Art, Anthropology and Sustainability: the development of the research and collaborative work “Garden 849” (CCI4change in Latvia)

Creative and Cultural sector practitioner skill-building events in Jūrmala, Riga and online will provide opportunity to build skills and prepare for the upcoming “Switch on Kauguri” innovation open call worth 9900 EUR. Workshop of Vika Eksta and Anna Griķe: “Art, Anthropology and Sustainability: the Development of the Research and Collaborative Work “Garden 849″” is the second workshop of the series, for which you can register here. The workshop will be held in Latvian and will take place on 15 April, 16:00-18:00 at the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Office (Marijas iela 13/3, Bergs Bazaar), Riga.

The second workshop (held in Latvian)  will provide theoretical and practical insights into how art, anthropology and sustainability interact. This will be illustrated by the two workshop leaders’ experiences of the research and collaborative process of the work “Garden 849”, revealing the different stages of its creation and the dynamics of interaction between Vika as an artist and Anna as an anthropologist. In the second part of the workshop, participants will be invited to live through these different stages in small groups, performing practical tasks, which will be reflected on together in a discussion on the benefits and challenges of research and collaborative work-making at the end of the workshop.

16.00-16.30 Insights into the intersection of anthropology of art and sustainability (Anna)

16.30-17.00 The development process of the work “Garden 849” (Vika)

17.00-17.30 Group work

17.30-17.50 Discussion on the benefits and challenges of research and collaborative production

17.50-18.00 Shortly about the CCI4change project, upcoming funding opportunity and future events (Marta Kotina)

Please note, that all events need registration. The onsite events at the Nordic Council of Ministers have a limited attendance and the registration is open only until the event is full.

VIKA EKSTA (1987) is an artist based in Riga, Latvia. In her long-term projects, Vika combines the documentary and fictional.  Vika’s choice of medium depends on the idea of the project. She is skilled in photography, analogue photo lab work, performance for the camera and audiovisual archive research. Since 2014, she has participated in exhibitions in Latvia and abroad, including at the Latvian National Museum of Art (2020), kim? Contemporary Art Centre (2019), Gallery Alma (2019), ISSP Gallery (2018), Kaunas Photography Gallery (2017). Her work is held in the collections of Latvian National Museum of Art, Latvian Museum of Photography and private collections in Europe and USA.

ANNA GRIĶE (1988) is an anthropologist, lecturer and human rights activist. In 2023 she defended her dissertation “Popular piety in Roman Catholic parishes of Latgalian borderland”. Currently she continues her research, monitors the Latvian borderlands and coordinates humanitarian support for asylum seekers. In parallel, she teaches at the Department of Anthropology at the University of Latvia, assists in the Economic Anthropology course at Stockholm School of Economics in Riga and is the Chair of the Board of the Latvian Society of Anthropologists.

The project events in Latvia are facilitated by the project’s lead partner NDPC – an intergovernmental organisation with secretariat located in Riga. The events are organised together with project partner Jurmala Municipality and facilitated by Marta Kontina (Story Hub).

The event is part of CCI4change project. Already later this spring CCI4change project will announce 3 innovation seed money open calls (in Finland, Sweden, and Latvia) . The calls invite CCI practitioners to propose creative ideas how they can engage the citizens to find new approaches to reduce energy consumption.

Now, to support the success of new collaboration models between the CCI and the local authorities, the project offers capacity building events to be held in parallel in all 3 locations and online. Read more here.

80% of “CCI4Change: Facilitation of Citizens Energy Consumption Behavioural Change in BS Cities and Municipalities” budget is Interreg BSR co-funded with the remaining 20% coming from the project partners.