On 27 and 28 September 2022, a series of conferences will present the results of the state research programme project "Cultural capital as a resource for sustainable development of Latvia" / CARD.  The two-year programme has involved almost a hundred researchers of Latvian culture and arts, doctoral students and other students from three culture and arts universities, the Latvian Academy of Culture (LAC, the leading partner of the programme), Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music (JVLAM) and the Art Academy of Latvia (AAL), as well as scholars from the National Library of Latvia (NLL) and the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art of the University of Latvia (ILFA).

The closing conference series of the project CARD will open at 10 a.m., 27 September, at Ziedonis Hall, the National Library of Latvia. During the first conference of the series, researchers will present the main results of the two-year project and outline the perspectives for further research. It was the first time when culture and arts research institutions collaborated in a research project funded by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia (MC), and consolidating inter-institutional collaboration is one of the most important contributions of the project. The programme has produced academic results – academic papers, monographs and research conferences – and a practical impact on the culture and arts sector – policy recommendations and research data reports, discussions, seminars and summer schools for sector professionals and students.

Project leader Rūta Muktupāvela, rector of LAC, emphasizes it was important for project implementers to have a modern vision of culture, namely, to consider not only its emotional and aesthetic aspects but also to assess its economic, political and social potential: “It was essential to identify the role and relevance of all the stakeholders involved in cultural processes – creative personalities, communities, cultural organizations, non-governmental organizations and municipalities – in all the three dimensions – past, present and future – marking the weak and strong points, identifying the cultural capital which will help our country to exist, develop and grow and areas where to invest public funding so that cultural resources in various spheres – music, audio-visual art and cinema, architecture, visual art and design, theatre and dance, cultural heritage and the history and theory of the arts – are managed pragmatically and purposefully not intuitively and sporadically.”

On the second day, 28 September, four parallel conferences will present research carried out in six work packages:

• Conference “Seeking and expanding boundaries: a close-up exploration of artistic creativity” will actualize the relevance of researching the history of artistic creativity generating new knowledge about the history of Latvian culture and art. Conference venue: LAC Theatre House “Zirgu pasts” (Dzirnavu Street 46), from 9 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.
• Conference “Applying cultural heritage: tools, methods, practices” will focus on the memory institutions as a cultural capital resource and participatory practices of society and heritage communities. Conference venue: Building 2 of the Art Academy of Latvia (Kalpaka Boulevard 14), from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Conference “Methods and models of art and research” will present the experience of artistic creation gained by the doctoral students of the LAC, JVLAM and LAA joined professional doctoral study programme “Arts” working with innovative forms of interaction between art and research. Conference venue: Room 2, the Art Academy of Latvia (Kalpaka Boulevard 14), from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Conference “The cultural and creative sector ecosystem” will bring together papers and discussions focusing on the current cultural processes, identifying and mapping the groups of operators of the cultural ad creative sector ecosystem in Latvia and their interactions. The participants will also speak about the impact and transfer effects of the cultural and creative sector. Conference venue: Great Hall of the Latvian Academy of Culture (Ludzas Street 24) from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The conference will take place in person and will be streamed on the CARD Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/projektscard. Free in-person conference attendance! The conference will be held in Latvian.

The conference is organized and the conference materials are prepared within the framework of the state research programme of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia “Latvian culture – a resource for the national development” (2020–2022). The state research programme is administered by the Latvian Council of Science.

The aim of the state research programme project “Cultural capital as a resource for sustainable development of Latvia”/ CARD (No VPP-KM-LKRVA-2020/1-0003) is to build an interdisciplinary basis of human capital and knowledge about the variety and value of cultural capital and processes ensuring viability of the cultural sector ecosystem as a resource for sustainable development of Latvia. For more information see: https://lka.edu.lv/lv/petnieciba/petijumu-projekti/valsts-petijumu-programmas/kulturas-kapitals-ka-resurss-latvijas-ilgtspejigai-attistibaic/     

For project news see: https://www.facebook.com/projektscard