Basic HTML Version
TRAVELLER
|
19
THESSALONIKI
Amid ancient
ruins and domed churches, a
two-wheeled revolution is taking
place in the northern Greek city of
Thessaloniki. Following in the tyre
prints of the Canadian Good Bike
Project, which turns old bicycles
into monuments, this city’s rusty,
old two-wheelers are being given
a very colourful revamp instead of
being thrown on the scrapheap.
Known as The Re-cycling
Project, this is street art with a
difference. “We want tomotivate
people to volunteer to transform
their town in the simple way
of giving life to old objects,”
explains Kostis Kotsonis, the
group’s co-founder. Thus, the old
rattlers are painted in a rainbow
of colours – green represents
the lack of green spaces in the
city, for example, and orange the
city’s hotspots – while flowers
are planted in the bikes’ baskets,
bringing a touch of nature to the
urban landscape.
the-recycling-project.tumblr.com
Music Weeks
SOFIA
The Chamber Ensemble of
Sofia Soloists are just one of the
international chamber ensembles on
show during this classical music
extravaganza. Of equal delight,
though, are Bulgaria’s stunning
concert halls, which will thrill even the
tone deaf.
sofiaweeks.com
17 MAY – 25 JUNE
Reykjavik Arts
Festival
REYKJAVIK
Gigs by Yann Tiersen
and Bryan Ferry will make music the
main focus of the Reykjavik Arts
Festival, but you’ll find plenty of other
excitements over this fortnight too.
Our pick? Visit the Art Museum for a
posthumous exhibition by Catalan
sculptor Antoni Tàpies.
artfest.is
18 MAY – 3 JUNE
Museum Festival
BUDAPEST
A two-day taster of
what Hungarian museums have to
offer.Within the garden and along the
main street of Budapest’s Hungarian
National Museum, this “museum
market” is a way to sample over a
hundred of them in one place.
majalis.hu
19-20 MAY
ART FESTIVALS
A recycling project
in Greece is bringing
colour and nature
into urban areas
Experience
contemporary art
fromall over the
world at Art 43
Basel. This piece is
byJapanese artist
Yoshitomo Nara
A Very Bright Idea
THE BUZZ
|
TRAVEL NEWS
What’s going on?
BASEL
High-rise houses aren’t the only things that put Art Basel head and
shoulders above other art fairs. Held 14-17 June, this year’s festival – in its 43rd
incarnation – will bring together work fromalmost 300 of the world’s finest
galleries.Whether buying, bidding or browsing, visitors can enjoy eye-catching
pieces fromsurrealismand innovation to sculpture and installation. Get a
weekend package to the fair from€162. See
basel.com
for more details.
WORDS RANIAMARGARI | PHOTO ©ART BASEL