Center of culture Azimut
Basic information
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Full project title
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Project Description
Medieval 15th century wells and it's vault that used to store five million gallons of water have been transformed into a Center of culture Azimut, a modern time contemporary space that provides cultural content for people. This cultural heritage site used to be filled with water and today the wells are filled with culture. By becoming a performance and an art exhibition venue, Azimut provides the source of life for the cultural scene that lives and breathes freely inside these medieval wells.
Project Region
EU Programme or fund
Description of the project
Summary
Azimut is located in the city of Šibenik, Croatia, a city that was founded by the Croats over a thousand years ago, making it the oldest native Croatian town on the Adriatic. During the medieval times in 15th century, with the help of Venice, four wells with it's underground water cistern were built in 1453. to store the city's water supply, due to the city's chronic shortage of water. It is known to be a considerable civil engineering exploit for the 15th century, one undertaken by Jakov Corrier of Tranio (Italy) and the work was supervised by Juraj the Dalmatian, one of the builders of the famous St. Jacob's Cathedral, cultural heritage protected by the UNESCO. The wells, with it's subterranean medieval structures made of red brick which use to store five million gallons of water, are situated at the bottom of the steps leading down from the cathedral. This medieval vault with it's 15th century water wells, is now given a new role to play in the city's cultural life.
It has been renovated and transformed into now the Azimut Cultural Center, performance and exhibition venue that stages exhibitions, literary events, theatrical performances, stand up comedy nights and live musical performances throughout the whole year. The area above ground where water was once accessed via four wells is also a pleasant terrace and venue for cultural events.
Club Azimut was founded in 2013. with the aim to promote various cultural content with it's main slogan ''Find and explore your way'' which promotes absolute freedom of expression. Azimut as a cultural center and an art gallery, brings people together and helps artists of all formats in their creative processes.The unique interior matches the art installations and alternative music. With such use of interior of the cultural heritage site, it invents a new way of purpose for this historical area, combining sustainability, circularity, reinvention of use of cultural heritage, mobilization of culture, art and communities.
Key objectives for sustainability
Azimut articulates the dimension of the Bauhaus criteria of sustainability and circularity by it's sustainable work concept. It offers the hospitality of a concert venue that provides affordable tickets in range of four euros by which it funds itself and makes the venue sustainable and accessible to visitors. It also has a souvenir shop on the second floor with a variety of souvenirs produced of natural materials and by local artisans, such as wooden key chains with motives of the city of Šibenik, bottles of vine made from local wineries hand painted by local painters and cotton bags which feature the slogan of Azimut.
With it's structure based on two floors inside the wells vault it offers two entrances – the ground level downstairs floor entrance on which is located a large seating area with tables and chairs, an area for reading and free exchange of books, a concert stage area and a sanitary block and on the upper level there is also a large wooden door entrance through which the visitors come to the gallery that also has a seating area and is connected to the ground floor by stairs which were built right next to the surface of the walls to provide a larger open space on the second floor.
This architectural concept offers an easy circulation of people within the large and high medieval vault and it provides accessibility to everyone in regards of the use of space and experience of all content placed inside the vault. The part of the second, upper floor has an open gallery balcony which has an open view on the ground level so the experience of the cultural content and art located in the space is visible to every visitor, as well as the sound of music concerts which are held on the stage on the ground floor but are heard in every part of the vault, due to the technology of the modern sound systems, incorporated in the space, along with the light system in all color spectrum which offers another unique experience of events on the stage.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
Azimut offers a one of a kind experience with it's artistic and mysterious atmosphere due to the high ceiling of the well's vault with a constant view on the openings of the wells on the top and it's dry historic brick walls. It has become an attraction that tells the fascinating history of Šibenik with several art installations that are connected to the Šibenik's history facts such as the dramatic model in natural size of ''The flying man'' or ''The Homo volans'', a demonstration model made in spirit of the sketch of the invention of a parachute, made by the Croatian inventor, diplomat, engineer and linguist Faust Vrančić(1551 – 1617) from Šibenik, the genius who turned man’s ancient dream of flying into reality. Another natural size model and a fascinating art installation is the figure of St. Michael, the protector saint of Šibenik who shoots an arrow to the head of a large dragon and it represents the fight between the God and the Devil - the good and the evil. Replicas of the medieval city's male and female robes are also situated in this space, as well as the original ancient amphoras which are placed here by the City Museum for display to the visitors.
