In the 19th century Balaklava was the site of many decisive battles during the Crimean
War and the place of the English Headquarter. Homer already told us about Ulysses
stopping in Balaklava. Apart from that the bay staged the Tauris Myth that was used by
Euripides and Goethe. 1953 under the command of Stalin the submarine tunnel with a
size of 200.000 square meters was built in the Tauris mountain and subsequently the
city was closed for civilians.
“Balaklava Odyssey” 2010 will take place in these submarine tunnels that have been
opened to the public now under the administration of the state Naval Museum. There are
at least three huge rooms in the tunnels – formerly used as dry docks and twenty repair
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facilities – that can be used for video presentations, projections and sound installations
in a very unique way. The use of the tunnels will be an actual effort to confront art works
with a militarily contaminated place. In contrast to gallery rooms the artists will be
confronted with history in an immediate and real way. This setting will provide them with
an extraordinary experience and will enforce the exchange of artists and producers on a
more than usual level. Furthermore the tunnels guarantee a very mixed and wild
spectrum of audience: they became very popular for the inhabitants of Sevastopol and
for the numerous tourists that visit the area in the summer. On the other hand the
location challenges academic observations.