Open Call – Light and Sound in Arts and Culture

Regional workshop on technical production in Pogon, Zagreb

Are you working in the field of independent art or culture? Are you from Southeast Europe (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia)? Do you want to build or improve your technical skill set for light or sound production?  

We invite you to apply for the Regional workshop on technical production “Light and Sound in Arts and Culture” which will take place in Pogon – Zagreb Center for Independent Culture and Youth in Zagreb, Croatia from 26th to 30th of September 2023. 

The workshop program is intended for individuals interested in the field of technical implementation (light and sound) of events. Through the workshops, the aim is to provide knowledge about the technical production of sound or  light for all of the participants.

Participants can apply for only one of the workshops: Sound workshop or Light workshop. Both workshops will take place in Pogon at the same time and participants will be divided into two groups, based on their application information.

The daily programme will give participants a short theoretical framework and is strongly focussing on practical exercises “hands on” experience. 

Besides it will also provide an insight into independent cultural spaces in Zagreb through a visit to another cultural performance space.   

At the end of the workshops, participants will receive a confirmation of participation and acquired knowledge.

The Regional workshop on technical production is a tuition free program with covered travel, food and accommodation costs, but the number of the program participants is limited.

 

SOUND WORKSHOP

The goal of the workshop is to familiarize the participants with the basics of sound work and to give practical knowledge with which they will be able to do basic types of work themselves, and potentially more. Through the theoretical lecture and the practical part, participants will have the opportunity to learn the basics of sounding instruments, mixing, connecting equipment, sound theory, etc.

 

Filip Pacak, teacher/mentor

Filip has been in the music business as an audio technician for 10+ years now, starting off in studio recordings and mixing, and ending up in live sound. After his BA in audio production (SAE Institute) he started working in a famed Croatian venue called Močvara, where he had the opportunity to work with huge names in the business, leading him to jobs all over Croatia for various bands, festivals and shows. He also had the opportunity to tour all over Europe with several bands, giving him the chance to familiarize himself with different loudness laws and audio installments. Throughout his learning process at festivals and shows he managed to develop skills in light setups,  programming, as well as rigging. Within these years he has worked on more than 800 concerts and set up 100+ stages, exhibitions, installations and theater plays. He has collected various experiences and has been conducting numerous workshops focusing on audio setup and design. He has as well been a mentor and teacher within Pogon’s educational programme “Pogon Incubator”, tailored upon the needs of the independent cultural scene.   

 

LIGHT WORKSHOP

The goal of the workshop is for the participants to acquire the basic theoretical concepts of light design, so that with the acquired knowledge they can more easily navigate the practical part of the workshop related to lighting installation and light design. The workshop is intended for anyone who wants to learn the basics of stage light design. Through lectures and practical work, participants will have the opportunity to learn how to install, program and manage lighting. 

 

Andrija Santro, teacher/mentor

Andrija is not your regular „can you give me more of the front light“ kind of guy. He – is an artist. One of the most booked freelancers on the Croatian music scene for the last 5 years. Illuminating concerts, festivals, theatre shows, performing arts, and exhibitions since 2010. But his absolute specialty is clubbing with heavy references like Dimensions Festival, Momento Demento, Terraneo, Seasplash Festival, Goulash Disko, Freemental, and many more. 

He graduated from the School of Applied Arts and Design in Zagreb in 2008., the same year he got involved in AKC Medika, an ex-squat that gave him a strong DIY ethic and an incredible sense for problem-solving in impossible conditions. The fact that he is also a musician who performed with Bamwise, I-tal Jam, Pridjevi, and Digitron Soundsystem, gives him a great feel for the music. A virtue that strictly techies usually lack. Apart from that Andrija is sharing his knowledge and has conducted several workshops in different educational programmes as well as within Pogon’s Incubator programme for capacity building for young people and young technicians within the field of independent culture. 

 

APPLICATION DEADLINE

25 / 06 / 2023

WORKSHOP DATES

Arrival: 26 / 09 / 2023

Working days   27 – 29 / 09 / 2023 approx. from 9.30 to 18.00 h (final program will be sent ahead of time)

Departure: 30/ 09 / 2023

LOCATION

Pogon – Zagreb Center for Independent Culture and Youth

Trnjanska struga 34, Zagreb

Croatia

HOW TO APPLY?

