Trenčín Castle, the iconic landmark of the city shaped by centuries of history, is being transformed into a vibrant space for contemporary art as part of the Trenčín 2026 – European Capital of Culture programme. From 7 February, the castle will host three exhibitions that create a unique dialogue between past and present.
The first of these is the multimedia, site-specific exhibition Well of Love, curated by Ekmel Ertan. The exhibition links the castle’s historical context with contemporary themes of memory, myth, labour, and human desire. It draws on one of the most famous legends associated with Trenčín Castle – the story of a young Turkish man named Omar, who dug a deep well into the rock out of love for the imprisoned Fatima. Through the work of Turkish artists Ahmet Rüstem Ekici, Hakan Sorar, Kerem Ozan Bayraktar, Ekmel Ertan and Busra Tunc, this tale of devotion and hope is reinterpreted and brought to life through contemporary art.
The exhibition is set in the Gothic Chapel and the Cannon Bastion, creating an intimate environment where light, sound, and holograms reveal new layers of the well-known legend. The artists employ modern technologies – from artificial intelligence to holography – crafting works that do not provide definitive answers, but instead invite personal reflection.
“The intention was not to illustrate the legend, but to translate it into a contemporary language. Well of Love is a metaphor for labour, memory, and the voices that have often been lost throughout history,” says exhibition curator Ekmel Ertan.
In the Barbora Palace, visitors encounter Barbora’s Thread, an installation by Portuguese artist Carla Rebelo, who works with fragments of the original wooden floor from Trenčín’s Merina textile factory. Materials imbued with traces of labour and time are combined with delicate fibres and spatial drawing. The result is a poetic expression of collective memory, in which the city’s industrial past subtly intertwines with contemporary perceptions of space.
“I am interested in how materials retain memory – not only visual, but also emotional,” says Carla Rebelo, describing her work.
The trio of exhibitions is completed by Crystallized Silence, a work by Japanese artist Yasuaki Onishi, which transforms the Knight’s Hall into a delicate vertical landscape of transparent materials. The ephemeral installation contrasts with the castle’s monumental architecture and reflects on the passage of time as a process of constant transformation. Created in collaboration with EU–Japan Fest, the work underscores the international dimension of the Trenčín 2026 project.
“In silence and emptiness, we perceive time differently – not as something that flows, but as something that is constantly changing,” says Yasuaki Onishi.
In 2026, Trenčín Castle is not merely a backdrop, but an active partner in contemporary art. Once a symbol of power and defence, it now provides a space for sensitive, topical, and international artistic expression – demonstrating that even a historic monument can be a living, open site for cultural dialogue.
Additional information, press materials and photographs from the Opening Weekend can be downloaded from the Media section at: https://www.trencin2026.eu/en/for-the-media/
MEDIA CONTACT
Tereza Fojtová / Trenčín 2026
tereza.fojtova@trencin2026.eu / +421 918 412 621 / www.trencin2026.eu
Florian Vanicatte / Send / Receive
florian@sendreceive.eu / +33 617 216 932
