"Tolerancia": US-Slovak Student Art Fights Against Bigotry in Exhibit at University Library

May 20, 2009

The Embassy, in cooperation with four Slovak art schools and with American curator Janeil Engelstad, on May 20 launched an exhibit, “Tolerancia,” at InfoUSA, University Library, in Bratislava. Chargé d’Affaires Keith Eddins opened the exhibit, along with University Library Director Tibor Trgiňa, and conducted an informal discussion on themes of intolerance in contemporary society with an ethics class from the Narnia School, Petrzalka. The theme of the exhibit is how young people, in Slovakia and the US, encourage respect for diversity and difference in their society through art. Students presented many aspects of this issue: respect for people of different background and economic class; for the handicapped; for ethnic minorities; and for religious tradition. Schools represented in the exhibit are the Josef Vydra School of Applied Art Bratislava, Košice School of Applied Art, Košice Middle School of Art and the Middle School of Art in Prešov. The American works are from two sources: a project, called “Color Wars,” that brought together members of opposing gangs in Los Angeles, and, “First Exposures,” in which professional San Francisco photographers mentor underprivileged teenagers. The exhibit continues until August at InfoUSA Bratislava. The Embassy supports projects throughout Slovakia to help integrate the Roma and Hungarian minorities and to enhance mutual understanding among ethnic and social communities.

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