NEWS FROM OUR TWINNING PROGRAM
From Stockholm to Zagreb: A Comics Artist’s Exchange at KONTEJNER
As part of the Future DiverCities Twinning Program, comic artist Yana Knight from Subtopia embarked on a creative exchange in Zagreb, hosted by KONTEJNER.
During her three-day visit, Yana used autobiographical fiction comics to document her immersive experience in the KONTEJNER space and its surrounding environment. Her daily cartooning practice, informed by both observation and imagination, offered a unique lens on the artistic, social, and architectural layers of the space—from experimental installations and neighborhood walks to a surreal expedition through the building’s underground remnants.
A key moment of the exchange was a comics workshop with students from the Zagreb School of Applied Arts and Design. Together, they crafted fantastical narratives rooted in their recent experiences and the KONTEJNER space itself, imagining everything from hidden tunnels to dinosaurs and mysterious showers. The collaboration revealed the students’ vivid creativity and their perspectives on both the venue and their city.
A heartfelt thank you to Yana for her inspiring contribution, curiosity, and creative spirit throughout the exchange. Congratulations to both Subtopia and KONTEJNER for a truly fruitful collaboration!
NEWS FROM OUR TWINNING PROGRAM
🦋From Thessaloniki to Berlin: Butterflies and Placemaking
In the framework of the Future Divercities Twinning Program, Evanthia Stavrou (founder of Craftopia and sociocracy expert), Ioannis Efstathiou (Street Mode Festival), and Dimitra Samsaki (communications strategist, MoMus) visited Berlin to engage in peer exchange and co-learning with Public Art Lab (PAL).
The visit revolved around shared interests in art, ecology, and civic engagement, with a special focus on non-human rights, biodiversity, and participatory governance. Drawing from over 15 years of community-building experience, the Greek team exchanged know-how on grassroots activation, inclusive urban culture, and public space transformation.
A rich program of site visits brought the team into dialogue with some of Berlin’s most inspiring urban experiments, including the Floating University (with Lorenz Kuschnig Lefort), Tempelhofer Feld (with Margit Middelmann) and the Spreepark Art Space (with Jennifer Sréter).
A highlight of the week was participating in re:publica 2025, where the team joined panels and interactive sessions on digital culture, activism, and interdisciplinary collaboration. At the youth conference TINCON, the team around Evanthia facilitated the workshop “The Butterfly Effect”, a symbolic and participatory activity combining origami with dialogue around biodiversity, gender justice, and chaos theory.
👉 Read more about their exchange here.
THE HEART OF CHANGE FESTIVAL @ PLEX
On May 31st, the PLEX pilot site in Athens transformed into a vibrant hub of creativity during the HeART of Change Festival, organized by The Boat Collective. This free, one-day event invited the community to immerse themselves in music, movement, and artistic expression within the dynamic space of PLEX. 🌎 🤸
Attendees experienced a rich tapestry of performances, workshops, and interactiveinstallations, all designed to foster connection and celebrate creativity and community. The festival exemplified PLEX’s mission to reimagine urban spaces through cultural engagement and civic action – one of the core principles of the Future Divercities project. Events like HeART of Change underscore the potential of collaborative art initiatives to invigorate our cities and communities. It was a truly lovely moment we shared together!
👉 Find more impressions of the event here.
CYCLE OF WEBINARS ON PRACTICE AND KNOWLEDGE SHARING
Join us for our fifth session of the Cycle of Webinars on Practice and Knowledge Sharing by Lama!
📅🕒 18 June | 13:00 CET.
This session will pose questions of shaping, nurturing, and keeping evidence of collective storytelling. The guest speakers will discuss the role of collective narratives in community identity and explore elements critical in bringing social justice to the center of art practices. 🌀🗣️
Speakers: Primavera Gomes Caldas, Felipe Duarte, Agnese Banti
👉 Click here to subscribe.
👉 Click here to watch the previous session.
Future DiverCities in Timișoara is in full bloom!
“We can observe how nature is gradually embracing the structure, integrating it into the landscape. Grass has started to creep through the brick slabs, filling the gaps, while the green oasis inside evolves into a form of controlled wilderness. The primary material, wood, has already begun to age beautifully under the influence of the weather, blending more and more seamlessly into the surroundings. Users adapt the space based on their specific needs, supporting a fluid and responsive dynamic that caters to the moment.”
Recent Activities at GreenFeel – the learning Pavilion
At GreenFeel – the learning pavilion – nature and community continue to shape one another. Grass peeks through the brick slabs, wood ages gracefully, and the space transforms with each user’s touch. This spring, 20 young participants tasted honey 🍯 with beekeeper Luci and learned the secrets of bee life 🐝
A second session featured architect Diana Giurea, the designer of the pavilion. She led a discussion on bringing a project to life: From the initial creative design process to implementation, including how to navigate unexpected challenges along the way. This holistic perspective was then put into practice by the volunteers through a hands-on workshop, where they designed and created a resting spot for the pavilion.The session engaged 20 young participants, who actively contributed with ideas and practical work, transforming the theoretical approach into a tangible community improvement.
