IIB tinklas

Susitikimo vieša renginių programa kultūros komplekse SODAS 2123 (anglų k.)

 

Vilnius Meeting 2022: Schools & Gardens

27-29 April, Cultural centre SODAS 2123

‘Vilnius Meeting 2022: Schools & Gardens’ aims to create a horizontal space of exchange between established professionals about the current developments and futures of independent cultural fields. Members of two networks – Artist-Run Network Europe (ARNE) and Independent Initiatives Baltics (IIB) will be taking part in this exchange. 

The overall meeting is titled Schools and Gardens, which is lifted straight off the meeting location and its initiator – an artist-run cultural centre SODAS 2123, organised by Lithuanian Interdisciplinary Artists’ Association, based at the premises of an ex-school building. While being a reference to this abundant space housing many independent initiatives, it is also a way to establish the imaginary for the meeting around the visceral, and necessarily collective places of schools and gardens. They ensure growth but not without growing pains; they supply us with tacit and social knowledges upon which we build and sharpen our tools for their cultivation – if done right, and with a tender hand. 

Artist-Run Network Europe (ARNE) is a European project that aims to strengthen the self-organised artist-run sector in Europe with focus on local and international cooperation, and to create a simple information framework for art professionals and art students, namely through a collaborative online platform, Artist-Run Resource Centre (ARRC). 

Independent Initiatives Baltics (IIB) is an emergent network, grounded in 2022, for independently run spaces in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. It attempts to establish a meeting point between the histories, presents, and the futures of the Baltic region, exploring the needs and possibilities to cooperate based on mutual ideas, social and material infrastructures.

PROGRAMME

Wednesday 27th April

13:00-13:50 Lunch 

13:50-14:00 Event introduction

14:00-15:15 10 min Presentations by participants / Public program

Location: Main hall 

apiece (Vilnius, Lithuania)

Lokomotif (Lentvaris, Lithuania)

Totaldobre (Riga, Latvia)

Low gallery (Riga, Latvia)

427 (Riga, Latvia)

Candyland (Stockholm, Sweden)

Flat Octopus (Stockholm, Sweden)

15:15-15:45 Break & coffee

15:45-17:15 Discussion groups: Collectivity, Co-operation, Conviviality

17:45-19:00 Visits to Vilnius spaces: apiece, Autarkia

19:00-end           Dinner at Delta Mityba

 

Thursday 28th April

10:30             Morning coffee & visits at SODAS 2123: Atletika, Swallow / Public program

11:00-12:15 10 min Presentations by participants / Public program

Rundum (Tallinn, Estonia) (online presentation) 

FOKU (Tallinn, Estonia)

Hoib gallery (Tallinn, Estonia)

Ormston House (Limerick, Ireland)

Alfred Institute (Tel Aviv, Israel)

Top e.V. (Berlin, Germany)

Trivium (Vilnius, Lithuania)

12:15-13:15 Lunch

13:15-14:45 Discussion groups: Infrastructures: Taking Space and Time

14:45-15:00 Break & coffee

15:30-17:00 Visits to Vilnius spaces: Išgirsti, Vitrina & Bench, Editorial

17:00 Free evening

 

Friday 29th April

10:30             Visits at Sodas 2123: FAMM, Architektūros fondas exposition space / Public program

11:00-12:00 10 min Presentations by participants / Public program

RIXC (Riga, Latvia) (online)

Montos Tattoo (Vilnius, Lithuania)

Verpėjos (Varėna district, Lithuania)

Autarkia (Vilnius, Lithuania)

Alternative Art Guide (The Hague, Netherlands)

12:15-12:30 Break & coffee

12:30-13:30 Discussion groups: Publics, Communities, Engagement

13:30-14:30 Lunch and coffee

14:30-16:00 Workshop + Wrap up in groups

Free time

18:00-00:00 Performance program + afterparty by Swallow at SODAS 2123 / Public program

22:30-end Concert at Empty Brain Resort (SODAS 2123) / Public program

 

 

MODERATED DISCUSSIONS PROGRAMME & TOPICS

 

Wednesday 27th April

COLLECTIVITY, CO-OPERATION, CONVIVIALITY

How do we cooperate internationally?

What do independent initiatives – perceived as ‘local’ and ‘small in scale’, another discussion to have – take from participating in translational and ‘global’ events and cooperation networks? How do we know which events and networks to choose (i.e. long-term cooperation projects, alternative art fairs), and how much resources to allocate, and what experiences we could share? How do we ensure smooth international cooperation between independent initiatives that are different between each other in shape, form, or locality?

