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Me, A Human Being in A World”, a tool for fostering contemporary culture processes

Programme	Local Development and Culture
Selection	Open project
Competition title	Me, A Human Being in A World”, a tool for fostering contemporary culture processes
Donorstate/international project partner	The Cultural Schoolbag Nordland, Nordland County Council, Norway (www.dksnordland.no)
Project national Nr.	EEZ/2021/1/28
GrACE project Nr.	LV-LOCALDEV-0012
Contract No.	4.3.1-8
Contract Date	27.12.2021
Project title	Me, A Human Being in A World”, a tool for fostering contemporary culture processes
Project promoter	Imants Ziedonis' Foundation "Viegli" (https://fondsviegli.lv/lv)
Start of project eligibility	01.01.2022
Project end	30.06.2023
Total eligible costs	201 843.20€
Grant financing	171 566.72€
National co-financing	30 276.48€
Project status	Completed
Project goal/description	The aim is to create 4 sets of professional contemporary art and culture products for Latvian children and youth (aged 6-18), promoting the availability of contemporary culture and the involvement of the target audience in the regions of Latvia, reducing social exclusion. Bilateral co-operation has been established with The Cultural Schoolbag Nordland, implementing an international exchange of experience on creating cultural products for young audiences in Latvia and Norway. The partner participates in product development consulting, educates Latvian professionals about contemporary art and related product creation. 5 interactive objects of contemporary art in the regions will be created, promoting accessibility and understanding for society. Target group is involved in all project activities. Art, culture and education professionals are involved in the implementation, ensuring the interdisciplinarity of the project, creating the interaction of literature and contemporary culture. The result of the project: As a result of the project, four sets of contemporary art and cultural products will be created for the audience of Latvian children and youth (aged 6-18) and five interactive objects of contemporary art in five regions of Latvia. Four sets of contemporary art and cultural products The content of the products is interdisciplinary, it represents the fields of contemporary art and literature, according to the groups of four classes (grades 1-3, grades 4-6, grades 7-9 and grades 10-12) and the needs of the target group. All sets of contemporary culture products are divided into 3 parts - video materials, a creative workshop, a cultural experience and creative materials. The structure of the product sets is designed to achieve audience reflection before and after the central part of the cultural products. The created product sets are related to the content of learning and promote the achievement of the goals set in the educational standard, during which interaction with the target audience is formed. The aim of the cultural product sets is to create an understanding of literature and contemporary art, their interaction, to stimulate interest in these fields and Imants Ziedonis' work and personality. As a result of the exchange of experience within the project, new knowledge and methods for creating contemporary art and cultural products for children and young people are acquired with the help of a Norwegian partner organization. This knowledge and methods are used to develop four new, interdisciplinary cultural products. In order to ensure the interdisciplinarity of the products, specialists from various fields - artists, educational specialists, game designers - participate in their development. In order to strengthen the acquired knowledge and methods, the Norwegian partner participates in the development of these four products as a consultant. It is also important to mention that before the development of products, the audience of children and young people in think tanks are also involved in order to study their needs and specifics. During product development, young people are invited to participate in product testing to improve the content. Part 1 - video materials adapted for each age group (10 - 15 min.), in which students are briefly introduced to Imants Ziedonis' personality and literary heritage, as well as contemporary art and culture. The aim of the interactive, youth-friendly video is to promote understanding and knowledge of literature and contemporary art. These created video materials are freely available on the foundation's and project's websites, they can also be used as educational material in teaching, regardless of the workshops provided below. The created video materials are designed as introductory material before the workshops (before the creative workshop activity). Part 2 - contemporary art and literature workshop for students The workshops are based on the literary works of I. Ziedonis, about which the audience of children and youth does not have extensive knowledge, actualizing their content and literary value today. At the beginning of each workshop, the workshop leader introduces students to the concept of contemporary art, the interaction between Imants Ziedonis and contemporary culture and art in an engaging way, as well as encourages them to think about their own presence in the space of contemporary culture. Based on the experience of “Ziedonis class” in working with Latvian children's and youth audiences, the main content of the creative workshops will be based on game elements that will be transported to Latvian schools upon their request. Cultural experience in active and practical activities is particularly important for young people, which the game method successfully helps to realize. The aim of the workshop is not only to get acquainted with the writer's personality and creativity, as well as the trends of contemporary culture, but also to encourage young people to create contemporary art for themselves and to create conditions in which it can take place. Most of the workshops are dedicated to the process of creativity and contemporary interpretation through the prism of literature. After the creative workshop, the workshop leader invites students to reflect on their understanding of contemporary art, experience, and lesson experience. Part 3 - cultural experience and creative materials According to each age group, cultural experience and creative materials are created, which provide an opportunity to supplement the lesson experience with new content related to literature and various fields of contemporary art, attracting Latvian artists from different fields to develop materials. The materials are also developed with the involvement of education professionals and taking into account the needs of young people identified in the discussions. The content of the materials is textual and supplemented with audiovisual content (music + video). 