Art-inspired public space attracts visitors

Visual objects representing cut-outs have been shipped into the Bratislava urban landscape in dialogue with the surrounding architecture for over a year – with the shipping containers that passed through sculptor Lubo Mikle’s workshop creating visionary scope for numerous artistic inputs.

Lubo Mikle began developing the KUVYT concept during the first lockdown, when he felt the need to enrich public space by giving people an alternative opportunity to escape daily ubiquitous fear. The artist explained his thinking: “The KUVYT project chill-meditation zones aim to mitigate the negative impact of the recent period’s raw reality and enrich Bratislava’s public space.”

The concept formally comprises six parts – standard shipping containers – that symbolise open gateways or “lenses” into the world. Their installation is also unique in that the visors’ geometry facilitates the observation of various city panoramas and the view from the opposite side. Conceptually, the artist has elaborated current social themes – not to judge, polarise, radicalize, or persuade – but rather to give opportunities and scope for presentations, interpretations, discussions, alternative views, and other social channels.

KUVYT Star will be an attractive addition to a new square with welcoming seating and relaxation areas by the Danube promenade. The centrepiece will be Bratislava’s very first planetarium – with a striking sculptural solution and eye-catching futuristic façade that will become the city’s latest landmark and a popular attraction for residents and visitors.

The planetarium will also provide the city with a much needed universal cultural and educational space – ideal for fringe theatre, scientific presentations, and civic debates, as well as star-gazing. In this way the planetarium will become an exciting and attractive educational option for schools and the public, and have a compelling cultural function.

Read more on visitbratislava.com

Photo: Samuel Číž