Photo: D. Petrulis 2017
Council of Europe Faro Convention Network values the Cabbage Field, Kaunas The Council of Europe Faro Convention Network has welcomed the Lower Šančiai Community Association (ŽŠB), Cabbage Field initiative as its first Lithuanian member. The Faro Convention establishes an inalienable right of citizens to cultural heritage and the right to recognize individual and collective responsibility for it, The Network is a solidarity platform in which local cultural heritage is a resource for citizens to create commons, narratives and cooperation. To become members ŽŠB hosted visits by Network experts, Prosper Wanner (Venice) and Julie deMuir (Marseilles) who contributed to the formation of a new action plan for the Cabbage Field 2018-2019. The benefit of membership mean that the ZSB can exchange with a pan-European Network across 47 Council of Europe with shared practices in Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Romania and other countries...In 2018 there are plans to host a Faro School for community members on the significance of community arts for placemaking in Kaunas. Such exchanges allow us to address challenges and find solutions that have cross cultural validity. It will also give opportunities to engage in joint actions with other activities such as the ATRIUM cultural route (Architecture of Totalitarian Regimes of the 20th century in Europe’s Urban Memory) that focuses on architecture which may be termed “uncomfortable” or “dissonant”
ŽŠB, as part of the network will have visibility on the Council of Europe website and be promoted in its activities. It will also promote the significance of the Faro Convention and its Network for other Lithuanian partners. Speaking at yesterday’s Culture + City/Region Forum in Vilnius Jonas Buchel (Urban Institute, Riga) said that the recent work of the Šančiai community was one of the most impressive European community events in 2017. Kultūra + miestas / regionas 20171212 Vilnius rotuše Contact: email: sanciubendruomene@gmail.com tel.:+370 (8) 69993787
Plan 2017-2018 Community Art as Placemaking School A 10-day School will seek applications from 15 leaders, activists and artists with special focus on Central and Eastern Europe. It will be a peer led and supported by practitioners with practices, ideas and experiences (pie). We’d like to invite F. Matarasso (UK), G. Urbonas (MIT), E. Madison (PPS), N. Urbonienė (NUST) and P. Wanner (Faro Convention Network) to deliver workshops.
Winter Cellars as cultural heritage A prototype restoration through placemaking will inject new ideas and revitalise plans for the historical winter cellars. The interior and exterior can sustain the changing nature of community and cultural activities. This prototyping process is focused not only on the physical buildings but its intangible culture that has to constantly change, shift, realign and integrate into community life.
Dreams Bus as communication platform A community culture bus donated by the local Kautra Bus Company in 2017 will programme a placemaking platform to be devised by young people.. It will be a platform to come together, identify, represent and amplify the living stories, myths, heroes and antagonisms of the Cabbage Field. The idea of transporting city inhabitants and tourists to experience workshop, spectacle, tour, performance, etc.
Cabbage Field Flora and Fauna Follow-up of mapping and inventory work completed in 2016 of the flora and fauna we will build an experimental station for aquacphonics in permaculture. Specifically it will look at sustainable food production involving young people with disabilities and observation of spaces of transition for wild plants that have been coded as threatening, labelled "invasive" but are also opportunists.
Renovation of Temporary Community Assets Two existing temporary spaces will be upgraded as new community facilities and include installation of thermal energy system. These will serve as a community and cultural infrastructure. The methodology here is adapted from self-build initiatives pioneered by the Amsterdam Municipality i.e. temporary buildings on public lands.