SOCIETY

ECHO II is a European cultural project inviting artists who work in the fields of painting, sculpture, graphic design, fashion design, craftwork and mural to create original artworks inspired by the following selected local traditions:

The local traditions related to the sea in Spetses island (Greece), 
The local traditions of the city of Sofia (Bulgaria),
The local traditions of the Lake Prespa (Prespa region, North Macedonia),
The life and community of Győr distillery’s workers as a local tradition of Győr (Hungary), and
The local traditions of the Smolyan town (Bulgaria).

In the context of ECHO II, local traditions are perceived as dynamic and evolving processes that shape and are shaped by the lives of local communities. This means that traditions are recognised as constitutive elements of cultural identities, but are not considered as ‘objects’ that need to be retained unaltered and protected via musealisation. In this light, ECHO II takes a critical stance towards established but unfruitful perspectives that restrict innovation and creativity, and consists of an opportunity (a) for artists to highlight and renew local traditions through contemporary artistic creation, and (b) for the local communities to self-reflect, and hence, reconceptualise and revitalise their own traditions within the framework of European cultural heritage.