"Kurtuve" (Furnace)
Basic information
Project Title
Full project title
Category
Project Description
Contemporary culture is Valmiera's Achilles' heel. The existing cultural environment has a symbolic cultural "gap" - as one way to address this challenge, we propose creating a cultural space, "Kurtuve", housed in a building that served as the city boiler house for over 40 years. We will transform it into a platform for contemporary cultural events – exhibitions, concerts, plays etc. "Kurtuve" will help ensure the availability of varied cultural content to broad audiences.
Project Region
EU Programme or fund
Description of the project
Summary
Contemporary culture is Valmiera's Achilles' heel. The existing cultural environment has a symbolic cultural "gap" – the average Valmiera resident consumes understandable, rational and easily understandable information in the entertainment culture offer, not giving any chance for experiments and expressions of contemporary art. As one way to address this challenge, we propose creating a cultural space, "KURTUVE", housed in a building that served as the city boiler house for over 40 years. Namely, we will transform it into a platform for contemporary cultural events – exhibitions, concerts, plays, dance performances, lectures. "KURTUVE" will help ensure the availability of varied cultural content to broad audiences, raise public awareness and promote its engagement in contemporary artistic processes. The centre's location - in Valmiera, the heart of the future Vidzeme culture - is essential. We have chosen the name “furnace” as an exemplary mix of different ages and aspects of life. The furnace - fire, oven or fireplace - has been used in centuries and time circles by a source of heat. Furnace – as a real place – former boiler house. And the furnace – like ignition, momentum for creative processes. In "Kurtuve", we will light a contemporary fire by organising art exhibitions, master classes and creative workshops, dance performances, new chamber theatre performances, a capella festivals, conversation mornings and evenings. And many other events that carry within themselves the spirit of contemporaneity will help fill the culture "gap". To accomplish this, we will design, build, furnish and create space. Meanwhile, we will organise activities to explain, discuss, make, and experience the contemporary culture, thus learning to accept, know and recognize the contemporary together.
Key objectives for sustainability
Through cultural processes, we will build awareness and responsibility for sustainability and seek answers to 'big' environmental and future issues by interacting with different groups in society. This is especially important for the municipality because we are the brightest example of the combination of industry and nature - the industrial city is surrounded by the Gauja National Park, the North Vidzeme Biosphere Reserve and rural areas. In this unique form, the micro-city must be able to interact profoundly and honestly with nature. The unique added value of contemporary art space "KURTUVE" is the actualisation of environmental sustainability issues of public importance through the cultural dimension by revitalizing the industrial space and using it for cultural practices. Dialogue between cultural professionals, urban and spatial planners, architects, owners, operators and operators of sites, especially industrial sites, and other stakeholders is needed to communicate natural and environmental sustainability messages to the public in a skilful, intelligent and precise way. Such a d Dialogue will be formed by organizing talks and discussions on environmental sustainability issues relevant to Latvia and Europe in "KURTUVE".
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
To promote the inclusion of contemporary culture in the cultural processes of the municipality, in cooperation with the Latvian National Museum of Art, Latvian Center for Contemporary Art, Latvian Academy of Culture, ZUZEUM, and their foreign partners (e.g. MO Museum (Lithuania), KUMU Art Museum (Estonia), KIASMA (Finland), MOMA (USA), Pompidou Center (France), Tate (UK), Pushkin Museum and State Hermitage (Russia)) KURTUVE will organise events for organisations and employees of the cultural sector - interactive exhibitions, discussions, seminars, cultural workshops, etc. c., which will help to develop the understanding of cultural professionals about tolerance to the types, forms and expressions of contemporary culture, thus creating a favourable environment for its development in Valmiera municipality and fill KURTUVE with quality interdisciplinary program for all audiences.
Key objectives for inclusion
We will build a more profound understanding in society and the local community about the various contemporary and traditional cultural genres, the context of cultural developments and their inseparable link to other areas of life. By involving society in the cultural processes, we will, together, learn to think critically and recognise the new, different. We will create a deep and solid foundation for the local and broader communities to expect nothing less than unique and varied cultural life offering and world-class excellence of their cultural organisations, institutions and artists' performances. We will also ensure that the community will recognize this excellence when they receive it and want to get involved in the discourse created through cultural developments.
For the young artists of the municipality, the centre will become a place facilitating the exchange of creativity and expression of artistic achievements, a place where you can compare your creative performance with the works done by international artists.
Innovative character
Valmiera is recognized in the international environment in economics and sports. Our achievements in the economy are highly valued - in 2019, The Financial Times awarded Valmiera the third-best strategy for attracting foreign investment in Europe.
We strive to be recognised and noticed in Europe and the world, including in the field of culture, while being aware of the existing cultural 'gap' that needs to be bridged on the way to the goal. It requires impetus and perseverance. The achievements in economics and sport clearly show that we can do this, and it reminds us that a brilliant result is based on hard daily work over a long period, just like the Olympians. They spend years putting themselves on the podium in the world's most prestigious competitions.
We will activate, motivate and involve citizens, professionals and amateurs from various cultural fields, develop cultural audiences, strengthen cooperation between the cultural, educational, social, sports and economic sectors, improve the existing and create a qualitatively new cultural offer, create our own micro "Bauhaus". We will create the cultural environment so that it becomes a home for both small and large-scale cultural processes and events in the entire territory of Valmiera municipality and KURTUVE will be at the "heart" of it.
