Jelgava Local Municipality together with the project partner from Latvia – NGO „Interdisciplinary Art Group „Serde”” and with the Donorstate project partner from Norway – NGO „Fargefabrikken” till June 30, 2023 realized the project „Culture Plant.” After the project implementation it is time for the project story:
“Jelgava Local Municipality has successfully implemented the EEA grant project “Culture Plant”. Within its framework, various workshops, trainings, and masterclasses have taken place, providing new experiences in contemporary art for children and youth in the Jelgava Local Municipality, as well as knowledge and skills for education specialists, cultural and youth workers thus strengthening their capacity and introducing to new methods of working with youth audiences.
Zemgale, with Jelgava in its center, is often called the “granary of Latvia” in recognition of its vast grain fields, extending to the very horizon. The project aimed to symbolically transfer sustainability from the extensive grain fields to the younger generation, recognizing the potential for growth in young people, like cultural plants. As part of this project, the boundaries of children’s and youth cultural education, and contemporary art understanding were broadened by expanding the offer of school programs and cultural centers and introducing new cultural products and services.
In November 2022, school students participated in an educational expedition “The Bread Story”, following the journey of grains from the field to the finished product. They visited grain producers, processors, bakers, and guardians of ancient baking traditions. The expedition concluded with a new publication in the Traditions Notebook series of association SERDE, titled “Grain Story”.
In winter and spring of 2023, numerous workshops and masterclasses were organized for the project’s target group – youth aged 12-18. These were conducted by the interdisciplinary art group SERDE from Aizpute, a project collaboration partner. Special thanks shall extend to SERDE for their contribution to youth education!
The first workshop was organized at the Svēte Children and Youth Education Initiative Center, where young people from Aizupe, Ozolnieki, Sesava, Vircava, Vilce, and Jelgava correspondence school, under the guidance of sculpture and design teacher Jānis Zvirgzds-Zvirgzdiņš created design toys. Participants crafted their individual design toys using modeling clay on a pre-prepared model. From this creation, a platinum silicone mold was made, and the toy model was cast into it. The toys were painted with individual drawings. The colorful toys were showcased at the youth contemporary art festival “Culture Plant” of Jelgava Local Municipality in Eleja Manor Park on May 20.
In collaboration with the association Multenkulten – Ivars Šmits and Kristīne Šmite – animation workshops were organized at Vircava Elementary School. Students from Aizupe, Ozolnieki, Kalnciems, Jelgava correspondence school, Sesava, Svēte, Vircava, and Vilce schools were introduced to the stop-motion animation technique. They mastered the basic principles of animation, developed a plot, created storyboards, made frames, and crafted characters while working on animation stations. Alongside sound artist Maksims Šenteļevs, they created their vision of a film soundtrack, recording sounds, noises, and background music using various instruments. The animation film was showcased during the festival on May 20. You can watch it here:
Furthermore, students from Svēte, Vircava, Vilce schools, and Jelgava Vocational School were given the opportunity not only to attend the workshop “Story Creation and Documentary Theater Workshop” but also to become participants in the creation of a community theater performance “Abras Stories”. The workshop emphasized mastering the basics of storytelling and character development for the play, drawing inspiration from true life stories about bread, heard during the research expedition “The Bread Story” led by Ieva Vītola and Signe Pucena. The workshops and rehearsals for the community theater performance took place under the direction of playwriter and director Sandija Santa, who, in addition to her professional work, has also mastered community theater methodology and annually creates performances adapted to the environment with the participation of a well-known guest artists in Latvia. This time, Liepāja theater actor Kaspars Gods who’s family comes from Vilce parish in Jelgava Local Municipality was invited as the guest artist. The modern fairy tale “Abras Stories” had its premiere on May 20 in Eleja Manor Park. The performance can be watched here:
A ceramics workshop in Aizpute, led by Elīna Titāne and Uģis Pucens, involved students from Kalnciems, Sesava, Svēte, Vircava, and Vilce schools. The process of firing the ceramics was followed at Eleja Manor Park during the project’s closing event.
Within the project, training sessions were organized to enhance knowledge of education specialists, cultural and youth workers in work with children and young people, as well as for exploring contemporary art trends in Latvia. A seminar titled “Contemporary Art – History, Directions, Development in Latvia” took place in Rīga Art space. During the seminar, art scholar, critic, and curator Ieva Astahovska invited participants to find answers to questions: What characteristics and approaches define contemporary art? How does it intertwine with the current reality and visual language? How is it influenced by specific space and time, geography, and history? In the seminar “Personal Sustainability Model and Its Application to Youth Audience,” facilitator Vita Brakovska encouraged participants to seek answers to the following questions: What determines the market value of my current or future professional identity? How can we position ourselves as unique allies? The concluding seminar, “Relationships and Communication in Working with Children and Youth Audiences, Psychological Aspects,” was organized as an expanded supervision session led by psychotherapist Inga Anna Birkmane. Participants had the opportunity to explore answers to the complex nature of relationships and communication aspects in working with the target audience.
A training cycle was organized for education and cultural workers, and youth professionals by the project partner from Norway – Fargefabrikken, led by Nina Molven. The training took place on November 21-23, 2022 (in person), March 2-3, 2023 (online), and March 27-29, 2023 (in person). As a result, an “Art Laboratory in a Suitcase” (click here) was developed, along with a methodology for working with children and youth audiences. Various methods were employed during the sessions, including visual thinking and dialogue-based art communication, diverse materials, colors, and forms, as well as lines, meanings, and elements of expression. The training sessions were based on the experience of lecturer Nina Molven in working with children and young people, aiming to create inclusive, meaningful, atractive and skill-developing activities of participants.
The gala event of the project – contemporary art festival “Culture Plant” – took place on May 20 in Eleja Manor Park. Alongside the project activities, a wide range of happenings were offered to young people, including inspirational stories and discussions, quizzes about theater, music, and art, a rap workshop, improvisational theater, henna tattoos, land art, and graffiti drawings. The event concluded with a concert by the group “Citi zēni”.
In total, approximately 100 young people participated in the project’s workshops, and around 80 representatives from the culture, youth, and education spheres took part in training sessions and workshops. Feedback from participants indicated high satisfaction, with 99% expressing a willingness to participate in similar activities again and recommending them to friends. In addition to acquired professional skills during the workshops, participants acknowledged improvements in collaboration and communication skills, gained new friends, developed creativity and improvisation skills, and stepped out of their comfort zones.
The aim of the project “Culture Plant” is to improve access to professional contemporary art and culture for children and youngsters in Jelgava Local Municipality, to promote and increase their involvement in creation of new art and cultural products.
Implementation period: 01.10.2022.-30.06.2023.
The project is funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Grants in amount of 130 189 EUR.
Project is implemented under project grant “Support for the Creation of Professional Art And Cultural Products for Children and Youth” of the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism Programme for 2014 – 2021 “Local Development, Poverty Reduction and Cultural Cooperation” .”
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