Fresh Art International

This podcast is dedicated to Bioskop Club, a unique space within Casa Zemstvei, where every Thursday film enthusiasts and curious minds gather to watch films on current issues, with both educational and entertainment value. What sets the club apart is its carefully curated film selections that spark critical thinking and inspire meaningful dialogue. Each screening is followed by relaxing discussions and socializing, fostering a vibrant and engaged community. The podcast captures the club’s atmosphere, ideas emerging from the films, and the voices of those who help turn each evening into a truly cultural experience. Authors: Alex Hanganu – student, activist and cultural manager: / alex.hang.out Guests: Cristian Doroftei - member of the Bioskop Club, designer and film director Kristina Jacot - member of the Bioskop Club, film director Octavian Fedco - member of the Bioskop Club, photographer and designer Bioskop club: / klub_bioskop Editing: Marian Lupu, Olga Raileanu

To introduce the Reflecting Zemstvei podcast produced in Chișinău, Moldova, Cathy Byrd and Olga Raileanu take listeners inside an intensive workshop experience that spanned three days in March 2025. You’ll meet the 5 producers who learned to master recording equipment, script stories, and collect sounds and voices, to shape stories that illuminate the city’s independent art scene. Since 2013, artists and independent initiatives have rented spaces in a building known as “Zemstvei,” a state-owned architectural monument built in the mid-19th century at the heart of Chișinău. They call their improvisational community “Casa Zemstvei.” Creators and curators, animators and activists, visitors and regulars embrace the crumbling architecture, the arctic cold, the echoey acoustics, and the primitive grandeur of this historic space. Recorded on location, episodes in this limited edition audio program are embedded with the sonic landscape and creative characters that inhabit the city’s “House of Wonders.” Authors: Cathy Byrd - writer and podcaster from the USA, founder and producer of the Fresh Art International podcast, and workshop facilitator: / thecathybyrd / cathy.byrd.77 Olga Raileanu - graphic designer with journalism experience: / frumentum.alis Fresh Art International / freshartintl / freshartintl https://freshartinternational.com/ Guests: Daniel Boldurat - student and volunteer at Oberliht Association Franz Cocarcea - producer of the video podcast Omul face locul Bogdan Glavan - high school student, with experience in sound design Alex Hanganu - student, activist and cultural manager Marina Scalețchi - communicator Vladimir Us - curator, president of Oberliht Association Editing: Marian Lupu, Olga Raileanu

I met Alex Harabagiu on a spring afternoon, in the middle of Casa Zemstvei with cold walls heated by fans and people gathering to be together. With pencil in hand and a large bag behind him, he draws people passing through the city. We chatted, I listened, eavesdropped on the life flowing through the drawings, trolleybuses, memories, books in unknown languages and folded notebooks. What came out is a collage of fragments of thoughts. An episode about drawing as a defence, about the city as a diary, about an artist who doesn't exhibit his works, but lets them breathe or buries them under the leaves. Authors: Marina Skaletskaya - student of philosophy, sound artist, communicator: / skaletsskaya Guests: Sandu Harabagiu - visual artist from Chisinau, known for his spontaneous drawings that capture the faces and gestures of passers-by. His works appear on city walls or are hidden under leaves in parks as a form of protection and a way of getting in touch with the world. Editing: Marian Lupu, Olga Raileanu - Reflecting Zemstvei – a cultural journalism workshop, is organised by the Oberliht Association in partnership with ZHdK and Cathy Byrd, within the framework of the Edu-Art programme / Developing the capacity of independent cultural initiatives through an accessible educational platform project, with the support of Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Moldova, of Switzerland and FundAction / hosted by Zpațiu / media partners: Fresh Art International, #diez, youth.md, fest.md, agora.md and platzforma.md / technical support: CSCI of RM. The content of this project does not necessarily reflect the donor’s point of view.

