rádio d-cz

Radio art pieces funded through Zipp – German-Czech Cultural Projects

radio d-cz is sending teams of international writers, fine artists, radio play dramaturges, sound collectors and musicians on a journey into the world of German and Czech life. They will produce five radio art pieces that cartographically sketch the history and stories, soundscapes and "memory currents" of the social terrain of both countries.

In their story "Tatra", the feature writers Werner Pöschko and Marek Janác portray the engineers Jiri Hanzelka and Miroslav Zikmund, who, in their mid-twenties, travelled across Africa and Latin America in a futuristic-looking limousine in 1947. In "The Favourite Sounds of Prague", the sound recording artist and musician Peter Cusack and the media artist Miloš Vojtechovský create a multifaceted portrayal of the city as they ask residents to describe their favourite sounds. The story "Retropia" by the writer Steffen Irlinger is about the phenomenal success of the Bat'a shoemaking dynasty which built a modern-day utopia in the rural town of Zlín that became the headquarters for its global corporation. Combining archived materials and interviews with historians and inhabitants of Zlín, Irlinger incorporates the unmistakeable atmosphere and music of Czech animation and fairy-tale film adaptations.
Together with the fine artist Katerina Šedá, the radio artist Rolf Simmen explores the possibilities of social interventions using the medium of radio in the project "Furt Dokola / In einem Fort" [In a Fort]. And finally, the project "Durch kalte Länder" [Through Cold Lands] by the writer and journalist Jáchym Topol takes listeners on a literary-acoustic journey to the historic abysses of the 20th century. A series of 45-second mini radio plays will highlight these five themes from both a Czech and German perspective.

In addition to their radio broadcast, the five pieces will be presented in Prague, Berlin and Vienna in a variety of formats - as an exhibition, live radio play, artistic interventions in the city, presentations and discussions as part of literature events.

Broadcasting schedule:

"Tatra. Die Reisen von Hanzelka und Zikmund" [The Journeys of Hanzelka and Zikmund] (Werner Pöschko / Marek Janáè): 19 Sep. 2009, 6:05 pm (DeutschlandradioKultur); 4 Nov. 2009, 9:45 pm, CRo 3 / Vltava

"Favourite Sounds of Prague" (Peter Cusack, Miloš Vojtechovský): 7 July 2009, 10:05 pm (SWR); 11 Sep. 2009, 00:05 am (Deutschlandradio Kultur); 21-28 Nov. 2009, CRo 3 / Vltava

"Retropia" (Steffen Irlinger): 8 June 2009, 11:05 pm and 23 June 2009, 11 pm (WDR); 30 Sep. 2009, 9:33 pm (Deutschlandradio Kultur)

"Furt Dokola / In einem Fort" [In a Fort] (Katerina Šedá, Rolf Simmen): 14 Sep. 2009, 00:05 am (DeutschlandradioKultur)

"Durch kalte Länder. Eine literariasch-akustische Reise" [Through Cold Lands. A Literary-Acoustic Journey] (Jáchym Topol): 13 Sep. 2009, 6:30 pm (DeutschlandradioKultur); 23-29 Nov. 2009, CRo 3 / Vltava