The Veszprém-Balaton 2023 European Capital of Culture programme has been the most significant and successful cultural and creative venture in Veszprém and the Bakony-Balaton region in recent years. More than 1.5 million visitors enjoyed over 3,600 events of 24 genres in 116 towns and settlements during the festival of creativity. The most memorable moments of these events will be recalled in the Laczkó Dezső Museum in Veszprém in the exhibition ‘Shine! – Two thousand and twenty-three Cultural Creative Regions of Europe: Memories of a season, the future of a region’.
„The venture was not just a series of events lasting 365 days, but a long-term cultural and social development project that will continue to unleash the cultural diversity and creative energies of the region beyond 2023. The regional cooperation and the preparations and plans made over the years, as well as the valuable title awarded as a result of the application, will provide an excellent opportunity to continue to achieve the strategic objectives set.
The work of the city, the settlements, the communities, the countless participants under the auspices of the European Capital of Culture 2023 has placed the region and Veszprém on the cultural map of Europe as a region of European level and demand. Building on this experience, our common task is to maintain and strengthen this position in the future,” said Can Togay, Chief Cultural and Creative Advisor of the VEB2023 ECOC.
The exhibition “Shine!”, that opened in the Dezső Laczkó Museum in Veszprém, gives a deeper insight into the spirit of the VEB2023 ECOC, the content of the nine thematic clusters that bring the programmes together, and recalls the best moments of the programme year, while also showing that everything that started on 1 January 2023 did not last only 365 days, but opened a long-term opportunity for the region, thanks to which it can remain a cultural capital or rather a creative-cultural region for a long time to come.
The exhibition will be divided into several sections, covering all the memorable moments from the application for the ECOC title to the end of the 2023 programme year. It will present the main objectives of the programme, its themes and the regional cooperation, all with the help of telling exciting behind-the-scene secrets and personal stories.
“The exhibition will showcase artists’ installations that will introduce the viewer to the preparations for the European Capital of Culture season, the main themes for 2023 and the achievements that have been made over the past years. The exhibition introduces the viewer to the world of the European Capital of Culture in an innovative, entertaining and exciting way, recalling the initial ideas, the plans and the projects that have been realised. ‘Shine!’ shows the reality of a European Capital of Culture season that has lifted Veszprém and the region to a higher level”, added Can Togay.
The exhibition will be open to the public free of charge from 26 April until 9 June. Guided tours will be available during the opening hours, with members of the VEB2023 ECOC programme team guiding you through the rooms.