In spring of 2025, Casa Zemstvei hosted a series of events portraying the realities of the war while emphasizing the need for peace. Inspired by the exhibited works, we engaged in some meaningful discussions with the local photographer Mihail Calarașan, with the Ukrainian artist KAR, and with the sociologist Vitalie Sprînceană. Together, we explored essential questions: how can peace be achieved and what is our role in it? What causes peace to disappear? And what role does art play in promoting peace? Authors: Daniel Boldurat - student and volunteer at Oberliht Association: / danikkatz Bogdan Glavan - high school student, with experience in sound design Olga Raileanu - graphic designer with journalism experience: / frumentum.alis Guests: Mihail Calarașan - documentary photographer, since 2017 has been working on personal long-term documentary projects: / kalarashan KAR - Ukrainian artist whose artwork was displayed at the inauguration of the ”Peace Street” in Casa Zemstvei: / kar.karkarkarkar Vitalie Sprînceană - sociologist, co-founder and co-editor of platzforma.md web site: http://fb.com/vitalie.sprinceana/ Editing: Marian Lupu, Olga Raileanu - Reflecting Zemstvei – a cultural journalism workshop, is organised by the Oberliht Association in partnership with ZHdK and Cathy Byrd, within the framework of the Edu-Art programme / Developing the capacity of independent cultural initiatives through an accessible educational platform project, with the support of Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Moldova, of Switzerland and FundAction / hosted by Zpațiu / media partners: Fresh Art International, #diez, youth.md, fest.md, agora.md and platzforma.md / technical support: CSCI of RM. The content of this project does not necessarily reflect the donor’s point of view.

This episode revolves around The Enchanted Forest - a workshop hosted by Casa Zemstvei and led by Iulia Pînzari. Initiated with the outbreak of war in Ukraine, the workshop was created to support refugee children through art and creative expression. Through its activities, children explore the world of senses, emotions, and imagination. On the day of the recording, the little ones were experimenting with essential oils, creating their own unique perfumes. Over time, the workshop became a welcoming space for all children, regardless of their background. The story captures the warmth of the space and the voices behind initiatives that bring comfort, joy and meaning through artistic experiences for the most vulnerable ones. Authors: Alex Hanganu – student, activist and cultural manager: / alex.hang.out Guests: Iulia Pînzari – actress, director and workshop curator: / iuliia.pynzar Editing: Marian Lupu, Olga Raileanu - Reflecting Zemstvei – a cultural journalism workshop, is organised by the Oberliht Association in partnership with ZHdK and Cathy Byrd, within the framework of the Edu-Art programme / Developing the capacity of independent cultural initiatives through an accessible educational platform project, with the support of Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Moldova, of Switzerland and FundAction / hosted by Zpațiu / media partners: Fresh Art International, #diez, youth.md, fest.md, agora.md and platzforma.md / technical support: CSCI of RM. The content of this project does not necessarily reflect the donor’s point of view.

Where in the world can you express yourself freely, share cultural knowledge, test inventive art practices, and build a transnational creative community in only 10 days time? During an intensive CEC ArtsLink program in Kazakhstan, 23 artists and curators from across the region and the U.S. seize the moment to think deeply about their socially engaged projects. Our home base for talks, workshops, field expeditions, and performances is the bULt Collective rave space. Paying attention to inclusion and access, issues and ideas, concept and creation, they begin to imagine new possible futures for collective art practices in Central Asia and beyond. Acknowledgement: In Fall 2023, Cathy Byrd recorded voices and sounds for this episode during her CEC ArtsLink residency in Central Asia. Sound Design: @anamnesisaudio Featured Voices: bULt Collective, Lydia Matthews, Nara Bikinna, Zilïa Khansura, Laura Nova, Will Owen, Kristine Diekman Special Audio: Bandistan Ensemble, DJ Nemezida; DJs inspired by traditional Kazakh music/Almaty, Kazakhstan; Nara Bikinna recording of a Tatar gathering/Tyumen, Siberia; recording of felting workshop with Zilïa Khansura/Oak Gallery, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan; Collective Soundwalk Mixdown/Almaty

Today, we introduce a few of the artists and activists energizing the 2023 Art Prospect & TRASH-5 Festival in Kyrgyzstan. They give voice to the issues, ideas, and intentions that shape their truly creative approaches to mitigate pollution. Their projects illuminate the potential for artists everywhere to build community and drive sustainable solutions to our global environmental crisis. From the city of Bishkek to the settlement of Altyn Kazyk, we discover myriad ways that socially engaged artists encourage awareness and action. They bring us together from around the world to experience, understand, and create true moments of beauty and meaning—giving us hope for a future that holds clean air, land, and water. Acknowledgement: In Fall 2023, Cathy Byrd recorded the voices in this episode during her residency with CEC ArtsLink in Central Asia. Sound Design: @anamnesisaudio Featured Voices: Sto Len, Ronja Roemmelt, Mishiko Solakauri, Begimai Zhunusova, Ellen Harvey, Bermet Borubaeva, Aimeerim Tursalieva Special Thanks to the Bishkek Sanitary Landfill—Director Nurlan Djumaliev, Head of Municipal Enterprise Section Arzykulov Almaz Toktomukhanmedovich, Landfill Museum Co-Curator Samat Marso Special Audio: Live musicians performance at the People’s Landfill Museum and the Bandistan Ensemble Related Episodes: Public Water—with Mary Mattingly - https://freshartinternational.com/2021/05/19/public-water-mary-mattingly/ Topical Playlist—Sustainability and the Environment https://freshartinternational.com/2020/03/24/sustainability-environment/ Related Links: CEC ArtsLink https://www.cecartslink.org/ Art Prospect & TRASH-5 Festival 2023 https://www.cecartslink.org/art-prospect-trash-5-festival/ Tazar http://www.tazar.org/en/about/ EU Compliant Landfill to Open in Bishkek https://www.europeaninterest.eu/the-first-eu-regulation-compliant-landfill-will-open-in-bishkek/

