🤔 Who is our partner in Latvia?
The Liepaja Culture Department is a municipal institution responsible for organizing nationally significant events for the city's residents. We oversee the development of the cultural and creative industry sector in the city and foster collaboration among institutions, the non-governmental sector, and society.
🌱 Where is their pilot site?
The Liepāja Karosta, covering about a third of the city's total area, was built as a military base at the end of the 19th century on the Baltic Sea coast. It remained a restricted access area for Liepāja residents until the 1990s. After the Russian army withdrew from Karosta to Kaliningrad following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1994, the area faced challenges such as social segregation, vandalism of empty buildings, and the gradual decay of ex-military structures. The Karosta features forested marshland, dune areas, and grassland, with hidden abandoned military sites reclaimed by nature. Despite these challenges, efforts are being made to address issues like the lack of gathering places, remoteness from the city center, and stigmatization of Karosta as a risky environment.
🎯 What is next?
Future activities in the area will align with the principles of the New Bauhaus, focusing on #beauty, #sustainability, #inclusivity, and preserving the natural and #culturaldiversity of the region.
1. Inclusivity: Local organisations, scientists, policymakers, and community groups, including senior citizens and young people, will collaborate in mapping the area, redefining its identity, and exploring potential development scenarios through networking events and workshops.
2. Beauty: The design group MASS (Model of Architecture Serving Society) defines beauty as transforming local low-value materials into something that is now beautiful and with added value, among other definitions.
3. Sustainability: The project will further enhance the biodiversity and cultural diversity of the Karosta post-implementation by establishing stands that showcase the outcomes of the project's initiatives, known as nature service booths.
#futuredivercities #creativeeurope #biodiversity
Friche la Belle de Mai; Chroniques; bios, exploring urban culture; ANTI - Contemporary Art Festival; European Creative Hubs Network; Centrul Cultural PLAI, Public Art Lab; Savonia University of Applied Sciences; KONTEJNER | bureau of contemporary art praxis; LAMA;
Coordenadora Gestão Cliente
1moContrats Mota Engil community 👏