Vision .
The Biennale of Western Balkans (BoWB) is a new arts and cultural event and institution, hosted for the first time in the city of Ioannina, region of Epirus in Northwestern Greece, in October 2018.
The vision is to bring intangible cultural heritage and community values in the contemporary context, in connection with art, new technologies and ecology.
Artefacts of intangible cultural heritage encompass community values through collective creation. They promote cooperative models of creation along the history of cultures (tradition, anonymous creation, copying practices), evolve over time and appear afresh in the present, serving as a beacon of inspiration for the future.
Intangible Cultural Heritage
Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) stands for the collective cultural expressions of the everyday culture, from small to expanded communities. It raises awareness, ensures respect, safeguards and promotes collective practices, representations, expressions, knowledge and techniques, ceremonies and performing arts, as well as tools, handicrafts and cultural sites associated with and recognized by communities.
BoWB explores the new artistic and creative directions of intangible cultural heritage, valuing in particular contributions that examine lesser known bodies of knowledge, collective, anonymous and non-textual works, women theorists, undiscovered collections, and projects that make interconnections of smaller scenes with wider ones.
Experience tradition anew, through contemporary art, open technologies and the commons .
The aim is to support and present contemporary art that can engage aspects of intangible cultural heritage of the Greek and Western Balkan communities, and of the European and international field as well.
Moreover, the Biennale aims to create a critical framework for the dissemination of contemporary thought and research in art and culture, open technologies and the commons.
Find out the Events of BoWB
About the Programme .
The Biennale of Western Balkans operates both as a festival and an institution, through three main modules
Main event
Inspired by the traditional Balkan Festival, the main event of the Biennale combines tradition with arts and new technologies.
The programme includes the creation of large-scale installations (pavilions) in public space, for hosting community lead activities and fostering civic engagement.
Exhibitions
A programme of three exhibitions that explore intangible cultural heritage through art and technology.
The exhibitions are concerned with concepts and practices linked to the immaterial cultural forms and ephemeral traditions: the concept of myth, the culture of weaving and collective memory through sound.
Talks & Workshops
Promoting interdisciplinary dialogue, research and contemporary thought, with three modules for the wider public and for professionals.
The workshops are conceived as creative social spaces open to experimentation, where art and tradition can intersect with other fields.
Check back soon!
Festival Schedule .
Be informed on venues, time and activities that will run during the Biennale
You'll Fall In Love With the City .
Ioannina is a modern city with a rich history of multicultural folk tradition,
interlinked to its geographical position that makes the city a part of and a path to the Western Balkans.
Check spaces, buildings and areas that have been selected to host BoWB's programme.
View places
Explore
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Contact Us .
Send Message
Call Us
Phone
+30 (coming soon)
info@bowb.org
Address
University of Ioannina, PO 1186, 45110 Ioannina
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