PAiR Residency

Basic information

Project Title

PAiR Residency

Full project title

PAiR - Pāvilosta Artist in Residency

Project Description

PAiR Residency is an international interdisciplinary art residency that provides creative professionals with time, space and other resources for research, experimenting and professional development. The Residency is aimed at promoting the emergence of various new, world-exploring and reflective art forms, bringing together specialists from various fields for development of intercultural cooperation, interdisciplinary knowledge and promotion of location-related artistic research.

Geographical Scope

Local

Project Region

Pavilosta, Latvia

Urban or rural issues

Mainly rural

Physical or other transformations

It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)

EU Programme or fund

Description of the project

Summary

PAiR Residency is a space for inventive encounters, where artists, researchers and curators can develop their projects in a stimulating, distraction-free environment of interdisciplinary dialogue. It is conceived as a point of intersection between humans and nature, the local and the global, cutting-edge practices and age-old traditions. PAiR is a place where new meanings emerge via creative experiments and interdisciplinary knowledge-sharing. At the same time, PAiR is also a cultural destination that provides locals and travellers alike with meaningful artistic content in an unconventional setting. By hosting a rich programme of events and workshops, PAiR seeks to help contemporary art find its way into the hearts of as many people as possible. To make the residency experience as rewarding as it gets, it provides curatorial guidance, as well as a healthy balance of undisturbed deep work and constructive peer interactions, opening unexpected perspectives on its residents' projects.

The project is targeted both at artists, providing them with high-class residency experience, and the locals, enriching their cultural life via a regular programme of creative events, such as art exhibitions, workshops, concerts and lectures. PAiR has also transformed the town landscape around it, introducing public art, gallery space, library and communal garden into Pavilosta's historic centre.

Via all of this, PAiR achieved success in helping to transform a rapidly depopulating fishing town into a future-oriented beacon of contemporary art, all the while helping to preserve and develop the Pavilosta community, traditional practices and heritage. By carefully curating its programme and constantly staying in touch with local stakeholders, both in the civil society and municipal government, it managed to mitigate any negative consequences of its operations, always showing care towards the history, nature and people around PAiR.

Key objectives for sustainability

From the very beginning, PAiR was conceived with deep care and understanding of its surroundings: it is located on the shore of the Baltic Sea in Pavilosta, among exemplary Baltic landscapes where the beautiful Northern nature and traditional practices of fishing, herb foraging, wood architecture and netting have survived all hardships of the past centuries. The 500 km long coast has played a significant role in the geography, politics and culture of Latvia and has influenced both local practices and culture, and it was important not to disrupt them by introducing contemporary art residency into such a context.
Thus, sustainability became one of the key principles at PAiR. It could not be ignored: PAiR is situated on the edge of the Grey Dune nature reserve that covers 42 hectares of land and was established to protect Latvia’s widest dune, and this fact constantly reminded the project's organisers about the fragility and importance of the area around them. On top of that, the town itself is home to many examples of traditional architecture, functional yet beautiful, made of locally sourced stone and wood: barns, houses of fishermen, and warehouses. It was important for PAiR to preserve this environment and help to make it flourish without harmful alterations.
Thus, the site of the residency was carefully restored, keeping the traditional materials and outlook of the building. By leading the emergent cultural industry of Pavilosta, PAiR effectively encouraged the preservation and revitalisation of the town's historic centre, its buildings and public environment.
Seeking to avoid the harmful impact of attracting new visitors to such a fragile natural landscape, PAiR discourages over-consumption, supports environmentally-conscious creative practices and non-intrusively engages its visitors, many of them from international backgrounds, with the local environment. For PAiR, one of the main goals is to inspire love and care about the nature that surrounds Pavilosta.

Key objectives for aesthetics and quality

PAiR residency has made a major contribution to the aesthetics and cultural development of Pavilosta by attracting a wide cohort of international creative professionals: artists, curators, musicians, and researchers. Together, they not only enhance their own practices, being able to professionally develop in a stress-free environment but also dedicate their skills and knowledge towards creating cultural benefits for the local community. Each season PAiR introduces a rich programme of international-class cultural events, such as exhibitions, concerts, workshops and public talks, becoming the centre of cultural life of the town and the surrounding region. Therefore, Pavilosta became the point of cultural development in its part of the Baltics. Its community can enjoy and participate in cultural exchange, share knowledge, and preserve and enrich their heritage in the light of the 21st century. The public space has also been transformed, with PAiR completely renovating the historical wooden building it is based in, introducing art in the town's landscape, and opening a library and collective garden that invites both artists and residents of Pavilosta.

