Kaunas Biennial – the Coordinating Entity for the Creative Europe platform Magic Carpets – hosted the first Emerging Curators’ Capacity Building Programme for the platform’s new financial cycle 2025–2028.
Over two days – 25–26 March 2025 – a programme led by NGO Fluxus Labas aimed to help curators develop and deepen their knowledge and skills in working in a socially responsible, collaborative, inclusive and co-creative way, with a stronger emphasis on accessibility.
The programme began with presentations by Emerging Curators’ Capacity Building Programme Coordinator Austėja Bliumkytė-Padgurskienė and Residency Coordinator Brigita Bareikytė. Ms B. Bareikytė provided an overview of the Magic Carpets residencies, the curators’ checklist, and the formation of working groups for toolkits (Access Rider, Equal Opportunities, Health and Well-being, Community Inclusion and Co-creation).
The programme continued with a storytelling workshop led by storytelling coach, curator and producer Milda Varnauskaitė. Workshops by the Fluxus Labas team followed, covering topics such as: “Step-by-step residency implementation”, “Residency changes to implement”, and “What kind of curator do I want to be after the 2025–2028 cycle?”
An evaluation and reflection session with Lithuanian sound artist Marius Paulikas concluded the intensive two-day learning and sharing programme. Curators had the opportunity to reflect on their experience by recording the sounds around Kaunas that captured their mood for the occasion.
“The programme for the first meeting of this cycle was designed to go deeper into topics that are important for curators in the implementation of the residencies – and that have been less explored in previous meetings. We focused on story construction in the storytelling workshop, invited artists to participate in a joint discussion with the curators, and took part in an experiential excursion to better understand the experiences of visually impaired people in exhibitions. The most memorable aspects for the guests were the storytelling workshops by Milda Varnauskaitė and the creation of a soundscape as a reflection with artist Marius Paulikas. Guests and artists alike appreciated the warm and democratic atmosphere of the meeting, the strong sense of community and the openness to raise questions,” stated Emerging Curators’ Capacity Building Programme Coordinator Austėja Bliumkytė-Padgurskienė.
The artistic programme included an experiential tour at the Kaunas Picture Gallery, led by Head of Exhibitions Vaiva Mikelionytė and Social and Cultural Projects Curator Rūta Klevaitė. The experience, designed for blind visitors, moved many participants and showcased a strong example of accessible creativity in public space.
A dinner with the Ukrainian community and textile artist Rasma Noreikytė – a local artist in residence in Kaunas in 2024 – was also warmly welcomed by the guests.
The next host of the Emerging Curators’ Capacity Building Programme will be announced in due course.
This project is co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union. Local partners in Kaunas: Fluxus Labas, Kaunas Artists’ House, Kaunas Picture Gallery. The project in Lithuania is financed by the Lithuanian Culture Institute.