Trenčín 2026 – European Capital of Culture, in collaboration with the Regional Tourism Organisation Región Považie, has announced the winning projects of the international open call LANDMARKS. The initiative brings together contemporary art, landscape, and the region’s cultural heritage through new site-specific artworks that will be created at significant locations across Považie.
The aim of the call was to commission artistic interventions that respond sensitively to the unique character of each site, its natural environment, history, and local stories. An international jury selected four projects that will offer new ways of experiencing the landscape while creating spaces for reflection, observation, and discovery.
Veľká Javorina: Adam Hudec – Walking with Holuby
Walking with Holuby draws inspiration from the legacy of botanist Jozef Ľudovít Holuby, who spent decades exploring the White Carpathians on botanical walking expeditions. Adam Hudec will create a circular walking trail approximately 1.2 kilometres long around Holuby Cottage, consisting of a series of landscape-based artistic interventions. These installations will encourage visitors to slow down, observe, and engage more deeply with the surrounding environment.
Each stop along the trail presents a speculative vision of biodiversity in 2050, exploring the relationships between humans, plants, fungi, animals, and the landscape in the context of climate change. The interventions will be made from tree trunks removed for health or safety reasons and will gradually evolve into living microhabitats shaped by nature itself.
Beckov – By the Bell Shrines: Jaroslav Kyša – Sown in Sediments
Jaroslav Kyša’s monumental limestone sculpture explores geological time and the natural processes that continuously reshape the landscape. A massive block of locally sourced limestone will be rotated so that its originally horizontal sedimentary layers become vertical. Visitors will be invited to place seeds, plants, and branches into carved grooves, collectively creating a new layer of sediment. Over time, the artwork itself will continue to change through weathering and natural processes.
Beckov – Beckovské Skalice: Šimon Chovan – Dionysius Atlas
Šimon Chovan’s Dionysius Atlas pays tribute to the geologist and palaeontologist Dionýz Štúr and his research on fossilised plants. The installation will consist of a group of limestone objects engraved with plant species characteristic of the Beckovské Skalice nature reserve, including Adonis vernalis, Stipa pulcherrima, and Linum hirsutum. Combining geology, botany, and contemporary art, the work creates a dialogue between the landscape’s deep past and its possible future in the face of climate change.
Beluša–Lednické Rovne Cycle Bridge: Studio Woven – Arbor Oblita
Studio Woven will create a monumental structure resembling the hollow trunk of a tree. Visitors will be able to step inside, observe the surrounding landscape through circular openings, and experience a familiar place from an entirely new perspective. The organic form references the layered structure of the natural environment while providing a space for play, rest, and contemplation.
Japanese Artist Yuka Nomura Joins the LANDMARKS Series
The LANDMARKS programme also includes a permanent installation by Japanese artist Yuka Nomura entitled The Cherry Pit Spat Out by the Sky. The work will be unveiled on 21 August 2026 at 5:00 PM in the Cherry Orchard on Brezina Hill in Trenčín.
Nomura’s sculpture, shaped like a cherry pit, symbolises birth, journey, and the continuation of natural cycles. Using wood, straw, and clay, she transforms a simple natural fragment into a poetic object that reflects hidden potential and the constant transformation of the landscape.
The LANDMARKS project will establish a network of artistic destinations throughout the Považie region, connecting contemporary art with its natural and cultural heritage. Through land art and site-specific interventions, the project invites visitors to explore the landscape from a new perspective—to slow down, appreciate the unique character of each place, and discover new stories, layers, and connections within the region.
This activity is organised in collaboration with the Regional Tourism Organisation Región Považie and is financially supported by the Ministry of Tourism and Sport of the Slovak Republic.
