News from our Twinning Program
An exchange on Common Challenges, Communities Participation and European Capitals of Culture
As part of the Future DiverCities Twinning Program, Natália Melo from _ARTERIA_LAB (Évora, Portugal) and the Municipality of Liepāja (Latvia) came together to explore shared challenges and opportunities ahead of their roles as European Capitals of Culture in 2027. The mobility program focused on community participation, cultural ecosystems, and the role of creative labs and universities in driving local change. Through meetings with local cultural actors, FabLabs, and organizations like ASTE and Liepāja 2027, the exchange laid the groundwork for future collaborations rooted in co-creation, environmental awareness, and citizen engagement.
👉 Read the full story here.
From September 11–15, [PROSTOR]’s Jasmina Saric visited A dimora, LAMA’s art residency in the Montagna Fiorentina. The exchange explored how art can regenerate spaces and strengthen community ties, emphasizing artists as key agents of social and civic transformation. Through meetings with local communities, residency artists, and cultural associations, the visit delved into site-specific creation, rural cultural ecosystems, and public space activation. The collaboration continues in November, when A dimora artist Chiara Gambirasio will be hosted in Split for a residency at [PROSTOR], further building bridgesand foserting exchange between the two contexts.
👉 Read more about the exchange here and on [PROSTOR]’s website.
In September, the pilot site PLEX welcomed architecture students Paolo, Agata, and Alessandro from the University of Milan as part of the FDC Twinning Program in Athens. During their visit, the students participated in PLEX OPEN PILOT, the first public forum that opened the PLEX project to collective discussions and reflection. They presented their academic work on PLEX, offering critical insights into architecture, community, and cultural infrastructure. Their contribution enriched discussions with local residents, artists, and cultural workers, highlighting the value of bridging academia and practice. The exchange fostered mutual learning: The students experienced participatory cultural planning in an urban context, while the BIOS Team around PLEX gained inspiring architectural perspectives to inform the project’s evolution.
Future DiverCities at ECHN Hubs Meet-Up
We’re excited to share that Future DiverCities will be part of this year’s ECHN Annual Hubs Meetupunder the title “Cultural support platforms in times of crisis. Recovery, Resilience, Resistance”, hosted by the European Creative Hubs Network!
Elisabeth Bechara from our project leader La Friche la belle de Mai will present the project, highlighting our pilot sites, recent activities, and key achievements.
The annual Hubs Meet-Up is always a great opportunity to connect with fellow cultural changemakers and share how Future DiverCities is reimagining urban creativity across Europe.
The Webinar Cycle on Practice and Knowledge Sharing continues!
Join us for our sixth session of the Cycle of Webinars on Practice and Knowledge Sharing by Lama!
📅🕒 22 October | 13:00 CET.
This session will pose questions of engaging communities through alternative data collection and visualization: How can creative data visualization methods transform traditional data into accessible, engaging narratives for diverse community audiences? What role can local cultural practices and artistic traditions play in shaping mapping and data visualization methods? How can participatory and alternative mapping empower communities to contribute actively to visualized narratives?
Speakers: Anna Priedola, Louis Eveillard, and Mihael Giba
👉 Click here to subscribe.
👉 Click here to watch the previous session on Collective Narratives and Identities.
Stay tuned—a new episode of the School of the Feral Grounds podcast series will be launching in the coming days!
Following the theme of mechanisms of protection, the upcoming episode explores how we can safeguard nature’s inherent right to exist and flourish, focusing on the legal framework of the Rights of Nature and complementary approaches that shield ecosystems from exploitation. The conversation unfolds within a vibrant landscape of translocal action, from Ecuador’s constitutional recognition of Pachamama as a legal subject to Slovenian Waters Act referendum, raising the question of which concepts can mobilize imagination and take root in practice.
👂 Click here to listen to all episodes.
👉 Click here to find out more about Trajna’s learning program and resources!
KONTEJNER is welcoming Guy Ben-Ary
KONTEJNER Presents: Bio-Sonic Performances by Guy Ben-Ary & Collaborators
KONTEJNER (Zagreb) is hosting two unique events by Australian artist and scientist Guy Ben-Aryand his team, exploring the intersection of biology, sound, and post-human performance.
Music for Surrogate Performer
A bioengineered homage to Alvin Lucier’s legendary work, using brainwaves to generate sound.
🗓️ 9 October 2025, 8 p.m.
📍 KONTEJNER, Odranska 1/1, Zagreb
♫ Find out more about the event here.
cellF – the world’s first neural synthesizer
A living neural network grown from Ben-Ary’s cells improvises live music with guest musician Pavle Jovanović.
🗓️ Performance: 11 October 2025, 8 p.m., Installation: 13–18 October 2025
🕒 Mon–Fri: 4–8 p.m. / Sat: 11 a.m.–3 p.m.
📍 KONTEJNER, Odranska 1/1, Zagreb
♫ Find out more about the event here.
PLEX OPEN PILOT 1
Exploring the Boundaries and Future Needs of Culture in Athens
On September 26th, the BIOS team hosted PLEX OPEN PILOT 1, the first public gathering shaping the future of PLEX, a new cultural space in the historic weaving factory at Kerameikou 28 and Future DiverCities pilot site in Athens. Set in the layered neighborhood of Kerameikos, the event brought together architects, cultural practitioners, and local voices to explore how the space can serve as a hub for artistic creation, community engagement, and social resilience. The day featured talks, presentations, and a screening of Raffaela, a docufiction by Ilias Maroutsis about the life of a transgender sex worker in Athens, followed by a DJ-sets.
👉 Read more about PLEX and its ambitions here.
Article about GreenFeel published!
Small Scale–Big Impact: Temporary Small-Scale Architecture as a Catalyst for Community-Driven Development of Green Urban Spaces
Diana Giurea, who designed the Timisoara pilot implemented at GreenFeel, has published an article about the architectural project. The paper explores the creative and design process in harmony with nature, highlighting how humans can perceive and experience nature through architecture. It also discusses the concept of temporary architecture and its impact on communities, showing how small-scale, sustainable interventions can foster social interaction, environmental awareness, and community-driven development.
📝 Find the full article 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.
