Festival Dolomites 2024

Identity. Music from various directions Identity affects us all. It polarises and excites, it is instrumentalised politically and in the media. Identity challenges us to define ourselves, to stand out or to integrate into a group as an 'us', especially in times of permanent upheaval and rapidly changing events. News about world events spreads globally in seconds and affects us. At the same time, things that are slowly brewing in our society burst forth with force and unsettling energy and affect us all. Climate, wars and crises: cracks, splits and gaps are appearing everywhere, leaving us with big question marks both individually and socially. Those who turn constructive questions about identification, individuality and shared values into the opposite, and turn them into a divisive 'us versus them', are particularly emphasised. Art and culture, on the other hand, give us the opportunity to experience, listen to, savour and celebrate 'our' cultural life - preferably in silence and away from the polarising and constant sound of the media - in the full knowledge that culture and, in particular, music of all genres and colours make us, in the course of our lives, identify with them. An open perception of one's identity as an ever-changing mosaic of traditions, experiences, memories and relationships is one of the most important prerequisites for successful coexistence. Understood in this way, the search for our (individual) identity offers us the opportunity to meet the Other and Others on an equal footing. It is the most important key to tolerance, cosmopolitanism, true diversity and coexistence. All the more reason to put identity at the centre of this Festival and to celebrate origin, artistic diversity and variety, and cultural exchange in this way. Artistic Direction: Josef Feichter & Christoph Bösch