The 16th conference of the Culture Next network was held in Larnaka, Cyprus. Lviv is now a member of this network, and Ukraine was represented at the event by Yuliia Khomchyn, Director of the Cultural Strategy Institute.
The focus of this year’s edition of the conference is empowering the cultural and creative sectors. From 6 to 8 May, representatives from around 50 European cities, as well as the cultural and creative sectors, explored sustainable governance models for cultural ecosystems, capacity building, international networking, and challenges faced by artists, particularly during wartime.
As the lead of Lviv’s bid for the title of European Capital of Culture 2030, Yuliia shared how important this experience has been for the city — in developing ideas, bringing together cultural actors, and building partnerships. Lviv proposed a view of culture as a space of witnessing and memory, care and safety, social cohesion and communication with the world.
The director of the CSI explained what culture and creativity mean in times of war. As an example, she mentioned Zhanna Kadyrova’s sculpture “Origami Deer”, which is currently representing Ukraine at the Venice Biennale: it was created for Pokrovsk (Donetsk Region), but was evacuated from there due to Russian aggression — and now travels the world as the witnessing of war.
This visit to the conference was made possible by a travel grant from the Razom for Ukraine Foundation.
The event was organised by Culture Next in collaboration with Larnaka 2030 European Capital of Culture.
Culture Next is a network for mutual support and cooperation between European cities, current or former candidates for the European Capital of Culture title. Its mission is to support the member cities to implement culture-led urban development programmes and policies.
Larnaka, Cyprus’s third-largest city, aims to become a major cultural hub under the EСoC programme and to work towards fostering a sense of community, inclusivity and cultural democracy.
Photo: Culture Next.