1) Set of contemporary art and culture products 1st-3rd classroom audience Based on literary work of I. Ziedonis - “Me, A Human Being in A World” Part 1 - video material The created video material introduces the target audience to contemporary art in Latvia and the personality of I. Ziedonis, the literary work “Me, A Human Being in A World,” its content and the values found in it in an interesting way that corresponds to the audience. The video material is attended by a personality appropriate and addressing the youth audience. This material highlights the values included and described in this literary work, such as surroundings, homeland, beings, world, language, self and others. The video material is designed to be perceptible to young people's audiences, to be able to associate with it, to promote involvement in contemporary art and creativity. Part 2 - creative workshop “Me, A Human Being in A World” In the introductory part, students play a developed game under the guidance of the facilitator, in which they learn what contemporary art is, the formats of its expression, promoting students' understanding of it with appropriate methods for the audience. The central element of the lesson is the “world” or a large globe, which contains various elements (game properties) described in Imants Ziedonis' literary work “Me, A Human Being in A World.” After playing the game, students are divided into 5 teams. Each team must complete 3 tasks, all of which are placed in a special globe. When each team completes three tasks, they receive three game properties that represent one of the values and their task is to create their own world of values, so that students participate in creativity and contemporary art activities. After the lesson, the facilitator invites students to reflect on the understanding of contemporary art and the experience in the lesson. Part 3 - cultural experience / creative materials Class 1-3 free interdisciplinary audiovisual and textual materials are created for the class audience, which promote their involvement in contemporary art and creativity. These materials can be used independently of participation in creative workshops. An educational specialist, musician, artist and writer participate in the development of the materials. 2) Set of contemporary art and culture products 4.-6. classroom audience Based on literary work of I. Ziedonis used - “Me, A Human Being in A World” 1.-3. The creative workshop for the class group is supplemented with elements to adapt it to the relevant 4th-6th grade classes for the age group. Part 1 - video material The created video material introduces the target audience to contemporary art in Latvia and the personality of I. Ziedonis, the literary work “Me, A Human Being in A World,” its content and the values found in it in an interesting way that corresponds to the audience. The video material is attended by a personality appropriate and addressing the youth audience. This material highlights the values included and described in this literary work, such as surroundings, homeland, beings, world, language, self and others. The video material is designed to be perceptible to young people's audiences, to be able to associate with it, to promote involvement in contemporary art and creativity. Part 2 - creative workshop “Me, A Human Being in A World” In the introductory part of the 4th - 6th grade students, under the guidance of the creative workshop leader, play a game in which they learn what contemporary art is, its forms of expression, promoting students' understanding of it with appropriate methods for the audience. The central element of the lesson is the “world” or a large globe, which contains various elements described in Imants Ziedonis' work “Me, A Human Being in A World.” After playing the game, students are divided into 5 teams. For the lesson to be adapted to the 4th - 6th grade audience, the tasks of the lesson are supplemented. Each team must complete 5 tasks, all of which are placed in a special globe. All tasks are related to the values of Imants Ziedonis' literary work “Me, A Human Being in A World.” When each team completes three tasks, they receive three game properties that represent one of the values and their task is to create their own world of values, so that students participate in creativity and contemporary art activities. After the lesson, the facilitator invites students to reflect on the understanding of contemporary art and the experience of the lesson. Part 3 - cultural experience / creative materials Class 4-6 free interdisciplinary audiovisual and textual materials are created for the class audience, which promotes their involvement in contemporary art and creativity. The video material is designed to be perceptible to young people's audiences, to be able to associate with it, to promote involvement in contemporary art and creativity. These materials can be used independently of participation in creative workshops. An educational specialist, musician, artist and writer participate in the development of the materials. 3) Set of contemporary art and culture products 7th-9th classroom audience Based on the poetry of Imants Ziedonis Part 1 - video material The created video material introduces the target audience to contemporary art (especially contemporary poetry) in Latvia and I. Ziedonis' personality, poetry in an interactive, audience-appropriate way. The video material is attended by a personality appropriate and addressing the youth audience. In this material, students are introduced to the poetry of Imants Ziedonis, its symbols, literary value. The video material is designed to be perceptible to young people's audiences, to be able to associate with it, to promote involvement in contemporary art and creativity. Part 2 - creative workshop In the introductory part, students play a game led by the leader of the creative workshop, in which they learn what contemporary art is, its forms of expression, promoting students' understanding of it with appropriate methods for the audience. After playing the game, students are divided into 5 teams. All the tasks of the game are related to Imants Ziedonis' poetry, the values expressed in it, their meanings in Latvian literature, which students get acquainted with in an interesting, interactive way. The content of the creative workshop is based on game elements that are relevant to the interests and needs of the target audience. During the creative workshop, young people's knowledge of contemporary art, its types, also contemporary poetry, its ways of creation are promoted. During the workshop, the involvement of young people in contemporary art and creativity under the guidance of the creative workshop leader is promoted. After the lesson, the facilitator invites students to reflect on the understanding of contemporary art, and the experience in the lesson. Young people share with each other the creativity shared during the lesson. During the workshops, cooperation between students is encouraged. Part 3 - cultural experience / creative materials Class 7-9 free interdisciplinary audiovisual and textual materials are created for the class audience, which promotes their involvement in contemporary art and creativity. An educational specialist, musician, artist and writer participate in the development of the materials. The video material is designed to be perceptible to young people's audiences, to be able to associate with it, to promote involvement in contemporary art and creativity. These materials can be used independently of participation in creative workshops. 