Moderated by: Alice Máselníková (Candyland, Flat Octopus, Supermarket Art Fair, Stockholm)

 

Neighbor-friendly: Why do we engage in regional cooperation? 

How do we choose and separate between international (‘global’) and regional cooperation? What are the benefits and drawbacks of regional cooperation for independent initiatives? How do geopolitics (and state and supra-state funding that follows) influence our choices and preferences for regional cooperation?

Moderated by: Vytautas Michelkevičius (Vilnius Academy of Arts, Vilnius)

How do we ‘survive’ locally?

How do we – as independent initiatives – position ourselves in our local art fields? Do we see ourselves as integral in the local institutional networks, or do we need to strive for autonomy from them as ‘non-institutional’ independent initiatives? What are the limits of independence, i.e. how it affects a relation to the funding structures? Do we only see ourselves in ‘survival mode’ in our local art fields in comparison to larger institutions, and how do we change that – is it by establishing our autonomy, or by seeking deeper institutional interconnections? 

Moderated by: Niamh Brown (Ormston House, Limerick)

 

Thursday 28th April

INFRASTRUCTURES: TAKING SPACE AND TIME

How do we make (the) space for ourselves? 

What forms do independent initiatives take, and what does their physicality mean for the programming: does space make us, or do we make the space? How do we shape the space and community around us through our physical infrastructures? How do our local urban, social and cultural contexts influence our physical spaces?

Moderated by: Lilian Hiob (Hoib Gallery, Tallinn)

How do we create our own independent economies?

What are our financial sources as independent initiatives, and how do they condition our independence? Do we need to strive for commonisation of our sources and resources (i.e. crowdfunding, participatory grantmaking, ect)? Or, is commercialisation a way for our financial sustainability? Or, should the state and municipal support stand stronger? Or – do we need to diversify our economies, and how do we do that? 

Moderated by: Andreas Ribbung (AIM Network, Candyland, Stockholm)

Who do we speak to, and how?

Who are our audiences, how do we create them and communicate with them? Are we more inclined to see our colleagues, culture professionals as our audiences, or are we able to create new audiences through our open,’ informal’ ways of working? What specific tools of communication do we have as independent initiatives, if any? How does us being independent initiatives influence how we see, create, account to the public for our audiences, in difference to large state institutions? 

Moderated by: Kaspars Lielgavis (Totaldobre, Riga)

 

Friday 29th April

PUBLICS, COMMUNITIES, ENGAGEMENT

How do we work (together)?

Does ‘independent’ mean ‘informal’ in our internal relations of our independent initiatives? How do we divide labours, roles and functions, is this division vital to ensure the existence of our initiatives or does it create unnecessary hierarchies? What models of self-organisation can we envision to work best to our goals? How do the internal relations affect the content outcomes – how do we divide the creative and the administrative positions, and is it possible to have clear separations between these responsibilities?

Moderated by: Rob Knijn (Alternative Art Guide, The Hague, Netherlands)

Access and Responsibility

What are the responsibilities of independent art spaces? Most originate with a mission of egalitarian accessibility. However, the operational realities of non-profit art initiatives often limit factors like content and opening hours, restricting the reach of our work to specific audiences and communities. Tangible change begins with honest self-assessment. How do these real, logistical challenges limit us? What resources does true ‘accessibility’ require? Are independent arts initiatives even equipped for this? Does our quest for accessibility make us any more capable than other institutional agents to create and support lasting community and participation, instead of maintaining the gate-keeping status quo?

Moderated by: JL Murtaugh (Autarkia, Vilnius)

Do we need to be visible internationally?

Do we need to speak to audiences beyond our local-tongue? How do we create non-local, transversal communication about our initiatives? How do we know where to aim for international communication, and how to construct it, what platforms and forms of language do we use? How much resources does such communication require, are we equipped for it, and is it worth it? 

Moderated by: David Kerr (Low gallery, Riga)

 

ABOUT THE PARTICIPANTS 

Wednesday 27th April

Presentations by:

apiece (Vilnius, Lithuania)

Lokomotif (Lentvaris, Lithuania)

Totaldobre (Riga, Latvia)

Low gallery (Riga, Latvia)

427 (Riga, Latvia)

Candyland (Stockholm, Sweden)

Flat Octopus (Stockholm, Sweden)

Evening visits in the city at:

apiece

Autarkia

 

apiece

apiece is a window gallery in the center of Vilnius (M.K Čiurlionio st.) exhibiting a single artwork of contemporary visual art or a design object at a time. The gallery does not adhere to the common exposition space standards – it does not open exhibitions, has no working hours or days (24/7), and presents the works / objects in space that is visible to the viewer through the showcase window. Represented by artist Milena Černiakaitė and curator Aušra Trakšelytė.

