July 20 – 23, 1988
“We must do this again.” That was the general consensus following the “International Street Musicians’ Days” in 1987. No one could now do without the carefree atmosphere and the unconventional performances in Linz city center. The team at the cultural affairs department under cultural manager Siegbert Janko and Harald Wildfellner immediately began working on a follow-up, naming the festival of street art the “Linz Pflasterspektakel”. This year the number of performers already reached the 200 mark, and besides music there were mime, conjuring tricks and acrobatics to enjoy. Unlike the previous year the spectacle was not spread all over the city but concentrated on Landstraße. The street entertainers from England, West Germany, the GDR, Italy, France, Yugoslavia, the USA and Austria presented their talents to the enthusiastic people of Linz from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. The first years of a festival are always years of experimentation and testing: in 1988 the festival was brought to a close with a gala performance on a stage on the Hauptplatz. However, the artistes that took part were not altogether happy with the idea, because it made a stage performance the center of attention, which is the exact opposite of street entertainment. Street entertainers do not perform in the street because they cannot get a stage, but because they do not want a stage. Street art is precisely what the cultural affairs office in Linz had wanted, namely art for everybody!
And not only that:
In 1988 the Pflasterspektakel festival of street art had to contend with “competition” from other “street artists”: building work on the underground garage on the Hauptplatz was in the finishing stages and the entire square now had to be resurfaced. The entertainers had been warned beforehand that they would be sharing their “stage” with workmen and took the unwelcome rivalry with a sense of humor.
|