Listening to St. Louis—Counterpublic Art Triennial 2023 Key words: cultural history, Indigenous, Black lives, earthworks, St. Louis, public art, listening, healing, triennial, restoration, reparation, holistic engagement, commemoration, rematriation, contemporary art, creative intervention, podcast Today, we take you to St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States of America. Home of the Gateway Arch, an Emblem of Manifest Destiny, at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. Emblem of Manifest Destiny. St. Louis is nicknamed “‘Mound City”’ because of the number of earthworks built by Indigenous peoples there, before the westward expansion of colonizers conspired to flatten them. Where caves beneath the city sheltered freedom seekers traversing the Underground Railroad in the mid-1800s. Where, from 1959 to 1972—in the span of less than 20 years—residents of the historically Black neighborhoods Mill Creek Valley and Pruitt-Igoe Homes were displaced in the name of urban development and public safety. Where, in 2014, the Black Lives Matter movement coalesced. Nearly a decade later, in the year 2023, current events reveal that in this city and this state, the sanctity of civil and human rights remains tenuous on every level. What role can a public art triennial play in such a troubled context? A microcosm of the disruptive forces at play in cities across the United States today, St. Louis offers fertile ground for creative interventions that are healing—restorative in nature. The civic exhibition Counterpublic takes on the challenge. To prepare for the 2023 event, the triennial’s home team committed to a year of listening sessions with a range of public constituents. A report integrated into the exhibition catalogue outlines local interest in holistic engagement with public memory, commemoration, and acknowledgement; the rematriation of Indigenous land; and reparative futures. In response, for three months, thirty projects animate the urban landscape along six miles of Jefferson Avenue. In this episode, we follow that throughway from south to north to share healing elixirs healing we discover at the heart of seven Counterpublic projects along the way. Listen to the ways they honor and amplify strength, beauty, and hope at the core of reemergent cultural histories in St Louis. Story: Cathy Byrd Sound Design: Anamnesis Audio Special Audio courtesy Nokosee Fields, X, Raven Chacon, Stefani Jemison, Griot Museum of African American History, Torkwase Dyson, Mendi and Keith Obadike, SlowDrag audio "Joy and Everything," remixed by K Kudda, and Counterpublic, Mood Unit by by Blue Dot Sessions

In February 2023, we travel to the United Arab Emirates for the first time. We’re here to witness and celebrate Sharjah Biennial 15: Thinking Historically in the Present. Four years in the making, the exhibition is ambitious and expansive. More than 100 artists from 70 countries are presenting projects in 19 venues across the emirate. One afternoon, we wander through Sharjah’s heritage area to Bait Obaid Al Shamsi, the personal residence of a local pearl merchant and his family from the mid-19th century until the 1970s. In a small courtyard outside his multi chambered installation, we meet artist Shiraz Bayjoo to talk about how his project engages history—a pervasive theme in this Biennial. The artist shares the storied past of the Indian Ocean and the island archipelagos of Mauritius and Madagascar, off the southeast coast of Africa. Keep listening to hear the orientalist tropes that he disrupts in Searching for Libertalia, a project that recovers the history of a purported pirate colony founded in the late 17th century. Our conversation with Shiraz Bayjoo reveals one artist’s approach to Thinking Historically in the Present. Searching for Liberatalia materializes a cultural narrative that might come closer than real history to showing us the way through rupture, dislocation, and uncertainty to a place of growth and renewal. Story: Cathay Byrd Sound Design: Anamnesis Audio Special Audio: Searching for Libertalia, Sharjah Biennial 15