Cyclotopia

Cyclotopia

fotos: Viktor Hlavatovič

video & stop-motion: eye to eye studio

Phoinix Gallery & OZ Punkt, Bratislava (SK) 26.8.-25.9.2024

CYCLOTOPIA is a participatory research and book project about grand utopias and their subtle manifestations in everyday life. The project creates various moments of exchange and collectively explores a broad spectrum of utopias that envision cycling as a sustainable mode of transportation—while simultaneously expanding the potential to transform cities, societies, and individual lives in holistic and diverse ways.

Through three participatory formats—bike tours, a workshop, and a collective manifesto presented at the Dobrý Thr Festival—the project invites people to share their observations, questions, and visions for Bratislava as a cycling capital.

The project is based on the premise that social encounters and conversations are shaped as much by the contexts in which they occur as by the position and movement of the body. As such, special attention was given to the social fabric, relationships, and dialogues that can uniquely emerge when cycling together or inscribing bike paths into the city.

The collected material is compiled into an experimental, handmade book object. More than an archive, the book literally unfolds into a manifesto—one that even takes the shape of a bike path.

With contributions from: Adriana Mockovčáková, Andrej Beniač, Andrej Shadura, Chiara Némethová, Denisa Vološčuko, Illah Van Oijen, Jakub Šindelář, Lucia Timárová, Marina Martynova, Mario Antonio Liptaj, Michaela Vlašaná, Patrik Bartas, Silvia Dedinska, Simona Beniačová, Tomáš Peciar, Zora Pauliniova

 

Concept and production: Aru Ray Tormann

 

Thanks to everyone who supported the making of the book by sharing their knowledge and resources – especially Marina Martynoa, Illah Van Oijen, Karol Prudil, Kristína Uhráková, Lucia Timárová, Pavol Štefanovič, and the entire team of OZ Punkt.

 

Thanks to Europapier for donating the paper for the book.

Printing by malografia.

 

The book is the result of a participatory research residency that is implemented as part of the Cycle UP! project, co-financed by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.

 

In collaboration with: Czech Centers, Goethe Institute, Phoinix Gallery, and OZ Punkt.

 

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the EACEA can be held responsible for them.