Bašta - cultural and community centre
Basic information
Project Title
Full project title
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Project Description
The project of the Bašta - cultural and community centre is the result of voluntary work of active citizens in the town of Bardejov. The absence of a space to cover cultural and community activities activated the wider community to create such a space. The benefit of this project is not only the existence of a cultural institution but also the preservation of a cultural monument and the place for people to build community and opportunity to support active citizenship.
Project Region
EU Programme or fund
Description of the project
Summary
The project of the Bašta - cultural and community centre [Kultúrno-komunitné centrum Bašta; short: Bašta] is the result of voluntary work of active citizens in the town of Bardejov. The absence of a space to cover cultural and community activities activated the wider community to create such a space. The benefit of this project is not only the existence of a cultural institution but also the preservation of a cultural monument that would otherwise become dilapidated and making it accessible to the public. Localisation of the Bašta - cultural and community centre is in bastion „Gross Bastion“ which is a historical monument inscribed on the UNESCO list. Bastion has 7 floors and only one of them is currently adapted for year-round operation. Bašta - cultural and community centre started to be an independent platform that offers citizens of Bardejov and from surrounding cultural events (theatre performances, concerts, film screenings, exhibitions, literary/travel/scientific discussions), and community events (yoga classes, conversations in English, creative evenings, play mornings for children, etc.). Bašta is a space that educates and involves the general public (via workshops, lectures, practical courses) and allows implementing their own ideas and activities as well. The administrator of the Bašta - cultural and community centre is the civic association Different, but its content of the programme is created by more non-profit organizations as well as active citizens. Project Bašta is a long-term project, the first milestone of which was the opening of the centre in 2017, since when it offers a regular programme. This content is constantly growing and it is, therefore, necessary to continue to renovate ideally all other floors, which will provide new possibilities.
Key objectives for sustainability
The civic association Different has long been involved in environmental activities – activism, regular removal of litter from the environment. In Bašta, we organise educational events – workshops and practical courses focused on the ecological functioning of households, support for local retail, and self-sufficiency. We regularly organise activities for the reuse of things – second-hand, swap. We also use recycling in creative workshops for children – puppets made of old socks, costumes made of discarded clothes. During reconstruction of the building is our goal to make interventions using natural materials and involving local craftsmen. The furnishing of the premisses is largely done by the use of discarded furniture that we have renovated. A part of the project is a cafe that utilises mainly local suppliers, which supports the local economy and contributes to reducing the ecological footprint – coffee from the roasting plant in Bardejov, Slovak tea, local beer, Slovak wines.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
The aim – to preserve the original shapes and character of the monument – to maintain the genius loci – and to achieve it through cooperation with The Monuments Board, sensitive reconstruction, and selection of materials.
QoE – the experience of participating in the look/spirit/atmosphere of the place – through workshops we involve local artists and architects as well as communities in the creation of various parts of the centre. The wood sculpting workshop brought sculptures that remained in the place, the lighting design workshop brought a creative lighting solution that takes into account the beauty of the place. These activities strengthen the sense of common ownership of the place.
QoE – a cozy space that functions also as a gallery. The intimacy of the place brings a family atmosphere and often relationships.
Key objectives for inclusion
Inclusion in many meanings is something very natural for project Bašta. Bašta organises activities involving minorities – we created activities where we involved people of Romani and Rusyn ethnicities – recording fairy tales in their languages and translation. We organise a camp for Roma children from settlements. Activities for children and parents – Hudobníček (development of children through music), playrooms (play mornings with both children and parents), educational activities for parents and future parents (lectures on pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, carrying in carriers, etc.). Making the creative work of people with disabilities more visible – we invite theatres that work with people with disabilities, we present that creative work is for everyone (theatre of people with Down syndrome, dance performance with a performer in a wheelchair). The aim is the availability of spatial and financial activities – the place is located in the town centre. Access to the space is also possible for immobile people thanks to the functional elevator, and the construction of a toilet for the immobile is currently underway. The affordability of activities is possible thanks to grants and volunteering – many events are for free, for a voluntary contribution, or a low entrance fee.
Results in relation to category
The project aimed to build a cultural centre serving the local community in a small peripheral town, where a cultural institution was missing for a long time. This goal was in line with the demand of the local community, which felt a lack of cultural enjoyment and an insufficient selection of cultural and community activities. In this community-initiated cooperation, which stood at the birth of the centre, and so far this cooperation is reflected in regular voluntary work of various kinds, from construction work to installation of exhibitions. The result of this mobilisation is a regular offer of exhibitions, theatre performances, concerts of various genres, screenings of alternative films, stand-up performances, slam poetry scene. The result is also open activities for the general public, such as workshops. Often the products of public workshops remain part of the place and create and change its character. Another important aspect of the centre's activity is the building of civil society, awareness, and responsibility. It attempts to influence people's thinking and take responsibility for what is happening at the local level, but ultimately also at the global level. Within the project of Bašta and its functioning, several informal groups were formed, as well as other associations, whose members met first during the activities at Bašta. For example, the Bardejov Theatre (the only semi-professional theatre with several authorial performances in the town) was established, and the Aves Education association was established in Bašta, which will cover the first community school in the city. As part of the programme of Bašta, we support local artists and they are given the space to make themselves more visible. For example, music bands through concerts, but also writers through author readings or painters through exhibitions. We also cooperate with the Elementary Art School, which installs their exhibitions of students‘ final works at Bašta.
How Citizens benefit
With the establishment of the community centre Bašta, the locals have a regular cultural offer in various genres, they have the opportunity to choose the events in which they will participate and the possibility of regular cultural or social activities. They have a place to meet and socialise, the opportunity to organise their own activities or employ their own initiatives. In the centre, the inhabitants of the town have the opportunity to build a community and at the same time an environment supporting the emergence of new associations and initiatives. The centre organises many educational and training activities in various fields, from popularising scientific lectures through discussions with various experts to, for example, sour-dough bread making ourses or travel lectures. It also realises regular education and training increases outlooks of not only children but also adults, which affects the good development of the town. The civic association covering Bašta actively cooperates with other non-profit organisations at various levels, for example, in fulfilling the Bašta programme, thus ensuring its good variability and stability. In the centre, all people have the opportunity to participate in community activities without distinction, they are aimed at different target groups. Bašta supports development of volunteering in the town by cooperating of volunteers from the beginning on reconstruction, which is still ongoing. It builds their relationship with the place and the community for not having obtained the building in its completed state. A place for the development of democratization and civil society – activism (involvement in activities – concerning human rights, animal rights, ecology, political dictatorship, cooperation with Amnesty International, apoliticism, objective discussions). The centre's activities cover a wide range of communities based on a varied community programme.
Innovative character
Innovation at the local level: the centre combines various activities under one roof; there is no such institution in the town, there are few individual activities in the town and they are scattered in different places and under different organizers; the centre is an independent space on the political and religious level.
Innovation at the national level: the centre operates in a national cultural monument, which the civic association is gradually reconstructing at its own expense and from grant sources, it is one of the first cultural centres in Slovakia and is an example of good practice for other such centres in Slovakia.
The project aims to maintain and develop the purpose of the platform for cultural and community activities in the long term. We achieve it through a long-term lease with the town council as the owner of the building, a stable team of workers, their professionalization, and personal development. We have developed a building project for reconstruction, which we will gradually realise. The operation of the cultural centre is sustainable also thanks to cooperation with other organizations – non-profit, companies, local government – and membership and support in networks (Anténa, Bystriny, Youth Council of the Prešov Region).
