultural exchange with Bratislava and Budapest in cooperation with the art association KulturAXE. During the SOHO festival in Ottakring CLOSE ENCOUNTERS presented positions from the young art scenes of Bratislava and Budapest that focus on migration, identity and the role of contemporary artists in today’s socio-political environment. CLOSE ENCOUNTERS benefited greatly from the setting since at SOHO it was able to reach a large Viennese audience (with around 15,000 visitors). 

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS investigated the enormous potential of cultural cooperation between the neighbouring cities of Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest at the heart of the new Europe. The project presents contemporary art from these three cities of culture and fosters the creation of a cross-border cultural network.  The event presented the individual art scenes to a broad public, calling attention to the opportunities for collaborations this large cultural field offers.