The project can be exemplary in this sense due to its highly effective contribution towards the revitalisation of its area of operation. Until recently, the main industry of Pavilosta, a town of only 817 inhabitants, was commercial fishing. However, with the economic shifts happening after the restoration of Latvia's independence, emigration and climate change, it slowly but steadily degraded. PAiR led the town's shift towards sustainable, future-proof and community-oriented cultural industries. Nowadays, Pavilosta attracts visitors from the Baltics and Europe, sparking a revival of cultural development in Kurzeme. The case of PAiR shows that it is possible to integrate contemporary art and local heritage, opening a small community towards the world without damaging its way of life, but rather reigniting its spirit.

Key objectives for inclusion

From the very beginning, PAiR was aimed at becoming an open environment for all involved parties: the artists, the researchers, local and visiting public. Therefore, inclusion was always among its primary principles of operation.

Aiming to attract artists of various means and backgrounds, PAiR always seeks maximal inclusivity and accessibility. It does not require a fee for its digital application, covers the participants' travel, housing and production costs, as well as provides them with a 500 EUR fund towards their needs while at the residency. PAiR also helps with getting to and from Pavilosta. Thus, the residency provides practical support at every step of the artist's stay. The provision of specific working materials can be arranged. Besides that, the residency building itself, thanks to the recent renovation, is made to be accessible to people with various needs.

This makes PAiR rather unique in the regional context: it is one of the few rural residencies in the Baltics that provide such a level of care to its artists, generously covering most of their needs and supporting them at every step.

Most of the events organised by the residency, such as its Summer Stage shows or exhibitions, are free of charge for the public, as well as PAiR library space. Those events that require participation fees are nevertheless priced with affordability in mind.

In light of Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine, PAiR residency space also offered its support for Ukrainian creatives. In addition to the support the project regularly provides to its resident artists, the VV Foundation also helped with relocation, legal matters and all the related costs.

Results in relation to category

We believe that PAiR residency truly champions the principles of regaining the sense of belonging to Pavilosta and its community, reigniting the place's spirit and providing its inhabitants and visitors alike with a future-oriented yet heritage-valuing creative ethos.

The project has become the centre of transformation for the town and its surrounding area, unlocking its dynamic spirit, creative potential and people's artistic capabilities.

In light of shaping future-oriented ambitions for
communities, the main achievement of the residency is its PAiR Public programme. Its events and workshops are aimed at engaging a diverse audience in dialogue with contemporary art and strengthening Pavilosta’s status as an essential cultural destination on the west coast of Latvia. PAiR Public programme operates with the mission to establish fruitful connections between the international creative community and the local population of Pavilosta, understating that the process of creative development and spreading of knowledge goes both ways, being crucial to building a solid community amongst demographic changes and economic shifts. The project appreciates the knowledge and skills that have been nurtured over the ages as part of the local identity, perceiving them as sources of inspiration that can be drawn in the 21st century as well.

Highly valuing the role of contemporary culture in re-inspiring the spirit and meaning of the place, PAiR gallery offers Pavilosta locals and visitors high-profile curated exhibitions highlighting notable developments in the arts in the Baltic region and beyond. Panel discussions, public lectures, book readings, theatre and music performances seek to prompt the transfer of insights and experiences between members of the art world and the wider public.

Thus, PAiR sets the foundation of Pavilosta's development for years to come, making it the foremost point for the development of contemporary culture in the region.

How Citizens benefit

Being based in such a tightly-knit community as Pavilosta, the residency could not allow itself to separate from the civil society around it, serving only the visiting artists. On the contrary, the knowledge, creativity and resilience of the locals became the project's main source of inspiration.
However, PAiR also believes that it should give back to the community that welcomed it, and therefore strives to benefit it as much as possible via many available means.

One of the most interesting examples of such an aim is the weaving studio in the residency, created as a place for the local weavers of Pavilosta to work. Weaving has been one of the traditional industries of the region for centuries, and PAiR is proud to provide a modern, well-equipped studio for the local weavers. It is a great example of the preservation of traditions in the 21st century and mutual enrichment between heritage practitioners and the contemporary art industry.

