NEWS
• MAY TULIP AND “snowflakes”. NITRA AND TOPLOĽČIANKY
After a week of downpours, it just stopped raining on Thursday. And so, the good weather made 18th of May a great day for the May Tulip event.
Well, not only that. Many thanks to all for the warm welcome at the Nitria-based bod.K7, for transporting children by bus, for ice cream from the Gio Caffé, for an excellent lunch at the Prince Pribina Elementary School, for a special tour of the stud farm in Topoľčianky after visiting hours.
For it is only with the kind people that the project brings together that the children can have a wonderful time together, the can feel the joy from the experiences.
Traditionally, children from Bratislava and Nitra met at the May Tulip Festival. This time it was held in in Nitra. The children mentioned each other again. It is especially the third graders from Nitra who are new to the event. As many times previously in the project that is not 17 (!) years old, they replaced the older ones who moved on to the upper school. The little ones from Nitra, along with the blind and nearly blind little and big ones from Bratislava came to bod.K7 for theatre and a creative workshop. After a good lunch, they set off to Topoľčianky to see the stud farm that breeds white Lipizzaners, Hucul ponies and thoroughbreds.
The children come across as more fragile, more shy. As if they were enjoying themselves more slowly. Whether the two pandemic years of isolation are to blame, or whether it is caused by generation, are they really – as the nomenclature of generations refers to them – “snowflakes”?
Many gradually published data show depressing facts about the consequences of the pandemic on children. Developed countries are already proposing measures to prevent the new phenomenon of hikikomori – the search for solitude, social isolation, loss of desire to solve things together, simply being able to live alone in the virtual world.
After all, the mere idea of what two years of isolation during COVID-19 mean in a child’s life is threatening. Those two years are maybe ten years of an adult’s life!
And so, a cheerful and wise theatre, a conversation about our world, a colourful workshop, stroking white horses and drumming together are a good way to warm up the children or to thaw “snowflakes”.
… so that their cell phone or tablet is not a better friend than the real cool classmate Jano.
• SIGHTLESS VERONIKA BAJNÓCIOVÁ VIDEOEXHIBITION
Video presents ceramics work of Veronika Bajnóciová – a phenomenal sightless little girl from A Tulip For You project. Video can be found HERE.
● BLACK BOX yard, TULIP ONLINE AND TULIP TOUR AT THE DIVADELNÁ NITRA 2020
Despite the special pandemic’s time A Tulip for You project presented Black Box – the object for seeing about unseeing at the Festival Divadelná Nitra. This year under the name Black Box yard, because due to pandemic’s measures there were activities from interior moved to exterior and object interior was used for performing of exhibition TULIP ONLINE – drawings of visually impaired children made during first pandemic’s six months as well as video about organiser´s summer tour to project children across Slovakia – TULIP TOUR. Video can be found HERE.
● BLACK BOX ON THE HELPFEST FESTIVAL / DEVÍN CASTLE / JÚN 8, 2019
The interactive object Black Box opens its summer season on the summer festivals 2019 via its first event on the Helpfest festival under the Devín castle. The festival idea is to present the world of handicapped to the seeing public. Black Box and its accompanying actions will present to the festival public.
● THE BLACK BOX SUCCESSFUL PRESENTATION AT ZŠ KNIEŽAŤA PRIBINU / NITRA
Within the idea of experience and cognitive spread of the world of blind for general public via BLACK BOX events – the organizer is headed the project toward the various institutions, schools, public spaces and festivals. The new, tent version of BLACK BOX object allows to present this event more flexible – in the smaller spaces, in the interiors and during the whole year. The BLACK BOXtent was successfully presented in March 2019 at ZŠ kniežaťa Pribinu in Nitra, which is project co-organizer as well. During the one-day presentation more than 120 children crossed into the absolute darkness of object to – by own “eyes”– experience making the breakfast, walk with white stick, learn the base of Braill Alphabet and many of various aids for blind.
● BLACK BOXtent
The BLACK BOX object has been presented to general public since 2015. The fruitfulness of project within the general public and requirements of various institutions to present object – called to idea to make lighter and more flexible version. At 2019 BLACK BOXtent was made – the tent version of heavy object, which consistently maintained the original idea, design a accompanying actions. The BLACK BOXtent was successfully presented at the co-organizing school – ZŠ kniežaťa Pribinu in Nitra – for the first time on March, 2019.The BLACK BOXtent will be presented on basic and secondary schools at an early date.
● BLACK BOX AT POHODA FESTIVAL 2018
The object BLACK BOX and its accompanying actions (The SensibleSidewalk, The Flowerbed for Blind and exhibition of works of blind children from A Tulip For You project) was held on July 5 –7, 2018 at the biggest Slovak music festival POHODA2018. There were 650 visitors entering to the Black Box object during three festival days! Most of all the organizer was very pleased to see the enormous interest of families with children, who playfully “read” the Braill Alphabet, bravely walked with white stick and sidewalk, and “read” various types of herbs from Flowerbed For Blind.The Black Box thanks to festival POHODA organizer for possibility to present event BLACK BOX at festival, thanks to tens of visitors for hours and hours of waiting to entrance to object and thanks to 12 BlackBox volunteers, who professionally and patiently via their lectures „served“ 650 visitors of BLACK BOX event.