Latgale-focused artistic research and cultural exchange platform MUD LAB welcomes you to the cross-disciplinary event PHYSICAL BORDER, taking place in Līvāni on June 19th, occurring across two primary venues: the Kvartāls multifunctional Youth Centre football field and the Līvāni train station. The event, which includes both local and international voices, aims to bring attention to Latvia’s eastern border and the surrounding region through art, culture, and an open discussion on what borders mean for us.
The events of the day will begin at 6.45 at the football field of the multifunctional youth initiative center Kvartāls, where we will watch the first of two performances by Emīls Jansons and Bruno Tankelsons, which will be synchronised will start 15 minutes before Rīga train arrivals and departures (7.00 and 18.35). The performances by Emīls and Bruno will transform the rhythm of transit into a poetic act of connection and will serve as a point of reflection on the primary route of connection between Līvāni, a vibrant town of 7,000, with Latvia’s capital city.
After the morning performance we will walk together to the Kvartāls multifunctional Youth Centre, where Latgale native and MUD LAB co-founder Kristaps Ancāns (MUD LAB, Art Academy of Latvia), and Katie Zazenski (MUD LAB, MOST Magazine, FRINGE Warszawa) will facilitate a conversation over Initiative: Breakfast, reflecting on the morning experience of art as a tool for connection, considering: what do young Latgalians need, culturally-speaking, to feel visible and connected? And, what role does art and culture play in everyday life in the region and how can it be used as a tool for connection and communication (locally, regionally, and beyond), and for advocacy and solidarity?
In the afternoon, following the 18.35 train arrivals from Rīga and second performance by Emīls and Bruno, we will hold a public discussion at the Līvāni train station focusing on contemporary border dynamics, cultural resilience, and the role of art in times of crisis. Moderated by Kristaps Ancāns and Katya Golubkova (MUD LAB, international business journalist and editor), the panel includes guests such as Aušra Trakšelytė (project curator at Lithuanian National Museum of Art, researcher at Vilnius Academy of Arts), Žanete Skarule (film director, curator), Katie Zazenski and Inna Plavoka (Editor-in-Chief of Chayka). A commissioned text by Dmytro Chepurnyi, Ukrainian curator and writer now serving in the Ukrainian Border Defense, will be read on his behalf. Kiryl Sukhotski, former executive editor for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and senior team lead at Voice of America, will join remotely from Washington, DC. The event will be held in English and Latvian with translation to Russian.
PHYSICAL BORDER was first introduced by MUD LAB on May 4th in Latgale, where Alyona Movko-Mägi led an AI animation workshop. And in parallel, Oto Holgers Ozoliņš conducted artistic research at the Jersika Steel Church. The outcome of these activities will be on view at the Līvāni train station on June 19th. On June 13th, Kristaps Ancāns will introduce a series of text-based works in the form of banners, installed along the outer borders of Latgale.
The event PHYSICAL BORDER is organised in collaboration with the Municipality of Līvāni, the Kvartāls multifunctional Youth Centre, and is supported by Cross regional foundation of Mid Latgale the Small Grants Programme, the Latgale Culture Programme (State Culture Capital Foundation), and the British Council.
We would also like to thank our partners for ongoing support: the Art Academy of Latvia, Vilnius Art Academy, Lakuga Latgalian Cultural News platform, MOST Magazine, and Chayka.
https://kvartals.lv/fiziska-robeza-kulturas-nozime-un-pieejamiba-latvijas-austrumu-regiona/