Another important way the citizens of Pavilosta benefit from the PAiR residency is its diverse programme of public events. The events are freely accessible, inclusive and engaging, aimed at the exchange of knowledge, connection with contemporary culture and inspiration of local creativity. Members of Pavilosta civil society get a chance to have their experiences and their voices heard internationally, and their talents and knowledge recognised.

Finally, since the residency attracts many visitors from outside of Pavilosta, it also boosts the local economy. Together with other institutions and enterprises based in the town, PAiR leads its transformation towards a more inclusive, prosperous and sustainable economy based on creative industries, where tourism and other activities are ecologically friendly, locally conscious and future-oriented, in contrast to the Soviet-era extractive industrial fishing.

Physical or other transformations

It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)

Innovative character

The main innovation of PAiR lies in its harmonious and holistic approach to art residency. It is a rare example of when such an institution aims to benefit the artists, locals and outside visitors alike.
Often such projects tend to lock themselves into a hermetic world, exclusive only for the artists. In contrast to this, PAiR believes that artists benefit from openness - and practice shows that it indeed is the best possible approach. The residents get immersed into the environment of Pavilosta in summer, its busiest season, thus getting a chance not only to work on their projects but also to immerse themselves into a new rhythm of life.

Subsequently, another PAiR innovation is its active investment into the space around it - from renovation of the building and hosting a programme of public events to creating a communal garden and publicly accessible spaces like a library and gallery. It is an investment into Pavilosta, true to the mission of promoting contemporary art and culture via education, openness and accessibility. In many cases, non-professionals might not even be aware that in their town there is an art residency, but PAiR became inseparable from Pavilosta, an institution that channels contemporary art to a wider public (to a large extent to the demographic that is usually overlooked by other institutions: rural, regional, far-away from big cities).

Correspondingly, these two innovations lead to the third one: an active exchange of experience and knowledge between artists and locals. It is a mutually beneficial process that ensures both the development of Pavilosta in the upcoming years and gives artists unexpected perspectives for their new projects.

Disciplines/knowledge reflected

PAiR is the product of interaction and exchange of experiences between artists, architects and art patrons both from Latvia and abroad. Every new resident and every member of the PAiR team brings something new to the project.
When the residency was just being established, the architects worked tirelessly on the renovation process, coming up with the design and technological solutions to preserve the beautiful century-old wooden building. The result is a contemporary space that is inspired by and respectful of its heritage.
The artists left their marks not only during their stays at the residency but also after leaving it - in the forms of their works, which were acquired by the VV foundation and now form an impressive collection of Baltic contemporary art, varying from painting and photographs to graphic works and installations.
There are also traditional crafts practitioners - the weavers working in the PAiR workshop, being the living example of the ability of heritage and contemporary art to unite in designing beautiful spaces of mutual exchange and creativity.

Of course, the local population of Pavilosta is also an integral part of the project, sharing their knowledge and creativity, and welcoming the residents into the environment in which they and their ancestors have lived and left their marks.

PAiR is designed as an open system, an institution tightly connected to its surroundings and able to grow with each member's input. While its primary discipline is contemporary art in all its forms, it is also a great example of the implementation of modern architectural and design approaches into the environment of a small town, a case for public revitalisation. It demonstrates that the contemporary art industry, often seen as overly radical and subversive, can seamlessly integrate into a rural town's context without damaging its character, but rather enriching it and adding material and spiritual value to the town of Pavilosta.

Methodology used

The approach that PAiR took was to create an all-encompassing environment: many art residencies become hermetic spaces for their artists, excluding and, in some way, shielding them from the surrounding life. This project takes a radically different approach, aiming to integrate both resident artists and the local community through open studios, workshops, lectures and other events that offer an opportunity to share knowledge and experiences.

At the same time, the project approached the idea of residency as a place of reflection and development. Very often the contemporary art industry is overtly competition-driven, unstable, alienating and harsh, especially in large cities. PAiR, true to the ethos of the place it is based in, strived to counter those negative effects by creating a peaceful and tranquil environment. The project team strives to cover as many of the artist's needs as possible, providing informational, logistical and financial support during the residency, believing it to be an important contribution in the world where many contemporary artists
are forced into increasingly precarious circumstances.
Finally, it is a holistic approach to supporting creatives, aimed at championing them in various forms and periods. For example, PAiR gives contemporary creatives, both emerging and established, a chance to showcase their works and practise their talents during its seasonal programme, and continues to stay in touch and seeks ways to also support and promote its resident artists after they leave Pavilosta.

