EUROPE – CHALLENGES STILL RELEVANT

Interdisciplinary art project

8.10.2025, 7 PM, Baltic Cultural Center – Old Town Hall, Gdansk
15.11.2025, 8 PM, Audio Art Festival, Bunkier Sztuki, Cracow
14.12.2025, 7.30 PM,Art Mintaka Festival, Leon Wyczółkowski District Museum, Bydgoszcz

EUROPE – CHALLENGES STILL RELEVANT is an interdisciplinary artistic project that combines contemporary chamber music, electronics, performance, text, and avant-garde film. It is not only an artistic event but also a platform for reflection on the contemporary condition of Europe. The project responds to the current geopolitical, economic, climatic, and social crises facing both society and the cultural sector.

The program consists of Johannes Kalitzke’s composition for Stefan Themerson’s silent film Europa, Rafał Ryterski’s latest multimedia work „The Essence of Things”, Agata Zemla’s latest multimedia work Greenscreen, and Arnold Schönberg’s Ode to Napoleon Bonaparte.

The project was inspired by the rediscovered film „Europa” (1931) by Stefan and Franciszka Themerson, pioneers of video art. This black-and-white experimental collage, created during a time of rising nationalism and deepening social inequality, also offers a strikingly apt commentary on contemporary realities: the crisis of democracy, consumerism, environmental degradation, and mass production. Its message is given new life in Johannes Kalitzke’s composition for string quartet and electronics, which forms the core of the project.

Details of the concerts:

8.10.2025, 7 PM, Baltic Cultural Center – Old Town Hall, Gdansk
Performers: NeoQuartet, Jonathan Powell – piano, Krzysztof Bobrzecki – recitation

Program:
Arnold Schönberg – „Ode To Napoléon Bonaparte”
Agata Zemla – „Greenscreen” for string quartet, live electronics, and video
Johannes Kalitzke – „Europe” (with Stefan Themerson video) – world premiere

15.11.2025, 8 PM, Audio Art Festival, Bunkier Sztuki, Cracow
Performers: NeoQuartet, Rafał Ryterski – electronics, Anna Kociarz – recitation

Program:
Johannes Kalitzke – „Europa”
Rafał Ryterski – The Essence of Things for quartet, actress, and multimedia

14.12.2025, 7.30 PM,Art Mintaka Festival, Leon Wyczółkowski District Museum, Bydgoszcz
Performers: NeoQuartet, Rafał Ryterski – electronics, Anna Kociarz – recitation

Program:
Johannes Kalitzke – „Europa”
Rafał Ryterski – The Essence of Things for quartet, actress, and multimedia

With the friendly support of Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation

Financed by the European Union NextGenerationEU

The project is financed under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (KPO) from funds from the European Union – NextGenerationEU under Investment A2.5.1 “Program supporting the activities of entities in the cultural sector and creative industries to stimulate their development.”

Rafał Ryterski’s piece, „The Essence of Things,” was co-financed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund – a state-funded special-purpose fund – as part of the „Composition Commissions” program implemented by the National Institute of Music and Dance.

The project is organised by Independent Artist Sp. z o.o. in cooperation with the NeoArte Association.