Second international congress of cultural activists to be held 28-29 June 2015 in Kyiv

The Congress of Cultural Activists 2015 is the major summer event in the culture sector for multidiscipline project promoters and managers whose initiatives are able to drive changes in Ukraine and strengthen dialogue with business, community and government. The second international congress of cultural activists will be held on 28-29 June 2015 at ATLAS Club, 37-41 Artema St., Kyiv, Ukraine.

The Congress serves as a good platform to address the following tasks:

• To help cultural activists to coordinate their projects and initiatives to enhance cooperation and achieve multiple effects
• To build bridges between cities/towns, countries, generations, various communities and initiatives
• To draft the Cultural Activists Resolution as a joint action plan to drive changes at the community and country levels

To achieve these objectives and goals, the Congress will use an interactive format based on four streams, each facilitated by keynote speakers, who are expert practitioners in their fields. More than 30 Ukrainian and foreign speakers are expected to join the Congress structured around the following streams:

Creative industries

The discussion will focus on the status and development prospects of the creative sector. How cross-sector links could encourage economic development and how this may influence certain businesses and initiatives? The task of the Congress is to study the significance and impact of innovations and creativity on sustainable development of the country using case studies and success stories representing design, urban planning, creative spaces, restaurant and IT business sectors.

Stream Coordinator: Yaroslav Belinsky / belinsky@about.me

Art mobility

The role and purpose of international projects such as art residencies, fests, symposia, mobile eco projects give rise to many discussions. The Western Europe demonstrates that mobile activities may encourage hospitality and tolerance, while the Eastern Europe uses this resource as an opportunity to get to the international art market and promote culture development in countries facing outflow of population.

Unlike EU member states, Ukraine features insignificant number of such projects; however the number of issues and challenges which may be successfully addressed with art mobility instruments is huge.

Stream Coordinator: Lyudmyla Nychay / volantic23@gmail.com

Urban development

The main focus is challenges faced by small towns and how they may be addressed, future strategizing activities and instruments to involve communities in the urban policy-making process. Small towns play a very important role as centers of people’s identity and culture. The future of small towns lies in hands of responsible communities joining together and requires development of cultural and creative industries, better level of art mobility, establishment of centers for alternative education, replacement of the general urban planning paradigm by dynamic strategies based on the participatory approach involving wider stakeholder groups. The Congress opens up a good opportunity for small towns to achieve the new level of cooperation on their common network development strategy. Urbanists will present urban development projects for 20 Ukrainian towns. Along with other streams, we will elaborate tasks of synergic cooperation for the common sustainable development strategy for Ukrainian cities.

Stream Coordinator: Roman Pomazan / rromuluss@gmail.com

Alternative education

A mismatch of the traditional education and today’s requirements, on the one hand, and conservatism and bureaucracy of the public education sector, on the other, boosts alternative non-formal education. The task is to analyze the process inside out, to discuss the existing educational projects in the culture sector, to identify strengths and weaknesses and discuss possible ways of cooperation with official public institutions.

Stream Coordinator: Yevgeniya Molyar / emolyar@gmail.com

An exhibition of modern Ukrainian artists Oleksiy Say and Georgiy Sagitov will be presented at the Congress.

Creative parametric zoning is provided by the Congress partners – inLab Architects.

Congress partners 

Heinrich Böll Foundation’s Office in Ukraine, Goethe-Institut Ukraine, DIYA Science & Art Center, Small Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Atlas Club, Barbara Bar, SuperGraphica, Urban Sustain Architecture, Tabor Production, Kontora Pravylo, b4.team, inLab Architects, Art Council Ukraine, Art Platform, Ukraine Crisis Media Center, UrbanLabKyiv.

Our team

Olena Pravylo, Producer, Roman Pomazan, Architect, Yaroslav Belinsky, Designer, Kateryna Ray, Curator, Lyudmila Nychay, Artist, Yevgeniya Molyar, Art Critic, Performer Matilda, Ella Shtyka, Producer, Mykola Marusyk, Activist, Tetyana Nechay, Producer, Daria Broshkova-Babich, Architect, Marta Pogorila, Producer, Maksym Alatortsev, Architect, Arnaud Lumier, Producer, Debbie Davis, Artist, other activists and volunteers.

Foreign guests

Markus Oertel, Elena Pagel / Kultur Aktiv / Dresden, Germany / — Transforming Cultural Space in Germany, Post-Soviet Symbols of Public Space: Project Management Workshop, Best Practice and Different Approaches

Debbie Davis / New York, USA / — Culture Operators: The Survival Guide

Nupur Chaudhuri / New York, USA / — Urban Planning for Changes

Sakharov Center / Moscow, Russia / — Dissidents and Period of Transformation

Marie Fol, Bojana Panevska / Trans Artists / The Netherlands / — Art Residency: Establishment and Management (a workshop), a lecture on art mobility and the global network of at residencies

Davis Kaņepes / Kaņepes Kultūras centrs / Riga, Latvia / — Efficient Community-forming Bottom-up Initiatives

The Congress agenda is updated and may be subject to minor changes.

Project Manager: Olena Pravylo, o.pravylo@gmail.com
Media accreditation: Tetyana Nechay, tatyana.nechay@gmail.com, +380 (97) 794-00-98

fb: congress.of.cultural.activists, www.culturalactivism.org

Event hashtags:

#CoCA2015 #CongressUA #CongressOfCulturalActivists #CreativeIndustries #ArtMobility #UrbanDevelopment #AlternativeEducation #BeTheChange #barbarbara #atlas37

Download the releases in Ukrainian and English:
Press_release_Congress_2015_UA
Press_release_Congress_2015_ENG