Rosewood had a vibrant arts scene when I lived there as a youngster. People would drive in from Tallegalla, Marburg –  sometimes even Mt. Walker, just to hear Joyce on the organ, or to watch your travel correspondent dance a Gypsy Tap. It’s no surprise that now, whenever Lady C-S and I travel, we always seek out the finer arts on display as it invariably brings back memories of that time in my formative years.

Last night we were privileged to attend a performance by a Slovakian quartet, the Janoska Ensemble with a ticket we had bought months in advance. The group consists of three Janoska brothers and their brother-in-law (their family has produced 5 generations of virtuoso classical musicians). To simply be inside the stunning 1884 Mahenovo Theater was worth the admission price, last night’s Vivaldi concert was a captivating bonus. All three brothers have had solo careers performing with world class orchestras, even so, playing together as an ensemble was an obvious joy – for them and for their audience.

Talking to them in the foyer after the concert I was surprised to learn that none of them had learnt of any of the virtuosos from the Rosewood School of Arts, either when they were studying as students in Vienna and Berlin, or later as they toured the world as professional musicians. The twin tyrannies of language and distance I suppose?

On our endless pursuit of the arts we traveled by train to Bratislava today, to spend the day in Slovakia’s rising capital.

Our continuing fine arts focus – a photo exhibition by Polish photographer Jan Brykczynski (one vowel surname) was on the agenda. He is a documentary photographer, this exhibition told the stories of urban farms. He calls it guerilla farming- people attempting to grow food in an urban environment, often in spaces without permission, but usually simply to ward off hunger. It is his mode of bringing our attention to the plight of the urban poor – sometimes they are those who live in wealthy Western cities such as London and New York, and his work has won numerous awards for both their ethical and artistic sensibilities. For two Aussies who love wandering with their cameras it was a wonderful (and dry) way to spend an hour in a European city besieged by rain.

I might not mention that we spent a lot of the day drenched and shivering with the cold, or that a long platform wait for our train back to Brno was extended by delays, then extended again, and then extended some more. When our train eventually materialized, we discovered that our return ‘home’ meant two hours of standing in a crowded carriage … Such are the inglorious aspects of travel – the times could colour our accounts of journeys.

But these moments are inconveniences, they are sweetened by, and over-compensated for, time and time again – through the big moments like the Janoska brothers’ performance or the Jan Brykczynski photography exhibition. And more significantly, they are sweetened by the small personal interactions – like talking with and being served an excellent Slovakian flat white by a young woman named … Linda.

Yes, I have work still to do in order to raise awareness in this part of the world regarding the contribution to world art of the Rosewood Art Movement in the 70’s. And, to be truthful it could sometimes be a disheartening ambassadorship, especially when wet and cold in a foreign city. But the deeply human interactions that occur as I pursue this task will reward and reverberate long into the future..

Yours

Fine Arts Farley

p.s.  Thank you to the similarly drenched  and weary young man who gave up his train seat on the trip back to Brno for the bedraggled Lady C S  … that is what makes travel memorable..

The stunning Mahenovo Theater

Amen

Linda and Linda – One  Linda is a vibrant uni graduate of Art and Design who is now working in a Bratislavan cafe. This was her first day in that job. (Sadly she also hadn’t heard of the Rosewood Arts Movement of the 70’s – unbelievable. She has now!)

Our Bratislava baristas – beautiful coffee.

The photography of Jan Brykczynski