The important part of the story of the aesthetics of this place is the contribution of local artists who have placed their art installations inside the vault. The main idea of their art concept is inspired by the water that used to be inside the vault, so we have art installations representing the story of ''20 000 miles under the sea'' by Jules Verne placed in a form of a large octopus ''The Kraken'' that climbs down from the upper floor to the ground level, large red fish that dramatically spikes from the wall and a ship Nautilus from Verne's story which hangs from the top ceiling as if he floats freely throughout the space like he would be floating in the waters.This dimension is met by Azimut in providing a glimpse into the freedom of human thought and achievement.
Key objectives for inclusion
The art installations of local artists as mentioned above are all part of the constant art exhibition found in the vault, but another dimension of quality of experience is situated around the concept of Azimut's Gallery, founded in 2019. with the purpose of providing space for temporary exhibitions which include art exhibitions, photo exhibitions, book promotions, album promotions, record store days, concerts, pub quizzes and various workshops that provide inclusion for all citizens to participate in these events.
The gallery of Azimut offers full support to artists and makes art display available for everyone. Entrance to the exhibitions is free for all visitors. The main goal of the gallery is to present all art and cultural content to the public, in physical way and through virtual world by placing the art on Azimut's web page and social network page.
Various educational programs are also held in the vault by local artists and they inspire young minds to explore the possibility of new ways of thinking, innovations and artistic expression by learning the basic skill set of techniques that artist use in their creation.
It is a reinvented place to meet and share and a building renovated in a spirit of circularity of people and of content which it provides.
Results in relation to category
Azimut transformed the cultural heritage site into a place that nowadays has the impact on the city's life as once the water inside the wells had. In medieval times, these four wells meant the main source of life for the citizens by providing them fresh water. Today, the wells are dry and have lost that purpose because there is no need for it as Šibenik has fresh water from it's river Krka.
Today the wells are filled with culture. Azimut provides the source of life for the cultural scene that lives and breathes freely inside these wells. In this historical sense and now modern times spirit, Azimut has achieved the modern true meaning of purpose of the historical cultural heritage site in which it has placed itself. It has become a place that gathers all citizens, from young to old, a place for the independent cultural scene of the Republic of Croatia and beyond, it lives and breathes and flows with the people that circulate inside it's walls.
How Citizens benefit
With a year's average of 180 organized events such as concerts, book promotions, stand up comedy performances, pub quizzes, lectures, workshops and exhibitions, and with it's quality of programs, Azimut has become a leader of the Croatian independent cultural scene and has hosted all leading names of it's local and regional scene as well as a large number of foreign visits.
Just in the year 2019., a record of 246 events were organized. This number includes 67 concerts, 46 music nights, 36 pub quizzes, 12 stand up comedy performances, 29 lectures and panel discussions, 8 book and music album promotions, 9 evenings of literature reading, 16 fairs and 11 exhibitions and 12 workshops in the Gallery which equals a duration of gallery activity of 167 days.
Azimut had several large impacts on the city of Šibenik. Due to it's location situated by the sea shore in the very heart of the old town center next to other tourist attractions such as the Cathedral of St.Jacob, the City Museum, City Hall and beach Banj and the quality of the content it offers to visitors of all ages, it has had an incredible impact on the foreign tourist interest in the city's center old town's visits.
In a city which is mainly oriented around it's summer tourist season, Azimut offers a season of events that are held throughout the whole year, making the city of Šibenik attractive not only in the summer but during all 365 days in the year. By providing this to the city, it has become the key factor for the important revitalization process of the old town center by creating a variety of cultural content and by attracting people in visiting, circulating, and remaining for a longer period of time in the city's old center. With a number of 35, 000 visitors in 2019., Azimut matches the exact number of citizens of Šibenik.
Innovative character
Azimut is not just a place that offers service as a concert, art and performances venue. With the number and quality of it's events, it has become the place known as the center for independent cultural scene, an incubator of fresh and innovative ideas regarding all aspects of human and cultural life.
Azimut also produced a very high interest in people's experience of cultural content. By organizing events that deal with a specific theme such as book fairs, long play record days, pub quizzes, exchanges of plants, clothes and different workshops organized by local and regional artists it has created communities that come together and gather in this space and develop their interests by taking it to higher levels of knowledge and experience. Several associations have been born solely out of the initiative and idea that Azimut promotes, such as association of pub quiz players of Šibenik, association of book lovers, association of cultural promoters and organizers etc.
It is a place that offers a playground for development of specific interests in the field of culture by providing a ground start, a ground place, moving energy and support for this important aspect of human nature and cultural evolution, all which is based around it's work thought ''Find your way, explore your way''.