To apply to the Regional workshop on technical production, please fill out this Google Form until 25 / 06 / 2023.

If you have any questions regarding this open call and the workshop, please contact [email protected].

Applicants will be notified about the selection results by the 7th of July.

GENERAL CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION

By applying to the Regional workshop on technical production, you agree to the following terms and conditions: 

~ available for the introductory Zoom meeting with the organization team after the selection process;

~ commit to participate full-time in the program of the Regional workshop on technical production  (see dates in the timeline paragraph — chapter bellow);

~ signed guarantee that no other pre-existing commitments will interrupt or prevent full-time participation in the Regional workshop on technical production;

~ working language is English;

 

TIMELINE

Open call   23 / 05 / 2023 — 25 / 06 / 2023

Selection of participants    26 / 06 / 2023 — 7 / 07 / 2023

Introductory Zoom meeting with participants (to be defined in communication with the participants)  08 / 2023

Light and Sound in Arts and Culture, Regional workshop on technical production in Pogon, Zagreb 26 — 30/ 09 / 2023

ABOUT US

⟶ Operation City

Operation City was established with the goal of fostering independent culture and youth by organizing cultural programmes and manifestations, public debates, educational and research programmes and publishing. The alliance gathers organizations and individuals, artists, cultural workers, activists, experts etc. and it currently has 27 members. In 2008 Operation City, jointly with the City of Zagreb, established Pogon – Zagreb Centre for Independent Culture and Youth, on the principles of civil-public partnership, and Pogon became the first institution in Croatia and the Region that was established based on a participative governance model. The work of Operation City is aimed at finding sustainable and innovative models of governing of the public infrastructure by actively involving different stakeholders and by collaborative processes of creating and implementing said models.

⟶ Pogon

Pogon is the home of independent culture on the northern coast of the Sava in Zagreb, which provides its premises and technical equipment to associations, art organizations and informal groups free of charge. Every year we help to implement over one hundred different events in all spheres of culture and art (exhibitions, theater and dance performances, new circus performances, concerts, lectures, public forums, workshops and seminars, the list is not exhaustive ) and host 150 workshops and seminars, which is no small feat. Rehearsals, productions, art residencies, meetings; there are so many of these we can’t even count them.

About 8,000 people of all generations pass through Pogon yearly. Thanks to the support we provide to our users, their programs are affordable for visitors and free of charge whenever possible. In cooperation with our users, we also carry out activities aimed at audience development. And since we do not want to be at home all the time, we are also involved in various projects of international cultural cooperation that contribute to a stronger connection between domestic and foreign artists.

If you have an idea or a program in the field of contemporary art or some youth activity, you can feel at home in Pogon. In addition to the multifunctional space, you will also have access to various Pogon’s resources to help you implement your idea/programme or activity.

⟶ Kooperativa – Regional Platform for Culture

Kooperativa – Regional Platform for Culture is a non-governmental, non-party, and non-profit association of legal entities, that is, a regional network of organizations and national networks working in the field of independent culture and contemporary art in Southeast Europe (SEE). Jointly founded by 21 independent cultural organizations from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia, the platform currently has 40 active members, active in all areas of contemporary cultural and artistic practices. Kooperativa provides mechanisms of peer-to-peer support, knowledge production and exchange, collective actions and program cooperation, and is committed to improving working conditions within the civil sector in contemporary arts and culture.

“Light and Sound in Arts and Culture, Regional workshop on technical production in Pogon, Zagreb” is part of the project “Regional Lab: New Culture Spaces and Networks as drivers of an Innovative and Sustainable Bottom-up Development of Regional Collaboration”, co-funded by the European Union, as part of the open call for proposals EACEA 39/2019 Cultural Cooperation Projects in the Western Balkans “Strengthening cultural cooperation with and competitiveness of cultural and creative industries in the Western Balkans”. The Call for Proposals is entirely funded by the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA II). The project is conducted by the consortium consisting of several partners from six SEE countries led by Kooperativa – Regionalna platforma za kulturu, and project partners Anibar from Kosovo, Društvo Asociacija from Slovenia, Asocijacija NKSS from Serbia, Јадро Асоцијација / Jadro Association  from North Macedonia, Operacija grad from Croatia, and OKC Abrašević from BiH.