In the light of the pandemic, many events around the world were cancelled or postponed. Our urban lab in Vilnius, dedicated to implementing and managing, was also under threat as it took place right in the heart of lockdowns across Europe.
However, thanks to online meeting platforms, the lab managed to take place with multiple great presentations from practitioners of cultural planning from the Baltic Sea Region. Gathering more than a hundred participants (which is more than usually an urban lab can hold), the choice of running the lab online reached bigger audiences at least. Also, the lab in Vilnius was broadcast via Facebook, and it reached triple the amount of viewers then with a total number of 850+ views by the end of summer.
What made this lab more appealing and comprehensive, were the drawings by Agnė Visualthinking. Therefore – we will describe the lab and each presentation with them apart from using too many words! So – enjoy the recorded lectures and sketches!
11.00 – Introduction to Vilnius Urban Lab 2020
Welcome words by dr. Živilė Sederevičiūtė-Pačiauskienė, Faculty of Creative Industries, VGTU
Moderator: dr. Jekaterina Lavrinec, Faculty of Creative Industries, VGTU
11.05 – 11.20
MANAGING COMMUNITY SPACES: ANTAKALNIS LAB
Agnė Gaisrė, Antakalnis City Lab / Miesto laboratorija
11.20 – 11.40
THE DO’S and THE DONT’S of WORKING WITH CULTURAL PLANNING in COMMUNITIES
Trevor Davies, Metropolis / Københavns Internationale Teater
11.45 – 12.00
MINECRAFT RIGA – PARTICIPATORY DEVELOPMENT in ACTION
Justīne Panteļējeva, Riga city council
12.00 – 12.15
CITIZEN-LED INITIATIVES IN PANEL HOUSING AREAS in TALLINN
Maria Derloš, Lasnamäe community / Linnalabor
12.15 – 12.30
COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT OF GREEN SPACES in VILNIUS
Laura Petruškevičiūtė & Beatričė Umbrasaitė, “Ideas garden” / Asociacija “Idėjų lysvė”
12.30 – 12.45
URBAN TOOLKIT – HOW TO DO CULTURAL PLANNING?
Natalia Brylowska, City Culture Institute / Instytut Kultury Miejskiej
After a break, 6 networking groups were carried out to debate on specific topics. They were:
- Urban games, gamification – developing tools for exploration and testing transformation of the areas (moderated by Julius Narkūnas, Laimikis.lt );
- Community gardening & green zones – activating green spaces in the neighbourhoods (moderated by Jekaterina Lavrinec, VGTU KIF);
- Participatory arts – transforming public spaces by cooperating with artists (moderated by Judita Strumilaitė, SPOT festival);
- Storytelling – activating local knowledge to reshape the identity of the place (moderating by Marta Bańka, Instytut Kultury Miejskiej);
- Co-design & community spaces – building and maintaining community spaces together (moderated by Rasa Chmieliauskaitė, TẽKA);
- Shaping Visaginas identity through narratives (in Lithuanian; moderated by Oksana Denisenko, Urban Stories).
However the networking groups faced slight technical challenges, Urban Lab Vilnius was considered a success. Trying to implement methods of cultural planning when meeting “off-screen” is not an option can be hard. Vilnius prepared the soil for other urban labs to come in this age of uncertainty.
