Field of Sparks is a socio-art project, a genre-creating experimental architecture park and an annual Artweek in Ipolytarnóc, Nógrád county.
Zsófi Fenyvesi is the co-founder of the non-profit NGO: Hundred Sparks Association, founder, art director and chief dreamer of Field of Sparks since 2018.
‘FIELD OF SPARKS PURSUES THE ESSENTIAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HUMANS
AND NATURE THROUGH THE MEANS OF ART’
Octogon Magazin I Architecture & Design
SURVIVAL
RESILIENCE. ROBOSTNESS. ANTIFRAGILIY. SYMBIOSIS.
In 2023 at Field of Sparks we invite you to play a game with us and look at the human race with a wide-angle lens. For a moment, forget the fact that your whole existence as a human being is purely relying on a hyper-capitalistic system moving forward slowly, but unstoppably by the law
of inertia and start exploring the freedom and capability, we as humans all possess.
Imagine you are living your most authentic, rawest life.
Picture yourself in a beautiful, warm sunset, you are standing on a big field, smelling the rosemary and wild grass. Look at the floating landscape, the curves of the river Ipoly, the lush bushes and trees of the forest, and the high mountains of the Tatra range. Imagine you are capable to fulfil all of your needs as a human being and you can fully rely on the wisdom, force, and best practice of the most important system you are part of: Nature.
„In the age of the Anthropocene, humanity’s impact on the planet is undeniable. By destruction and even by conservation, all ecological systems are impacted by human action. We are now at a crossroads where we can either continue a narrow view of technology, informed by our distance from Nature, or we can acknowledge that this is just one way and not the only way for humans to live. Designers today understand the urgency of reducing humanity’s negative environmental impact, yet perpetuate the same mythology that relies on exploiting nature. We cast Nature both as a menacing force now retaliating against us, and as a forlorn figure, surrendering to our ‘saving by way of savvy’ technological innovation.” – Julia Watson (LO-TEK design by radical indigenism, Taschen 2020)
The great adventure we now call Field of Sparks began in 2018 in a small village in Nógrád county as our attempt to create a blueprint for change, connection, cross- cultural interactions, inclusivity, and enthusiasm. Artists, architects, and designers have decided to build a new narrative around the village of Ipolytarnóc, working in collaboration with the locals to create new perspectives on identity, community, and local values, using art as a common language.
Everyone who ever visited the Field of Sparks feels that we were ‘looking after the same flock of geese together’, a Hungarian saying referring to the trust, time, respect, and effort required to maintain precious but fragile human relationships. A place for artists to experiment freely, a basis in which locals can rewrite their stories, and a place full of surprises for visitors as they gradually discover the newly built elements that now nestle into the beauty of the surrounding nature.
This project is a celebration of the seemingly incompatible: big city and small village, old and young, Roma and non-Roma, well planned
and organic, man-made and natural.
We believe, a circular mentality is the only way to think of the future.
