Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
Photo: Fran Mubrin
From 23 to 28 of May Varaždin will host the MOP Špancir Festival, a regional festival of multimedia and digital culture. The organizers of the festival this year joined forces for the first time and presented a new look to this already recognized annual regional festival of multimedia and digital culture. Adding another name to MOP – that of the currently most famous Varaždin festival, Špancir – they are jointly working on developing the cultural and creative visibility of the Croatian northwest, and are bringing to this baroque city a series of lectures and workshops, as well as programs of electronic music and interactive 3D mapping.
We spoke with Fran Mubrin, director of the MOP Špancir Festival about this really interesting event.
Media Marketing: What actually is MOP, and who is behind the festival?
Fran Mubrin: MOP is an association based in Varaždin that promotes the development of digital and creative culture. It was established in May 2014, when it started with its official work.
The association seeks to activate the digital community through projects that include creative development, creative management of technologies, audio-visual arts, interaction design, visual communication, multimedia production and design. The main project of the association is the MOP Multimedia Festival. The association was created as a student initiative at University Sjever, but now operates as an association which, in addition to students, also connects numerous professionals in the field of interactive media.
We started organizing the MOP Multimedia Festival in the spring of 2012, and so far it has been held four times as an annual regional festival that promotes multimedia and digital culture.
The festival program includes lectures, weekly workshops, exhibitions, video screenings, interactive installations, performances, films and audio-visual installations integrated into its music section. One of the areas the festival explores is the economic and artistic impact of new technologies, combining the multimedia and business world through the exchange of experiences, knowledge and ideas and serving as an “open source” platform for networking and knowledge dissemination.
Media Marketing: This year you’ve joined forces with the well-known Varaždin festival, Špancirfest. How did this collaboration come about?
Fran Mubrin: Since the main objective of both festivals is the development of the creative and cultural industries, as of this year Tourist Board of Varaždin became a partner of the MOP Association and the co-organizer of the Multimedia Festival. This cooperation is very important because in this way we expand our knowledge and resources, and as a partner we will get involved in the organization of Špancirfest. Through this collaboration Špancirfest will make an important step in the realization of its goal to become a year-round festival. The idea is to strengthen the capacity of the project through synergy, both in terms of program and organization.
Media Marketing: Every year MOP gathers numerous experts in the field of digital culture and multimedia. What guests are you looking forward to this time?
Fran Mubrin: Over the last four years the festival has hosted more than 50 renowned speakers from the region, and this year we have more than 13 lectures and seven workshops. I very much look forward to Friday evening and Saturday, when we will greet the representatives of a number of companies: 404, Degordian, UX Passion, Šesnić & Turković, Five, Bellabeat, Philipp Hentschel, Joel Dullroy, Artnak & Prodanovič, Unity.
Media Marketing: Apart from its educational content, MOP is well-known for its great parties. Could you tell us something about the interesting things that await us this year?
Fran Mubrin: On 27 and 28 May, as part of the City & Party program in the Club Zvonimir Rogoz and in three bars, there will be a party that will enrich the ŠUŠ DOTS program, a concert by the band Chui, DTM, Big Oz, Filip Motovunski [AP1]. And Franjo Maltra will take care of the visual part of the party program.
Media Marketing: What will make the fifth MOP Festival special?
Fran Mubrin: The festival is free, and for the first time opens a space for children and young people of primary school age, and the Croatian Designers Society will hold a workshop on The Power of Paper. During the festival, in the Varaždin Gallery Centre, three exhibitions will be held that include various multimedia expressions and works of prominent artists and students of the Department of Media Design, University Sjever. Along with all this, on Saturday at the City Hall, Ivan Lušičić Liik will perform an interactive 3D mapping called ORNAMENT III.
Ornament I