Liepāja 2027 Announce Programme for the International Conference “Cultural Renovation”

On November 4, the Great Amber Concert Hall in Liepāja will host the Liepāja 2027 international conference “Cultural Renovation”, held under the theme “All My Relations”. The third conference will be dedicated to community as an ever-changing network of relationships, with a special emphasis on how art and culture foster belonging, strengthen communities, and shape relationships with the place, fellow humans, the landscape, and other life forms. From 9 a. m. to 6.30 p. m., the conference programme will include keynote speeches, panel discussions, practical workshops, and a film screening, featuring Latvian and international artists, culture professionals, researchers, and representatives of various communities.

“This year, we want to talk about co-creation and participatory art not only as a specific method for working with communities, but as a relationship-building practice. that allows to transform our relationships with fellow humans, places, the landscape, and other life forms,” notes Gundega Laiviņa, programme curator and moderator of the conference.

During the morning session, “Context”, social anthropologist Agnese Cimdiņa will talk about community as a space for belonging, cultural literacy, and participation. In her speech “Culture is a Collective Game”, architect and culture expert Ariane Bieou (France), who directed the European Capital of Culture programme in Matera in 2019, will explore the city as a playground and a space where possible futures and shaped. Culture worker and curator Filipa André (Azores, Portugal) will share insights from the Walk & Talk Biennial on São Miguel Island, an event devised in close partnership with local communities, the landscape, and diverse ecologies.

The afternoon session, “Practice”, will focus on art initiatives developed in partnership with different communities. Theatre and film director and dramaturg Krista Burāne will talk about art pieces co-authored by birds, trees, and other more-than-humans. Artist, writer, and curator Andy Field (UK) will address initiatives that foster dialogue between children and adults as they imagine the future of cities and society together. Contemporary dance dramaturg Laura Stašāne will focus on artistic practices that help shed light on uncomfortable topics, including experiences of domestic violence.

Special attention at the conference will be given to the participation of Liepāja communities in shaping the European Capital of Culture programme. The panel discussion “Liepājnieki: Co-Authors of the European Capital of Culture” will explore two projects of the Liepāja 2027 programme, “How to Garden Community” and “Karosta Children’s Symphony. An Orchestra’s Guide to the Life of a Young Person”. The discussion, moderated by dramaturg and expert in the field of community engagement Linda Krūmiņa, will feature artists Melissa Braden and Ingūna Skuja (Skuja Braden) and Gemma Paintin (UK), head of the Liepāja animal shelter “Lauvas Sirds” Anna Briede, head of the Liepāja Agility Club Linda Alksne, as well as children and youth of Karosta.

In the final section of the conference, participants can take part in one of six workshops:

• “Trunk Poems, or Attention as a Prerequisite for Dramaturgy”: theatre maker and dramaturg Jānis Balodis will address narrative as an impulse for an artwork or a cultural event, based on his experience of the performance “Pieaugšana” (Growing Up) in Lubāna.
• “Culture for Health. From Intuition to Practice”: research assistant at the Institute of Arts and Cultural Studies of the Latvian Academy of Culture Inga Surgunte and visual artist Eva Vēvere will explore intersection of culture and health, as well as the potential of art in promoting individual and community well-being.
• “This Workshop is Not Ready Yet”: artist, writer, and curator Andy Field will focus on children’s participation in art making and generating unfinished ideas or prototypes that are further developed by children themselves.
• “A Place that Opens to the Gaze”: contemporary dance dramaturg Laura Stašāne will speak about the essential skills of noticing and attention and invite participants to search for ways to see the familiar through new eyes, hear the quieter voices, and involve those who usually remain outside participation.
• “Regenerative Textures”: designers Rūta Jumīte and Tīna Alise Kalēja will explore the urban environment as a multi-species habitat, focusing on urban textures that consider the needs and lifestyles not only of humans, but of other species as well. The workshop is part of a project by Collective Fabula and the World Wide Fund for Nature Latvia, which aims to unveil contemporary design installations on Zirgu Sala in the summer of 2027.
• “Conversations with Trees”: theatre and film director and dramaturg Krista Burāne will invite participants to build a shared imaginative space through stories, memories, and attentive listening, with trees becoming part of the conversation and community.

Conference participants will receive an informational e-mail containing a registration form for the workshops, including details about the workshop content and locations (“Great Amber”).

The conference will conclude with a film screening from 5.00 to 6.30 p.m.

Conference programme

The conference “Cultural Renovation” is supported by the French Institute in Latvia.

“Cultural Renovation” will be a meeting point for culture professionals, artists, educators, representatives of municipalities and non-governmental organizations, community leaders, students, and anyone interested in the role of culture in societal development and creating new models for collaboration.

Conference tickets are available at all “Biļešu Paradīze” sales points and online at www.bilesuparadize.lv. Ticket price: 25 EUR, including lunch. Translation into Latvian and English will be provided throughout the conference.

The “Cultural Renovation” conference is organised as part of the “Liepāja – European Capital of Culture 2027” programme, with funding from the City of Liepāja, the South Kurzeme Municipality, Kuldīga Municipality and the Ministry of Culture. The “Liepāja 2027” programme is supported by its main partner in environmental education and sustainability, AS “CleanR Grupa”, Jsc; its main partner in air mobility and international communications, AS “airBaltic Corporation”, Jsc; its partner in legal matters SIA “Sorainen ZAB”, Ltd; its land mobility partner, SIA “Lux Express Latvia”, Ltd; alongside its maritime mobility and international communication partner SIA “Stena Line”, Ltd. The Foundation’s media partners are: VSIA “Latvijas Sabiedriskais medijs”, Ltd; SIA “Žurnāls Santa”, Ltd; SIA “Tvnet grupa”, Ltd; and AS “Kurzemes Radio”, Jsc.

Released by:

Anita Smilkts
Public relations specialist
Foundation “Nodibinājums Liepāja 2027”
Phone: +371 25 408 337
E-mail: anita.smilkts@liepaja2027.lv