Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
By: Ekrem Dupanović
A couple of days ago, we announced the news that a project of the future Sonda Creative Center was presented in Vižinada (Istria), whose mission is to raise the business, educational, cultural and tourism level of inland Istria and the entire County, based on the development of all aspects of creativity and respecting the current development strategies. This extraordinarily significant project, not just for Vižinada and Istria, is no surprise if we know that Studio Sonda has a completely different approach to business for years now. All the time they turn mostly to local clients, helping many Istrian brands become more recognizable and successful. The creative solutions that they have made for local clients have won at many international competitions, beating far stronger brands and agencies. The construction of the Sonda Creative Center is seen as a step forward into a new space, into the domain of socially responsible business with very clear reasons and goals.
We tapped Sean Poropat and Jelena Fiškuš, creative and business duo of the Studio Sonda, to find out why Sonda Creative Center, what kind of a place Vižinada is, and how powerful is their creative side.
MEDIA MARKETING: Sonda was created in Poreč, and then you moved to Vižinada, for which you always claimed that it has all the preconditions for creative work. Now the Sonda Creative Center will also see the light of day in Vižinada. How was this idea born?
Sean Poropat: We started in Poreč, which is already a small city, but we strived for an even smaller, more intimate environment. At that moment, when the big systems and dynamic cities seemed desirable for everyone, many thought that our move to this small municipality was illogical. But actually, there was a kind of magic that helped us a lot in both business and creative ways. Businesswise, this seemingly step backward brought us exactly the opposite: recognition and market interest, as we got a much clearer identity. As far as creativity is concerned, it has brought us the possibility of self-identification. Far from everything else, we actually got closer to ourselves, and then it’s easier to look at the problem and find a solution. Collaboration with people from our immediate environment, neighbors, locals, historians, producers … has proven to be key to the inspiration and quality of many of our works. They were neither designers nor educated artists, nor anyone from this industry, and yet they are incredible creatives. People with immense love for what they do, with strength, will and perseverance. Although the areas of our work are different, all of us share the same passion to what we do, and the creativity in finding solutions in our time and space. With these people, we have ultimately created great projects and they are always and forever an inexhaustible source of inspiration. We have been convinced that there is a creative in every individual, and as such, they are, or must be able to be, a great driver of progress. We want to invite people of all profiles, age, education background to the Creative Center, to participate with us in creating a part of the projects that we already deliver to a large number of clients on a daily basis. Such work processes, together with our experience and experience of colleagues we wish to host in the future Center through educational projects and workshops, will also focus on the development of the environment itself – of the Vižinada, of the interior of Istria, addressing the specific problems that we are noticing.
Jelena Fiškuš: Society is still not aware of the power of creativity. Our goal is therefore to make it desirable, not abstract or intended solely for elites. We want to raise awareness of the public how much creativity is a powerful tool that we can and must use to make our lives better. In order to succeed in that, we must prove it practically. That is why the ultimate goal, in 10 years from the beginning of the Creative Center’s work, is to have measurable results on how much it has contributed to the development of the environment – through the growth of image, number of visitors, tourism development, project implementation, through concrete economic indicators… Then, concrete figures will confirm our theory of how creativity and the society of ideas are important for development on the personal, social, and economic level.
MEDIA MARKETING: You found an open interlocutor in the Municipality.
Sean Poropat: Yes, from the very beginnings we have been very welcome in Vižinada, and future projects will certainly further deepen this synergy of relationships. We are grateful that they have recognized the potential because, as we have already explained, creativity is an abstract notion for many, and sometimes it is difficult to see good business sense in it, but now we have the opportunity to prove it through example. Another important thing about Vižinada is that it is a small system, so communication and reaching agreements on genuine issues and solutions are much easier.
MEDIA MARKETING: At the Center, you intend to develop all aspects of creativity. We want to know is there space for the communications industry? Will there be a part of program devoted to it as well?
Jelena Fiškuš: It’s important to us to present creativity in the widest sense of the word, and communications industry is certainly an integral part of all that.
MEDIA MARKETING: With this project Sonda demonstrates responsibility towards the development of the surroundings in which it operates, and from which it draws most of its clients. Can Istria meet all the needs of one such comprehensive project?
Sean Poropat: Because of its development, image, inspiration, tolerance and the fact that it is a successful tourist center, Istria is a great place to develop this story. But the story is much wider than the level of the peninsula. It rests on the intensive collaboration of all of us who care about creativity being valued in the right way, and literally ALL OF YOU will be its part, and create it together with us. The acquaintances and collaborations that we have achieved in the past ten years of work are the true key to the success of this project.
MEDIA MARKETING: When can we expect the beginning of construction, how long will it last, and when will we break open a bottle of Piquentum at the opening?
Sean Poropat: If everything goes according to the plan, the construction should start mid next year, and at the time of construction we will already start with programs at other locations in Vižinada, and will work on its branding. Not only will we open the bottle of Piquentum, we will also make a toast with the wines of other splendid producers from Istria, and will treat ourselves with local kroštule and fritule which are traditionally celebrated in Vižinada through the Sweet Istria event, we will take a ride on the old Parenzana narrow gauge railway, we will walk around the locations where the cult movie Kelly’s heroes with Clint Eastwood was filmed… And we could go on with the list. As we said, it’s a place full of potentials…