How stakeholders are engaged

Due to its specific focus and area of operations, the project is mainly engaged with the stakeholders at the local level.

Since the day PAiR established itself in Pavilosta, its mission has been to unobtrusively integrate itself into the local context. It has formed positive, cooperative relationships with Pavilosta municipality. It was important to work with the town's stakeholders since the residency is not only a collective of creative professionals but also a physical space in the centre of the town's historical area. Thus, the project needed to work hand-in-hand with mainly local stakeholders, providing mutual support and sharing knowledge. PAiR is proud of its successful history of cooperation with Pavilosta municipality.

The primary example of such cooperation in the design and implementation of the project is the residency building itself, which is rented from the local government and restored by PAiR. This beautiful historical wooden house, built in 1901, has been completely renovated and refurbished in 2021, creating a publicly accessible contemporary art space in the heart of Pavilosta. To continue the physical enhancement of the space surrounding the residency, in collaboration with Pāvilosta municipality, the square facing PAiR will soon be transformed into a sculpture park, hosting pieces created by contemporary artists for the meaningful enjoyment of connoisseurs and the wider public alike. All events of the residency's public programme are also supported by the municipality, mainly via informational support and by providing spaces for the events. For the local stakeholders, this cooperation is highly beneficial since the PAiR programme attracts solvent visitors aimed at cultural tourism, which economically benefits the town and also causes less harm to the environment than other forms of tourism.

Global challenges

The project aims to address such an important global challenge as the disintegration of small rural communities caused by the economic crises, migration, climate change and demographic shifts. Pavilosta is an exemplary small Latvian town, having less than a thousand permanent inhabitants. Far away from the capital, stranded between two large port cities of Ventspils and Liepaja, it struggled, like many other similar towns, to maintain its traditional fishing industry and keep its population from leaving for the regions with better economic opportunities and social climate. Its only alternative to fishing was seasonal tourism, with a limited number of foreigners coming into the town for its beaches, seeking sailing and surfing activities. However, such an economic model was unviable not only due to its extractive and unsustainable nature in the long run but also because it made Pavilosta compete with much larger cities on Latvia's and Lithuania's Baltic coast, the cities that could attract more tourists and offer them better-developed infrastructure - a very common case in many regions of Europe, especially in the East.

PAiR residency introduced the town to a unique creative industry niche that ensured its long-term development and attractiveness to both local inhabitants and external investors. It not only helped to create a new viable industry but also the source of fulfilment for local inhabitants, giving them a way to express their creativity, preserve their heritage and connect them to the wider European and international context. PAiR believes that to be an extremely important case of overcoming a global problem that many similar rural towns face, namely the inability to adapt to rapidly emerging challenges and changes, helps to tackle depopulation and, despite the continuing globalisation that threatens many small communities, supports the preservation and harmonic development of the local spirit.

Learning transferred to other parties

With a certain level of experience, funding and dedication, the project can be transferable and replicable in other similar settings. Although it is not limited geographically, the best replicability can be achieved in the Baltic region, where there are many historically preserved towns and villages with population sizes akin to Pavilosta. It is necessary to fine-tune the relationship between the artists, locals and nature - an approach that can be learned via cooperation and observation.

Via the cooperation of architects, art patrons, members of civic society and governmental entities it is possible to restore historic buildings in any of such small Baltic towns, devise a programme, both for the artists and the public, and thus create a creative industry institution that could greatly impact the economy, social climate and public image of the area. PAiR's successful methodology of harmonious development is the know-how that can be transferred effectively to other members of the Baltic creative community, willing to launch their residency project.

There is a constantly growing demand in quality residencies for various kinds of contemporary creatives, which allows to replicate the format of PAiR without entering into direct competition or falling into duplicating.

It is important to note that most of the approaches and processes that could be transferred lie in the field of soft skills - such as communication, negotiation, and cooperation. Those adopting PAiR's experience would learn how to build trust, positive reputation and relationships with different counteragents.