2025, Gorizia (I)/ Nova Gorica (Slo)
Rolling Seats for Understanding
Rolling Seats for Understanding, Gorizia (I)/ Nova Gorica (Slo), 2024
Rolling Seats for Understanding - a Center for Post-Conflict, 2024
Finalist of the competition "Seats of Understanding", trieste contemporanea, 2024
Today’s situation of Gorizia (I) and Nova Gorica (Slo) is still determined by the Transalpina railroad line as symptom of the historical border between Italy and Yugoslavia. This is the most significant barrier for the future urban development connecting both cities.
Rolling seats for understanding offers a moving installation as artistic-urban intervention for a dialog in “slow motion”, on a bicycle trolley placed on the railroad tracks. Four swivel chairs are installed at a
round table on a platform mounted on a bicycle trolley. This constellation is ideal for informal conversations on peace.
Rolling Seats for Understanding marks a new project of the long term engagement by Paul Rajakovics since 1997 and by transparadiso addressing the border between Gorizia (I) and Nova Gorica (Slo). For previous projects see Spremembazione (1997) and Anyone's Land (2011).
Even though the animosities and long lasting traumas based on nationalism have meanwhile widely been addressed, they have not been completely resolved until today. Therefore this post-conflict situation between the two cities offers an ideal basis for peace conversations - also on political conflicts in other geographical contexts. Therefore the slow journey along the barrier/ border can be considered an “exercise” for peace missions – serving as a starting point for installing an international "Center for Post-Conflict".
Center for Post-Conflict
The „Center for Post-Conflict“ aims at providing a safe environment for inviting an international audience/ visitors to make use of that unique center for addressing their current conflicts in other geographical areas - and also the future of Gorizia/ Nova Gorica.
As first step transparadiso presented Rolling Seats for Understanding - a Center for Post-Conflict at the Aesop symposium "Constructing Peace Through Public Space: What Publics? Whose Commons" in Nicosia/ Cyprus, May 30-31, 2024 - as a reference project for addressing the border in Cyprus through an artistic-urban intervention.
Historical background:
On May 1, 1945, Josip Broz Tito and his troops conquered Gorizia and remained there for forty days, which are remembered as a reign of terror by the Italian population. With the “Peace Treaty of Paris” in 1947, the border between Italy and Yugoslavia was established along the railroad line to Jesenice,
right in front of the train station „Stazione transalpina“. A new city, Nova Gorica, was built on the other side of this border in Slovenia, based on plans by Ravnikar. Nova Gorica developed into a flourishing city in Slovenia, whereas Gorizia declined due to being located in Italy at the EU-border/ iron curtain.
Only after the end of Yugoslavia and with Slovenia‘s entry into the Schengen area in 2007 the two cities started to slowly grow together.
In 2025, both cities, Gorizia (I) and Nova Gorica (Slo), will be a joined/ cross-border European Capital of Culture, GO!.