What: Šančiai Friendly Zone
Where: Juozapavičiaus Ave, Šančiai, Kaunas Lithuania
When: 24 until 27 June, 2013
www.cultureireland.ie/eu
A project that seeks to engage ‘small’ culture and the resilience of local communities.
In June 24-26, 2013 in a district of Kaunas, called Lower Šančiai, in, Juozapavičiaus Avenue, close to the site of former cinema “Taika” an inflatable white house with the words “Friendly Zone” on the top of it will emerge.
“Friendly Zone” will become a temporary Lower Šančiai museum. Here local people will show and tell about what they treasure and what they consider to be a real jewel of this place. This place will become a public space that will host talks, discussions, performances and friendly tea drinking.
“Friendly Zone” is an international, two year-long cultural and artistic project “City (Re)Searches: Experiences of Publicness”. The goal of the project – to draw attention to the culture of marginal urban communities, to determine community and cultural dissemination and accessibility problems, to re-evaluate functions of cultural institutions, to pay attention to the intangible and non-proprietary culture of these communities in Lithuania, Ireland, Northern Ireland and the Netherlands.
Project participants – an international research group of artists and cultural activists: Jeanne van Heeswijk (Netherlands), Mary Jane Jacob (USA), Susanne Bosch (Germany), Fiona Woods, Niall Crowley, Ailbhe Murphy, Ciaran Smyth, Niall and O’Baoill John Mulloy (Ireland), Fernando Marques Penteado (Brazil) Nomeda and Gediminas Urbonas (Lithuania), and Eleanor Phillips (Ireland), as well as, a Lower Šančiai research group that joined the project in March 2013, consisting of artists Auksė Petrulienė, Jūratė Jarulytė, and Monika Žaltauskaitė Grašienė, city theorists and cultural activists Kotryna Valiukevičiūtė, Arnoldas Stramskas, Viktorija Rusinaitė, Dionizas Bajarūnas and Gediminas “Skrandis” Banaitis.
During the project the participants create dialogues with the communities, initiate continuous cooperation projects, analyse, compare and evaluate community culture, explore community problems such as youth employment, architectural expression, collective memory, environment, hobbies, creativity and so on.
More information: Vita Gelūnienė vita_geluniene@yahoo.com or call +370(8)6999378
City (Re)Searches is funded by the EU Culture Programme, Cultural Policy Analysis Strand, Culture Ministry of the Republic of Lithuania, Kaunas Municipality Culture Ireland and the Embassy of the United States of America, Vilnius.
June 24 (Monday)
14:00-16:30 PIE Group re-connects to focus on lessons and learning
17:00-18:00 Friendly Tea – open for informal conversations
18:00-20:00 Come and Show Your Šančiai I– Local researchers and community collaborators present Šančiai cooperation projects.
20:00-21:00 Discover Šančiai I– organised tour of Šančiai led by local researchers.
June 25 (Tuesday)
9:00-12:30 Public Deliberation to explore the forms cultural expression and exchange
14:00-16:30 Creative prognoses I – PIE reflections with local researchers
17:00-18:00 Friendly Tea – open for informal conversations
18:00-20:00 Come and Show Your Šančiai II – Šančiai dwellers show and tell what is typical about this area. Talk by a historian Vilija Sapjanskienė “Šančiai: History and the Present”
20:00-21:00 Discover Šančius II – Organised performance actions led by „Psilikono“ teatras and Šančiai Children’s Choir.
June 26 (Wednesday)
10:00-12:00 Creative prognoses II – Conversations between PIE and local researchers
14:00-16:00 An exchange by PIE of Practice, Ideas, and Experience of the lessons and learning.
17:00-18:00 Friendly Tea – Open for informal conversations including action of Youth Disability Centre
18:00-20:00 Come and Show your Šančiai III – Šančiai dwellers show and tell what is typical about this area.
20:00-21:00 Discover Šančiai III
June 27 (Thursday)
10.00 – 11.30 PIE Group Lessons and Learning 1
12.00 – 14.00 PIE Group Lessons and Learing 2
16.00 – 18.00 Planning Review/Editorial Meeting
