The year 2020 was not easy for any of us, the coronavirus pandemic tested us at every step and in every area of life. However, we also felt a greater need for help and unity among the people who proved that promoting good things is essential today. We know that neither our being nor our functioning has stopped, that we have exerted ourselves on our own two feet every day by exerting a great deal of strength. We also know that good still exists in people and is manifested in small or large deeds. The civic association OTVOR DVOR was also convinced of this, when they needed a boiler room for the Kláštor (Monastery) cultural and creative center, so that they could function all year round.
As stated on Facebook:
“This is what happened to us: We need a boiler room in the Kláštor, so we asked good, clever friends to help us with that. Well, they helped. ”
First, they set up an account on darujme.sk, where people gradually contributed to them. The collection at the boiler room was also supported, for example, by Maroš Kemény, Zuzana Wienk, Norbert Werner, Ľudmila Kolesárová, Milan Zvada, Vlado Ondrejovič, Michal Augustovič, Peter Palgut, Patrik Milata, Lucia Pašková, Erik Šille, Dávid Raška, Michal Havran and Barbara Gindlová in the form of short videos , in which they called for the promotion of a good cause. Subsequently, Erik Šille created the graphics of the monastery and donated the proceeds to the boiler room. In 14 days, the graphics were ready, printed. But the story is not over.
The clever Martin Lipták and Andrej Sarvaš from Čierne diery promoted the request on their Instagram, then auctioned out printed but not yet sold graphics by Daniela Olejníková and finally, as another contribution to the collection, sold 200 pieces of fresh graphics of the monastery by Erik Šille in 15 minutes. All this, contributions from people from all over Slovakia, artists, organizations came together and helped raise enough funds for the boiler room.
Today, thanks to great people, they are already enjoying the new space of the Artforum bookstore, which (under favorable circumstances) can be visited by anyone who visits Rožňava and as a bonus can have an excellent coffee in a cafe and chat with those behind the Kláštor. They will definitely be happy to introduce you to all the spaces and tell the story of the creation of something amazing on the almost forgotten Gemer region.
Briefly about the civic association OTVOR DVOR
The civic association was founded in 2012 with the aim of entering the public space of Rožňava. In the first years, it was in the form of low-cost activities as volunteer work for other civic associations (e.g. construction of kennels for Život je pes), organization of the Small Gemer Market, screening of club films and co-organization of a series of exhibitions of artists by Rožňavské radiály. After the implementation of the Pósch revital project, where the civic association partially revitalized the Pósch Garden park, in November 2016 it took over the building of the former Franciscan monastery from the Rožňava municipality for a long-term lease (20 years), which it is gradually transforming into the Kláštor Cultural and Creative Center. The activities of the association focus on the natural activation of various communities in the city through the (co-) organization of cultural, artistic and educational activities. It seeks to connect people in the city with specific urban spaces, in order to create lasting connections between them and thus create space for various forms of participation and civic engagement.
Project Regional co-working center of civic participation and project CO3 – co-exist, co-work, co-operate in the program ACF-Slovakia
The civic association OTVOR DVOR currently has one completed and one ongoing project in the ACF-Slovakia program.
The Regional Co-working Center for Civic Participation project has been completed, the aim of which was to create a regional co-working center in the Kláštor Cultural and Creative Center (Rožňava), consisting of modifying a specific space and launching introductory educational activities and support events with a partner organization to ensure long-term sustainability of the whole project – creation and stabilization of professional background for organizing civically active individuals, young people, informal groups and associations and organizing information and educational events for them. The project managed to reconstruct the premises for co-working, and to equip these premises with furniture, IT equipment and other accessories necessary for its operation. Everything took place in cooperation with the Norwegian partner Bjerkaker Learning Lab – who acted as a mentor in the project, whose task was to oversee the correct setting of all processes related to management, communication with the public, etc. In addition to the very creation and launch of the co-working space, the project managed to organize a number of cultural and educational events, thanks to which the civic association significantly contributed to moving the local community, activating citizens and passing on information about opportunities and cooperation in the co-working space.
The current, ongoing project- CO3 – co-exist, co-work, co-operate, which focuses on creating space for other long-term and continuous activities in the existing co-working center, which thanks to accommodation capacities will enable projects with the participation of partners from more remote parts of the region and make effective use of their networking opportunities. The multimedia studio will provide an important service for co-working users at the level of creating and processing video and graphic materials in order to improve communication with the public and thus the promotion of their activities.