An attractive park brimming with installation art will soon be opened in Pula
At the end of 2017, Mayor of Pula Boris Miletić passed a decision to launch a project named Verudela Art Park, allowing for Pula Tourist Board to prepare and carry out construction of the future attraction in the biggest city in Istria.
The estate that will soon house the new park is owned by the City of Pula and located next to a big parking lot at the entrance to Verudela resort, reports Glas Istre on January 4, 2018.
The City of Pula will participate in the project by providing the funds in the total amount of 550.000 kuna. They have already transferred 250.000 kuna to Pula Tourist Board last year, and will cover the remaining expenses in 2018.
“We don’t want to make all the details public just yet, as we want to keep it as a surprise for the opening. However, I can say the park will be composed of seven artistic segments, namely installations. The seven ‘islands’ will be designed to merge into one collective area, housing installations created by artists that have already been selected by an expert panel. The Urbis company is currently working on the project documentation for the infrastructure designed in accordance with the artists’ ideas, and some of the artists have already begun working on their pieces”, said Sanja Cinkopan Korotaj, the director of Pula Tourist Board.
The Verudela Art Park project is an initiative of the tourist board, and will be carried out in collaboration with the City of Pula and the Arena Hospitality Group.
All selected artists originate from Istria, as the project both aims to promote them individually and to create a ‘local’, authentic Istrian park. Installations will be created by Eros Čakić, Robert Pauletta, Bojan Šumonja, Roberta Weissman Nagy, Vedran Šilipetar, and an artist from Opatija – Siniša Majkus. The seventh work is a collaboration of father and son, Gualtiero and Simone Mocenni, two artists with mixed Pula-Milan roots.
Verudela Art Park will thus embellish the formerly unused space and add to the tourist offer in an area located next to a popular tourist resort, lined with a seaside promenade. Even though the City of Pula is providing generous funds, the rest of the expenses will be covered by the Tourist Board of Pula with the help of donors.
“We’re talking about a major project that will result in a permanent exhibition of art works. The selected themes for the park are travelling and clouds, convenient in the context of a large tourist zone”, said Cikopan Korotaj. The authorities expect for the project to get completed before the summer season.