 

Lokomotif 

Lokomotif is a duo of curators (Milda Dainovskytė and Laurynas Skeisgiela) active in Lentvaris. Facilitating exhibitions, residencies and art education gives shape to a meeting-based practice by which Lokomotif combines contemporary art practices with strategies of town identity formation and questions the regional cultural policy aspirations and their practical implementation in a particular place. Represented by artist and curator Milda Dainovskytė.

 

Totaldobre

Totaldobre is a platform for contemporary art creation that started as an art centre Totaldobže in 2010 in the former factory VEF in Riga. Totaldobre invite people from various fields to collaborate, connect and communicate human values through art. Residencies, workshops, lectures and discussions are organised in an unused cinema and various rooms in the former Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Transport and Aeronautics at Riga Technical University. Totaldobre organise Black Hole workshops – process-driven collaborations that facilitate artists from various disciplines with a focused residency period within which they engage in an intensive creative exchange supported by a moderator. Black Holes is about experimenting, taking risks and allowing for failure. Represented by artist and curator Kaspars Lielgalvis.

 

Low gallery 

LOW is an independent art space connecting local artists and audiences with the Baltic region and beyond through a diverse programme of events, talks, exhibitions and happenings. Low has become an important part of the Latvian cultural landscape and works hard to bridge local and international scenes, providing a safe space to connect and collaborate, and in doing so, dissecting, critiquing and celebrating both high and Low culture, the soviet legacy, and our extreme present. Represented by gallery director David Kerr. 

 

427

427 was opened in 2014 with the aim to frequently show contemporary art, to uncover signs, to cast nets, and to exchange with confabulations. Represented by artist, curator Kaspars Groševs. 

 

Candyland

Candyland is a non-profit exhibition space in Stockholm, founded in 2004. Candyland’s dynamic programme is the result of each of the ten founding members being free to invite any artist without the consent of the group. United by their common interest in promoting a wide variety of contemporary art they have produced more than 180 exhibitions since they opened. Candyland aims to build a local art platform with a heterogeneous audience and active in international networks with focus on developing the artist-run sector. Represented by artist Andreas Ribbung.

 

Flat Octopus

Apartment exhibitions, collaborations, promoting the unpromoted, the too young, too old, too new, too foreign, too much and too little. The title, Flat Octopus, points to the flat hierarchy structure of the collective and the main concept of curating exhibitions in apartments (flats). Aside from this, the collective organises workshops and external projects and collaborations locally and internationally. Represented by the founder, artist and curator Alice Máselníková.

 

Autarkia

Autarkia is an artist day care center, a club of interests, an office space for putative experiences and imaginary solutions, a bistro of experimental gastronomy, a gallery and project development hotel in Vilnius. They are an artist-run, service-oriented institution focused on creating artist support and resources—financial, promotional, and conceptual—in Lithuania and abroad. Represented by Lukas Strolia.

 

Thursday 28th April

Morning visits at SODAS 2123 at:

Atletika & SODAS 2123

Swallow

Presentations by:

Rundum (Tallinn, Estonia) (online presentation) 

FOKU (Tallinn, Estonia)

Hoib gallery (Tallinn, Estonia)

Ormston House (Limerick, Ireland)

Alfred Institute (Tel Aviv, Israel)

Top e.V. (Berlin, Germany)

Trivium (Vilnius, Lithuania)

Evening visits in the city at:

Išgirsti

Vitrina & Bench

Editorial

 

Atletika Gallery

Atletika is a contemporary art space at the cultural centre SODAS 2123 in Vilnius. Atletika presents emerging and acclaimed artists from Lithuania and abroad. Its exhibition programme is open to experimentation, exploration of new processes in art and ideas of various directions. Represented by curator Lina Rukevičiūtė.

 

SODAS 2123

Cultural centre SODAS 2123 is a self-governed community based space which unites tens of creators and researchers of different fields, with practices based on experimentation, developing of unexpected formats and responding to latest cultural, social, geopolitical, ecological issues. SODAS 2123 provides workshops and equipment for a variety of art disciplines, and each resident of the complex is open for sharing, learning and craftsmanship. SODAS 2123 is operated by Lithuanian Interdisciplinary Artists’ Association. Represented by artistic director Danutė Gambickaitė.

