General Information
What is Ördögkatlan?
„When we dream alone it is only a dream, but when many people dream together it is the beginning of a new reality.”
(Friedensreich Hundertwasser)
„... The real experience and certitude found me in August, 2011, when I first visited the festival, and in five days I could observe myself that even with a big amount of time and experience behind me, I could be astonished by people: that quality, variegation, couriousity and above all, modesty and love have the potential to generate happy communities even in this rather harsh and sometimes alienated 21st century.” (Mari Törőcsik)
Basketry
József Ruszt, a master in theatre history used this phrase when Bárka Theatre was founded back in the 90's, and we keep citing him when we'd like to unfold the reason behind setting up the Ördögkatlan Multiart Festival in 2008, why we want it to happen again in 2013 for the 6th time, why whe love it. For most of us, basketry, fiest and Ördögkatlan stand for the same. Everything had started at the Valley of Arts in 2001: from then on, we organised the multiart festival called Bárka Kikötő there through six summers till we seceded from the Valley becoming our own masters in the summer of 2008. Then László Bérczes and Mónika Kiss (and great many helpful friends) established the Ördögkatlan Multiart Festival. This festival is a five-day-fiest. Fiest of quality, humanity, serenity, celebration of the man striving to exceed oneself. Our method is „squaring the circle”: applying professional organisation we are working in the anachronistic way of handicraft. We persistently feel that our concern is to have something in common with the product being born, that is every inch of the festival, just as the weaving man has with his freshly sent-off basket. The two of us, with the help of magnificient colleagues aim to create real contact with every single performer, but with the restaurateurs and the technical staff, with the ambulance men, the security staff, and with the volunteers as well, all the people living in the village. We try to preserve the human scale of the festival, as we think it is worth till it fits in our palms.
Birth
The first decisive accidence: We got a call in June, 2008, that the 10 days in the Valley of Arts arranged already completely was delayed because of lack of money. Yet our decision was to organise an own festival right by then, that is one and a half month from that point, South of Pécs, in the area of the splendid statue-park of Szársomlyó and the sorroundings.
It may be small and slender, but let's set off on our own path. We managed to gain a minimal support from the Cultural Foundation, and the neighbouring villages willing to take part in it also contributed with what they could, ticket sales helped somewhat – and in moments we arranged an outstandingly successful 2.5 day long festival. It was small, but alive and it belonged to us.
Concept
The concept of the festival and its aims have been basically unchanged since the first Ördögkatlan, opened by Tamás Cseh in 2008:
- to display the cultural and art prosperity of the Hungarian Nation;
- to bring to life a cultic community space spanning politics, language, and borders for five days in the tiny villages of Baranya, with the help of invited artists (and visitors) from all over the world; That is through five days let Ördögkatlan be one of the prime cultural centers of Europe;
- to help the given settlements (Nagyharsány and its surroundings) rise economically, mentally and culturally;
- to make this region touristically more attractive;
- bringing in further settlements, on a medium scale, Baranya in Croatia and Baranya common Art Festival should emerge, in order to display the common, multicultural values of historical Baranya in the forms of unified touristic products on the touristic market of Europe;
- to create an unavoidable artistic Event, which uplifts the region to stand as a hotspot of cultural tourism.
