The First Forum of the “Agora of Values” Series – “Nature Trouble” – Successfully Concludes

The cross-disciplinary environmental forum “Nature Trouble”, organized by Liepāja 2027, has successfully concluded after a full day of events at Liepāja’s “Kursa” Club, inviting participants to explore the future of human–nature relationship. This was the first of five forums included in the event series “Agora of Values” as part of the “Liepāja – European Capital of Culture 2027” programme.

There were educational lectures on ecology and shifting mindsets by geographer and leading University of Latvia researcher Anita Zariņa, as well as world-renowned ecological philosopher and Rice University professor Timothy Morton.

Expert-led discussions, moderated by journalist and screenwriter Rita Ruduša, tackled urgent topics. The first brought together Liepāja municipality representatives, environmental experts, and activists to examine how the city’s climate neutrality goals interact with residents’ daily lives. The second focused on how water is represented in cultural narratives. Another discussion, led by curator and director of the Pauls Stradiņš Museum of the History of Medicine Kaspars Vanags, explored the challenges of public art in Latvia, featuring voices from both cultural policy and the arts.

Throughout the day, visitors also took part in a variety of hands-on activities. The morning began with a meditative coastal movement session, led by Agnese Krivade, helping participants physically reconnect with water. In kite-painting workshops, led by Atis Jākobsons, attendees co-created a symbolic “(un)rest” kite, which was later ceremoniously flown at the seaside. Elita Kreislere’s tea workshops titled “Conversations with Plants” offered a chance to learn about Latvia’s native medicinal herbs and taste their infusions.

Ideas of nature’s agency in art were expressed through vocal performances by Ansis Bētiņš and Artūrs Čukurs, the performance “The Trap” by Ukrainian artist Rita Lira, and performance “Crabs” by French artist Eolx. The forum concluded with an open-air screening of the animated film “Flow”, introduced by a conversation with producer and co-writer Matīss Kaža.

The forum was organised by the Liepāja 2027 Foundation, with support from the Liepāja City Municipality, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia, and the European Union’s Creative Europe programme through the project CreArt 3.0 #STRINGING_TOGETHER.