The conference on the role of art institutions in gentrification processes will focus on the interaction of culture and art institutions with processes of urban development, and the role of such institutions in gentrification processes in Latvia and abroad.

The conference aims to examine the situation and outline future scenarios on both local and global scale. The local context is provided by the development of Andrejsala, which has been chosen as an example of contemporary urban planning. Andrejsala is the planned venue for the construction of a museum of contemporary art. At the moment the area is home to several dynamic culture organisations that are actively working on implementing their programmes. Collaboration among culture institutions, urban planners, developers and investors in creating a new territory is a relatively common practice worldwide. An ´artistsÿ colony¡ helps change the image and environment of the territory. Similar processes of gentrification have taken place in several countries of Western and Eastern Europe.

The conference plans to study different practices of urban planning, engage in critical analysis of gentrification processes and outline the role of cultural institutions in these processes. The conference will conclude with a debate of its participants, artists and architects.

participants

Christoph Schäfer, Margit Czenki (Hamburg), Robert Hamelijnck & Nienke Terpsma (the Netherlands), Marcelo Expósito (Barcelona), Markus Ambach (Düsseldorf), Bert Theis (Luxembourg, Milan), Skaidra Trilupaitytë (Lithuania), Gediminas Urbonas (Lithuania), Kristîne Briede, Santa Mazika (Liepâja), Ieva Zîbârte (Latvia) et al.

The conference on the role of art institutions in gentrification processes is part of the international TRANSFORM culture project. For three years the activities of the TRANSFORM project have been taking place in various European cities, with the aim of promoting critique of institutionalism in the field of visual arts, enabling the development of new forms of critique and researching the influence of such critique on transformations of social environment and changes in the structure of institutions. This conference is the third and concluding event of the international TRANSFORM project in Latvia.


Organisers:  Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art
International partner: European Institute for Progressive Cultural Policies (EIPCP) in Austria (www.eipcp.net)

Funding: State Culture Capital Foundation, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia, the EC Culture 2000 Programme, Soros Foundation – Latvia
 

The project has been carried out within the framework of TRANSFORM and with the support of the Culture 2000 programme of the European Union. This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.