👉 For more details about the project click here.
Ongoing Engagement
Lucian, the most frequent user of the space, has resumed his spring workshops, aimed at schoolchildren and bee enthusiasts. So far, there have been 8 sessions, with over 200 participants introduced to the captivating world of bees.
👉 For more information about beekeeping activities, you can visit the GreenFeel website.
Now, this spirit expands into ZUMZET at the former Zoo Garden: a mobile, green classroom built with 35 young volunteers, blending impermanence, biodiversity 🌳, and bold imagination into a new educational platform.
A DIMORA 2025: THIRD EDITION KICKS OFF!
The artist residency A dimora, is launching its third edition!
Promoted and curated by LAMA Impresa Sociale, the residency will take place this summer in the town of Londa, Tuscany, and will host five selected artists.
Following the Open Call and over 160 applications, a jury of artists, curators, and cultural practitioners has selected:
Andrea Grasselli
Chiara Gambirasio
Gaia Coals
Martina Cioffi
Samuel Rosi (Muz)
The residency officially kicked off on the 3rd and 4th of June.
This year A dimora will contribute with public programme activities within the framework of the “Montagna Fiorentina” Festival, which will take place in Londa from the 11th to the 16th of June and in San Godenzo from the 14th to the 20th of July.
👉 Find out more about the festival here.
👉 Find out more about the residency’s contribution here.
The A dimora residency invites artists to explore the unique relationship between community, landscape, and identity. It aims to spark meaningful dialogue through listening and creative engagement with some of the most relevant themes that shape the local area and its people.
Public Presentation: The River.Narratives
Public Art Lab presents The River.Narratives with the River Communities of the Elbe in Wittenberge
📅🕒 14 June | 10 am – 2 pm CET at Stätte der Sportjugend Wittenberge.
Through sensitive field mappings and solar boat trips, artists and students from the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam and the University for Sustainable Development Eberswalde have engaged in a dialogue with the Elbe River — exploring its myths and legends, bridges and boundaries, the changing scent of the Elbe, migrating crabs and the riverbed as an archive — from April to June 2025.
How might the river and its ecosystems communicate with us? What stories would they tell?
Taking an interdisciplinary approach that combines ecology, participation, art and design, the project explores ideas for the sustainable development of the Elbe and its surrounding landscapes:
The Chinese Mitten Crab | Die Wollhandkrabbe
by Max Bauch, Cornelius Cress, Evelyn Kalis, Karl Felix Kuhlmann
Elbe Haze | Elbe Dunst
by Sophie Dittmar, Nefeli Kordela, Nikolas Riederer, Jette Wendt
Bridges and Borders | Brücken und Grenzenrer,
by Katharina Conradt, Anna Nold, Paul Labdezki, Elisa Spikker
Myths | Mythen
by Henrike Bullmann, Serani Muthunayake, Hannah Schröter, Hagen Weyer
Riverbed | Flussbett
by Lidia Ekimova, Clara Sophie Meis, Elisa Matthewes, Clara Reuter
👉 Find further information about the presentation here.
NEWS FROM LIEPAJA!
🎨🌿 Artists have landed in Karosta!
From May 27 to June 9, six multimedia artists are immersing themselves in the unique ecosystems of Karosta as part of the Future DiverCities project. To kick off the residency, biologist Ieva Roze guided the artists through Karosta’s diverse biotopes, offering an introduction to its unique ecological landscape. Working closely with the rhythms of nature and insights from the local community, they’re crafting site-specific works that explore lichens’ symbiotic wonders, the mythologies of wind, the hidden language of scents, and the vibrant life of local flora and fauna.
From biodegradable illustrations to poetic reflections and sonic experiments, the residency brings together a rich mix of practices led by artists from Latvia, Lithuania, and beyond. Each artist is developing their work in dialogue with a specific group—whether through deep-sea storytelling sessions with students from Divers School, visits to the local parish and church, or shared creative explorations throughout the neighborhood. A public presentation was held on Sunday, June 8, where Karosta’s landscapes and stories will unfold through art, scent, sound, and imagination. 🌬️🗺️
Multimedia artworks by:
Lithuanian artist Aiste Ambrazevičiūte, who explores the striking forms of lichens and their symbiotic relationships with other species
Sound artist Juan Duarte Regino, who explores the mythology and physics of wind and weather
Artist and music critic Sandris Mūriņš, who will work with local residents to create a scent map of Karosta;
Illustrator Kristine Martinova, who will study the plants and animals of the area, creating large-scale illustrations in a unique, biodegradable technique
Poet and media artist Diana Lelis, who will act as a mentor and create her own poetic study on the ecosystem services of inspiration and recreation
Local media artist and curator Anna Priedola, who will explore the potential of ecosystem disturbances to create new ecosystem services
👉 Find the full article here.
Below, two glimpses of the sound walk and listening session with sound artist Juan Duarte Regino! 🎤🌬️ (Photo Credits: Ritvars Sproģis)
👉 You can access more photos of the walk here.
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Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or Creative Europe. Neither the European Union nor Creative Europe can be held responsible for them.
