Activities are currently underway within the short-term networking project “Open Latitudes: Science, Heritage, and Future Arts in Relation to the Nordic Solstice”, led by the Liepāja 2027 Foundation.
The project aims to facilitate interdisciplinary knowledge exchange and collaboration exploring the relationship between people and the sun. It forms part of the “Nordic Solstice” programme within Liepāja 2027 and offers an opportunity to examine the theme of the solstice through the lenses of literature, science, and the arts.
The lead partner of the project is the Liepāja 2027 Foundation. Project partners include Pikene på Brøn, a curatorial and production collective based in Kirkenes, Norway, and Imagining Godzilla (MEET Factory Oy), an experimental arts platform from Finland. Associate partners include the Science and Education Innovation Centre (ZIIC) from Liepāja, the Finnish network AvoinGLAM, and the French online platform Makery. The project is curated by Finnish producer and researcher Andrew Gryf Paterson.
The network will facilitate a series of online meetings between project partners and invited experts, alongside two in-person gatherings in Oulu and Liepāja. Through these exchanges, participants will develop ideas and concepts for inclusion in the “Nordic Solstice” programme of Liepāja 2027 in 2027. In addition, the project will produce an open-source mitten pattern design inspired by the project’s themes.
The project is supported by the Nordic Culture Point through its Short-Term Network Funding programme. The total project budget is EUR 27,850, of which EUR 19,000 is provided by Nordic Culture Point.
The project runs from 1 April 2026 to 1 April 2027.
At the end of May, the first international working visit of the Erasmus+ project “ECoC Youth Clubs” took place in the Czech city of Budweis, bringing together young people and project managers from three future European Capitals of Culture – Liepāja 2027, Évora 2027, and České Budějovice 2028.
One of the most celebrated works in contemporary European performance is coming to Latvia for the first time. The internationally acclaimed Lithuanian opera-performance Sun & Sea (“Saulė ir jūra”) – winner of the Golden Lion for Best National Participation at the 2019 Venice Biennale – will be staged at Liepāja Great Amber Concert Hall from 8 to 11 April 2027, as part of the “Liepāja – European Capital of Culture 2027” programme.
On Friday, 29 May, at 17:00, the contemporary art exhibition Mierā! (At ease!) was opened in the courtyard of cultural centre “Wiktorija” Organised by the Liepāja 2027 Foundation, the exhibition brings together artworks that explore creative practices of peacebuilding, and the works will appear at the storefronts of 36/38 Graudu Street in Liepāja, where they will remain on view until 29 June.