 

Swallow

Project space Swallow is focused on managing, producing and exhibiting curatorial and artistic projects, and will also develop arts-based educational programmes and introduce young Lithuanian and Baltic art abroad. Represented by curator Vaida Stepanovaitė. 

 

Rundum

Founded in September 2013 in Tallinn, Rundum was an artist-run space based in Tallinn, Estonia, a creative and independent platform run by young artists. It aimed to react to gaps in the local art field, creating opportunities to relate to different locations, offering new exhibiting spaces, as well as more flexible and experimental formats. Rundum drove to bring together young people working in different fields of art, in order to foster creative collaboration and mutual exchange of ideas and information. In addition to its exhibiting and performing formats, Rundum also hosted an educational programme of discussions, talks, film screenings and reading circles, focusing on own initiative practices, artist-run spaces in other countries, self employment, art workers living/working conditions and free form education. Represented by artist App Tepper. 

 

FOKU

Estonian Union of Photography Artists (Foku) was created by 10 artists in 2007 to unite and represent its professional members. Today Foku has 44 members. Foku aims to introduce and develop contemporary art and visual culture as well as to engage different audiences in the discussion about art. The mission of the union is to broaden society’s interest towards contemporary visual culture and to increase the knowledge of Estonian art scene internationally. Since 2011 Foku has organised Tallinn Photomonth – an artist led biennial of contemporary art and visual culture. With its every edition the biennial presents remarkable works by Estonian and international artists. Tallinn Photomonth looks at developments in art and society in a world mediated by cameras, screens and images. Since 2016 Tallinn Photomonth is organised together with Estonian Contemporary Art Development Center. Represented by artist Kulla Laas.

 

Hoib gallery

Hoib is a contemporary art gallery at Tehnika 15 in Tallinn. Its name is a clever and ‘accidental’ misspelling of the surname of the gallery’s founder, Lilian Hiob. Located in the below-ground level of a residential building, the idea to refurbish the basement into a gallery space was inspired by the need for an autonomous exhibition space for young artists and curators. Free from established institutional restrictions, the new gallery allows for artistic experimentation and curatorial freedom. Represented by Lilian Hiob. 

 

Ormston House

Ormston House is a meeting place for the arts in the heart of Limerick City. We opened in 2011 as a Cultural Resource Centre to create new opportunities for artists and arts workers. Our core question is: how can we support artists better? The three pillars of our programme are artistic ambition, community engagement and professional development. The Artists-in-Residence play a central role in our thinking. Our programme is co-designed with citizens to promote access and inclusion resulting in community partnerships, multi-annual projects and cultural events that are responsive to the city and its context. We have developed a participatory model to connect local wisdom with diverse approaches to artistic practice. Represented by curator Niamh Brown.

 

Alfred Institute

The Alfred Institute for Art & Culture is an independent, non-profit art space – home to an active and vibrant artist community aimed at introducing contemporary Israeli art and its creators to art lovers in the local community. Alfred Institute plays an active role in the Israeli cultural sphere, serving as a model for newly developing co-operatives. The members of the institute have, for the past seventeen years, volunteered their time, effort, skill and talent towards forwarding a collective vision and promoting Israeli art. Represented by past Alfred member and ARA founder and director Gidi Simansky, and by Alfred member and ARA co-founder and head of design and support Adi Levy.

 

Trivium

The gallery was established by Aistė Kisarauskaitė continuing the tradition of Soviet-era modernism, when the works were first shown to the audience at home, in the studios, and sometimes there only.

 

Išgirsti

“išgirsti” is a cultural-social space in Naujininkai, Vilnius. It houses “išgirsti” and “Kreivės” initiatives, and is devoted to small queer cultural and social happenings (film screenings, exhibitions, meetings, lectures) and psychological support. They are also developing a queer library and archive. Represented by organiser Augustas Čičelis.

 

Vitrina & Bench

Project space in a foyer of an ex Soviet factory. Represented by artist Dainius Liškevičius.

 

Editorial

Editorial is a project space. It hosts the editorial desks of Artnews.lt & Echo Gone Wrong magazines. It’s a space for shows, talks and motions. Represented by curators Neringa Černiauskaitė and Vitalija Jasaitė.

