LAVAPOLIS / Friday in Venice
FRIDAY IN VENICE is the first part of an ongoing transmedia novel named LAVAPOLIS, initiated by the writer Michael Schindhelm and developed in relationship with a number of actors, directors, writers, designers, programmers, photographers and architects. FRIDAY IN VENICE has been supported by various public institutions and hosted by the European Youth Forum at the European Parliament in Strasbourg and took place at the Architectural Biennale 2014 in Venice.
The project contemplates the small Mediterranean island LAVAPOLIS which is an ever-shifting utopia. Its residents might be enemies in a different world. But once they land on LAVAPOLIS, they become part of a social project. Their joint expectation is that society on the island will facilitate ways of living that can constantly be renewed due to this ongoing political, economic, and cultural experiment. The administration of the island calls this a counter-site, which reveals the real world but also challenges it.
From beginning of May 2014 FRIDAY traveled Europe in search for innovative ideas on how to improve society. He arrived first in the European Parliament of Strasbourg. It was just two weeks upfront the elections. He made political and social observations on the state of affairs in cities like Berlin, Moscow and Monaco, in Switzerland, Slovakia and Italy and publicized them in the form of video presentations on the platform lavapolis.com/fridayinvenice.
On lavapolis.com he launched debates around the possibility of desirable social changes on the continent and engaged more than hundred website users to contribute to the discussions. A juxtaposition of political reality and a heterotopia created a collective discourse.
In August, Friday met at the Architectural Biennale in Venice with the director Rem Koolhaas, curators, visitors and Venetian activists who fight for the Lagoon island Poveglia’s future.
The story of Friday and the island LAVAPOLIS has been documented in three formats: in the book LAVAPOLIS (English version by Sternberg Press and German version by Matthes & Seitz), on the interactive internet platform lavapolis.com and via the twitter account @FridayInVenice.
initator / author: Michael Schindhelm
collaborators: Niloufar Tajeri, Aline Löw, Giulio Margheri, Janine Meier, Michael Faessler, Nathalie Janson, Daniela Baer, Michaela Buesse
design: State, Berlin (www.s-t-a-t-e.com), Giulio Margheri
web development: Lu Nelson, Lalo Martins
interaction design: Moritz Kemper (Zurich University of the Arts)
realisation video: Robert Schuster
photography: Aurore Belkin
actors: Gabor Biedermann, Eva Maria van Acker, Max Bauer, Céline Martin Sisteron, Vanessa Falk, Egill Heidar Anton Pálson, Noam Brusilovski, Sophie Margarete Schuster, Matthias Breidenbach, Laurène Brun, Dionysios Metaxas Mariatos, Martin Gruber, Catherine Umdenstock
music: Georg Zeitblom
sound: Max Bauer
3D surrounding: FettFilm
guests: Rem Koolhaas, Thomas Matussek, Ippolito Pestellini, Ingo Niermann, Chus Martinez, Marco Ferrari, Ramak Fazel, Giovanna Silva, Michael Hadjistyllis, Lorenzo Pesola, Piero Barel, Francesca Balbo
partners: Alfred Herrhausen Society, arte, The Center for Media and Interactivity (ZMI) at Giessen University, Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), prohelvetia