4) Set of contemporary art and culture products 10th-12th classroom audience Based on I. Ziedonis' documentary prose works Part 1 - video material The created video material introduces the target audience to contemporary art in Latvia and I. Ziedonis' personality, documentary prose in an interactive, audience-appropriate way. The video material is attended by a personality appropriate and addressing the youth audience. In this material, students are introduced to Imanta Ziedonis' documentary prose, the process of creation, literary value, understanding of the meaning of contemporary art. The video material is designed in such a way that it is perceptible to the audience of young people, so that they can associate with it, promote recording in contemporary art and creativity, interest in it. Part 2 - creative workshop In the introductory part of the creative workshop, students play a game led by the leader, in which they learn what contemporary art is, its manifestations, promoting students' understanding of it with appropriate methods for the needs of the audience. The type and content of the game is developed by the involved education specialist. After playing the game, students are divided into 5 teams. During the creative workshop, students are introduced to the personality of Imants Ziedonis, his literary work in the field of documentary prose, (for example, travelogues) its creation and its literary value, which are less known to young people. During the creative workshop, working in teams, students are invited to create fragments of documentary prose under the guidance of the creative workshop leader with the help of various interactive methods and game elements. At the end of the workshop, students are invited to share their creativity, which can be expressed in different ways - visually, in writing, audibly, promoting the involvement of young people in contemporary art, promoting their creativity. After the lesson, the facilitator invites students to reflect on their understanding of contemporary art, experience and lesson experience. Part 3 - cultural experience and creative materials Class 10 12 free interdisciplinary audiovisual and textual materials are created for the class audience, which promotes their involvement in contemporary art and creativity. An educational specialist, musician, artist and writer participate in the development of the materials. The video material is designed to be perceptible to young people's audiences, to be able to associate with it, to promote involvement in contemporary art and creativity. These materials can be used independently of participation in creative workshops. Four contemporary art installations and collaboration with contemporary art specialists During the project contemporary art specialists will take part in the workshops all around Latvia, providing assistance and leading interpretation workshops as well. The aim of the workshops is to fundamentally introduce participants with the meaning of interpretation in creating artworks, as well as in understanding the artworks. Interpretation is a core term and activity in understanding, consuming and even creating contemporary artworks, therefore the emphasis of the workshops is on how the participants are able to create something new, consciously using one or few sources that are interpreted by themselves. The aim is to show that nothing is created in a blank space, and it pushes forward the realization that every creativity is based on some translation in one's own way. We have come to a conclusion that by asking interpreting certain details (like new headlines turning into collages), workshop participants follow their own creativity, yet they are able later to explain what exactly they have created. The artist who is leading the workshop always requests feedback, which enables to track the interpretation's pathway, which very often is eye-opening to the workshop participants. This practice generally invites people to look critically towards contemporary art, to look deeper into references used in the artworks, and also make them to understand how themselves are interpreting things that are seen, heard and read. Throughout the project alongside with the Foundation art specialists are willing to create five interactive art installations in 5 different Latvian regions. According to "Viegli" chosen overall topic of the whole project (the book by Latvian writer and poet Imants Ziedonis "Me, a Human Being in the World") the art installations will be created by five different artists, whose task are going to be do a research on local communities and to pick the most suitable theme for creating an interactive art installation that would serve to the community and guests as well. The curator of the project will provide 3 different guidelines, all reflecting upon human relations with themselves in the world: 1. One's relationship with herself (mental and physical health, self-esteem, self-love, understanding of self-position within the surrounding world, a self-reflective approach). 2. Relationships with other human beings who share different gender, or social and financial statuses, or are positioned in different power positions; relationships among different social groups and marking them as "others" (who are "we" and who are "they"?). 3. Multispecies relationships or attitude towards non-human beings (climate change, environment protection, animal exploitation, agriculture, and plant cultivation). The curator's request to the artists will be on creating social art installations, taking in account local communities' needs and interests, and the artwork should enable interactions among different people (or including non-human beings). Therefore, the aim of the project would be to create and provide art installations that visually and interactively question our self-positions and symbiosis of others, how and in what way it is carried out? Who is privileged and who is not? Can we observe the interaction? What is changing throughout the time? Most importantly is to also work on getting feedback from a local community, therefore the artists will become the agents among the project organizers and the local community. Creation and exhibition of these objects in five regional regions of Latvia popularized in the regional, public play contemporary art of access to contemporary art, as the created art object in interactive, as well as public understanding and knowledge of contemporary art and contemporary art in Latvia.
Implementation place	Visa Latvija

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