 

Friday 29th April

Morning visits at Sodas 2123 at:

FAMM

Architektūros fondas exposition space

Presentations by:

RIXC (Riga, Latvia) (online)

Montos Tattoo (Vilnius, Lithuania)

Verpėjos (Varėna district, Lithuania)

Autarkia (Vilnius, Lithuania)

Alternative Art Guide (The Hague, Netherlands)

 

FAMM

FAMM is an ever-changing entity, a cultural space that aims to foster creative interdisciplinary collaboration. Initiated by a group of Vilnius Academy of Arts students and opened in March 2022 it is a new project space, a result of a long lasting cooperation between LTMKS / SODAS 2123 and Vilnius Academy of Arts.

 

Architektūros fondas

Architektūros fondas is a non-governmental, not for profit organization working in fields of architecture, architectural education and culture.  

 

RIXC

RIXC is the center for new media culture, art gallery and artist collective, that initiates projects in intersection of art, science and emerging technologies. RIXC was established on May 2000 on the basis of E-LAB (Centre for electronic arts and media, since 1996). The basic activity of RIXC is to initiate the most novel and current topics in digital art by performing innovative experimental projects in art, science and technology in Latvia and internationally. RIXC fosters cultural exchange as well as promotes new forms of cultural and artistic expression. RIXC approaches new media not only as a new field of artistic and cultural practice, but also as an infrastructure to support other forms of art and culture. RIXC’s activities include: running an art gallery, production of artworks and innovative art, science and technology projects, organising of the annual RIXC Art Science festival, exhibitions, publishing of Acoustic Space journal series.

 

Montos Tattoo

Montos Tattoo is a space in Vilnius initiated by 4: Gediminas G. Akstinas, Liudvikas Buklys, Gerda Paliušytė and Maya Tounta. Concerned with diverse cultural knowledges and possibilities, art histories and the reciprocity in politics and poetry – Montos Tattoo can be seen as an extension of different daily activities; it comes from a bare interest of how something means. The title Montos Tattoo originates from the story of Monta – a friend of a friend, who lived in Vilnius twenty years ago and had an unfinished tattoo on his arm. Once published in a magazine, Monta’s tattoo became an outline and an open vessel for different stories to come. Represented by artist Gerda Paliušytė.

 

Verpėjos

Verpėjos (The Spinners) is artist run initiative founded in 2017 by artist Laura Garbštienė to research and discuss rural traditional lifestyle and nature preservation, activate discourse on changes and processes, both local and global. Working with contemporary artists, curators, craftspeople and nature scientists they organise interdisciplinary workshops, symposiums and exhibitions. VšĮ “Verpėjos” is non profit organisation which operates on a voluntary basis. Represented by artist Laura Garbštienė.

 

Autarkia

Autarkia is an artist day care center, a club of interests, an office space for putative experiences and imaginary solutions, a bistro of experimental gastronomy, a gallery and project development hotel in Vilnius. They are an artist-run, service-oriented institution focused on creating artist support and resources—financial, promotional, and conceptual—in Lithuania and abroad. Represented by curator JL Murtaugh. 

 

Alternative Art Guide

The Alternative Art Guide is a tool to discover art spaces that are often difficult to find. With over 1700 spaces worldwide it is the largest online overview of non-profit, artist-run, and independent art spaces. The interactive map makes it easier to get the most out of a visit to a new city, or to find out what is around the corner at home. Additionally, the Alternative Art Guide provides insight into local conditions for the presentation of contemporary art with a collection of articles. The articles are contributed by artist-run spaces and curators in the field, raising questions about locality versus globalisation and how different art practices take shape around the world. The Alternative Art Guide is produced by The Naked, an artist-run initiative founded to show the multiplicity of alternative or independent spaces operating in the world today. Represented by artist Rob Knijn.

>top – Association for the Promotion of Cultural Practice

top operates since 2002 and includes a project space, biolab, co-working space and web server. The members are artists, researchers and activists. Their projects pursue an interdisciplinary approach, support international exchange and deal with non-commercial attitudes. They develop ideas in the field of art that merge politics, environment, economics, and humanisation of technologies. Top e.V. supports collaborative projects that seek a dialogue and diversity in artistic forms and attitudes. Represented by artists Kim Hachmann and Matthias Roth.

 

Data: 2022 m. balandžio 27-29 d. 

Vieta: Kultūros kompleksas SODAS 2123, Vitebsko 23, Vilnius.