Rijeka's vibrant independent cultural scene finds a space to call its own

The Croatian coastal city of Rijeka is not a first choice when contemplating a beach holiday, most tourists pass through the busy port and highway juncture on their way to somewhere else. Today, an active cultural community is slowly but firmly placing Rijeka on the itinerary of Europe's cultural scene, while pulling together to get its own populace to re-inhabit former industrial buildings with culture, arts and activism.

The Croatian city of Rijeka lays on geographic and historic crossroads. Go there; you can have a meal at a restaurant situated in today's town center, but sitting on the very location of a former border and customs office.

The city's history and cultural diversity is present in its naming, called Rijeka in Croatian, Fiume in Italian and Reka in Slovene. Established as a free port in the 18th century, Rijeka has a history of Austrian and Hungarian possession, in the 19th century, it was Hungary's only international port and the architectural landscape may sometimes feel more Budapest then Dubrovnik.

Rijeka is Croatia's third largest city, an important port and shipyard, and often in the spotlight due to its vibrant cultural and political scene. Housing one of the Croatian National Theaters, but also the famous Carnival of Rijeka, in the past 5-6 years the active independent cultural initiatives in Rijeka have slowly grown. The scene is marked today by many distinct organizations and artistic groups whose inclusivity, interdisciplinarity and addressing of socially relevant topics is marked by its local context. As elsewhere in Croatia, the scene's position is one of lack of recognition and thus lack of space and financing.
It was a need for space, to work and produce in, but also a space of community that brought eight organizations together to form the new Cultural Center Molekula (Molecule). A detailed analysis of the organizations' human and spatial resources showed some previously worked from private homes, all eight in total had at their disposal 4 desktop computers, 2 laptops, 1 fax machine. And yet, in 2005 for example, these organizations were responsible for a total of 157 public events in Rijeka – concerts, performances, exhibitions, screenings and lectures – including 46 international programs. The organozations are: Amandala, Drugo more, Filmaktiv, Infoshop Škatula, Katapult, Malik, Prostor+ and Trafik*.

But, finally there was a lucky break. As the Academy of Applied Art moved to the University of Rijeka's new campus, the building it was using, the former office and storage spaces of a local vine company, was left empty. The city officials showed remarkable providence and initiated a public tender for the temporary use of 1000m2 that awaits tearing down for new construction in five years according to new urban planning regulation. Instead of the centrally located space on the city's waterfront sitting empty it is now shared by Molekula and an architectural studio. Rent is low, again due to a lobbying of city officials, the utility costs are shared by the eight organizations not equally, but according to how much each can contribute. A big impact is felt by the local dance scene that finally has studio space to organize classes and workshops. A library and mediateque are there, films are screened and books presented. Molekula now houses daily programs of the eight organizations, but also guest programs, making it a true cultural hub in the port town. I'm making plans for a visit myself in a few weeks.

*For detailed information on Rijeka's independent cultural scene, look for publications by Molekula – Rijeka, especially the writing of Davor Mišković.

Ivana IVKOVIC, May 2008