Untangling a Garden II

A storytelling guided tour of the Rafut Park, dedicated to stories of trees.

NEJA TOMŠIČ: UNTANGLING A GARDEN II A narrated guided tour of Rafut Park, dedicated to the stories of trees. Rafut Park, Saturday, 19 October 2024, from 16:00 to 19:00 IMPORTANT! Due to construction works, the entrance through the gatehouse is closed. Entrance to the park is from the car park at the Franciscan Monastery Kostanjevica, Škrabčeva ulica 1, Nova Gorica.

Registration for the event: neja@ne-ja.com More than 1100 trees grow in Rafut Park, known as one of the first exotic gardens on Slovenian territory. It is usually associated with Laščak's villa, but the story of the park is older and, even after his departure, extremely rich. Until recently, Rafut Park, like any "abandoned plot", was shrouded in mystery and its history was intertwined. But in reality, the park has never been isolated. People visited and cared for it. Its trees bear witness to all this. The trees themselves have a rich symbolism, linked to myths, fairy tales and personal stories. In exotic and botanical gardens we usually read where the tree comes from, but what does it mean? We invite you to join us for the artistic event Unraveling the Garden II, designed as a guided tour of Rafut Park, where we will listen to the stories of trees. They will be told by Ana Duša, Katja Šulc, Maja Čehovin Korsika, Ana Čavić, Katarina Nahtigal and Rok Kušlan.

EVENT PROGRAMME:

16:00 - Meeting at the entrance to the Rafut Park at the Franciscan Monastery in Kostanjevica

16:10 - Introduction.

16:30 - Stories: a walk through Rafut Park with storytelling Narrated by Ana Duša, Katja Šulc, Maja Čehovin Korsika, Ana Čavić, Katarina Nahtigal, Rok Kušlan

18:00 - Gathering: group vocal composition rehearsal and socialising Untangling a Garden is a research and art project dedicated to Rafut Park.

Its rich past hides historical, cultural, and symbolic threads that embed it in wider social currents. Untangling a Garden II is a performance work in progress that explores the processes of group performance in a specific space. In doing so, it seeks different readings of the park and our responses to it. It understands Rafut Park as a multilayered landscape in which personal, cultural and historical stories collide. Neja Tomšič is a research based visual artist, storyteller, performer and ritual maker who draws, works with objects and sound, and is interested in long processes and slow work. Her practice reflects on dominant historical narratives, exploring particularities and creating situations in which new understandings of the present can be formed.