International Conference “How Can Your Community Commission Art? Principles of Democracy in Art Funding, Art Commissioning, and Community Engagement”



On February 22, 2025, the international conference “How Can Your Community Commission Art? Principles of Democracy in Art Funding, Art Commissioning, and Community Engagement” will be held at the Latvian Academy of Culture in Riga, Latvia. Representatives of local municipalities, cultural organisations, active community members, and professionals or researchers involved in community participation and socially engaging art are invited to apply.

WHEN: February 22, 2025

WHERE: Latvian Academy of Culture “Gara māja”, Miera Street 58a, Riga

REGISTRATION (open until February 16): HERE

Programme:

10:30 Open doors

11:00 Welcome words by Community Art Commissioners (IICCA)

11:15 Your Neighbors are also Artists: Takeaways after Two Community Art Commissioning Experiences in the US and Europe –  keynote by Daniel Valtueña (Arts & Culture Lab Director, IE University) and presentation of the newly created DemArt Methodology Toolbox

12:00 How You Can Commission Art: Arts Commissioners and Artists Take the Word – public discussion followed by Q & A Participants: expert Daniel Valtueña, community art commissioners Arleta Goslawska, Małgorzata Tutko, Vendija Bakanauskaite, Ieva Štro, Dominika Gergő, Juda Jelinek, Dorottya Ács, artist Jurģis Spulenieks, artistic advisor Márton Csuzi, moderator Santa Remere

13:00 Coffee break

13:30 What an Artist Can Do for Community Building, perspective by artist and researcher Kaspars Lielgalvis (Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Faculty of Humanities, University of Latvia)

14:00 Socially Engaged Art as a Resource for Democracy: Sociological Observations with Young Artists in Latvia – a short presentation by researcher, associate prof. Liene Ozoliņa (Latvian Academy of Culture)

14:15 Building an Inclusive Cultural Offer: Balancing Policy Perspectives and Community Needs – presentation by researcher, associate prof. Agnese Hermane (Latvian Academy of Culture)

14:30 Building Bridges: Cultural Needs and Community Power in Central-Eastern Europe – perspectives from László Váczi (HU), Márton Csuzi (HU), Karolina Bieniek (PL), Małgorzata Miśniakiewicz (PL), and Santa Remere (LV)

PAUSE

16:00 Coffee and Round Table Conversations: Cards on the Table. Everyone is welcome to ask any question to major cultural event organizers, representatives of municipal cultural departments, art commissioners, artists and community representatives. Open sharing in groups about experiences, intentions and desires regarding collaboration between communities and contemporary art projects

17:30 Wrap up and goodbye words

This project is led by partner organizations Bethlen Square Theater – Central European Art Network, Pro Progressione, Art Transparent, and the New Theatre Institute of Latvia. Project “Democratising art commissioning by involving local communities” (DemArt) co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

The conference is organised in cooperation with the state research programme “Development of a cohesive and civically active society” project “Vectors of societal cohesion: from cohesion around the nation-state (2012–2018) to a cohesive civic community for the security of the state, society and individuals (2024–2025)” (VPP-KM-SPASA-2023/1-0002), implemented by the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Faculty of Humanities, University of Latvia. The aim of the cooperation is to promote social cohesion by developing approaches to the democratisation of art.



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