BALATORIUM is an ecological and cultural program series and a science-communication project within the framework of Veszprém-Balaton 2023 – European Capital of Culture. The aim of the project is to support cultural, artistic and educational productions reflecting on the most important ecological challenges of Lake Balaton and its region, along with promoting a broader discourse on the topic.
BALATORIUM hosts professional talks, artist-in-residency programs, performative landscape tours, public art events, university courses, educational curriculum development and communication campaigns on key themes, as well as an ecological and cultural festival and a traveling exhibition to frame and present the program’s key messages.
The project further aims to go beyond the challenges of the region to explore the potential for interactions between fragile ecosystems and human landscape design and practices through cultural methods and activities, thereby placing the potential for such collaborations and science communication efforts in an international context. BALATORIUM’s field-tested methodologies provide a toolkit for rethinking the balance between ecological needs and landscape shaping activities that can be adapted to other regions.
BALATORIUM is implemented in the framework and with the support of the Veszprém-Balaton 2023 – European Capital of Culture.
As the project’s eponym, PAD functions as the professional coordinator of the programme, developing its professional concept and productions, while as a key project partner, szabadonbalaton is responsible for professional content development and the realization of artistic productions.
Further project partners are: Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, Balaton Limnological Research Institute, Balaton Uplands National Park, Bakony-Balaton Környezetvédelmi Oktatóközpont Egyesület, Pannon University Limnological Research Department.