Two days of connection, knowledge exchange and creative planning marked a fresh beginning for the EU Creative Europe platform Magic Carpets. Between 27–28 March 2025, the Kick-off Meeting for Members and Associated Partners of the platform took place in Kaunas, Lithuania.
Two new organisations were warmly welcomed to Magic Carpets in 2025: Budweis – European Capital of Culture 2028 (Budweis, Czech Republic) and Centre Claude Cahun (Nantes, France).
We were also pleased to be joined by another Creative Europe platform – IN SITU – represented by Coordinator Rosalie Gonzalez. Discussions focused on potential collaboration between the two platforms, sharing good practices and supporting one another in navigating the residency processes.
The meeting programme, held at Kaunas Artists’ House, was filled with inspiring discussions and workshop sessions led by facilitator Latica Mladina. Key topics included revisiting Magic Carpets’ mission, vision and values for the new cycle; implementing the four cross-cutting priorities – Empowering Communities to Act for Change, Health and Well-being, Gender Equality and Social Inclusion, and Greening/Sustainability; and defining the platform’s outputs and legacy by setting goals for the next four years. Working groups formed during the meeting will continue developing ideas and initiatives based on these themes.
In addition to practical sessions on administration, finances and communications, the Research Team – Elma Paulauskaitė, Emilė Stuglytė, Ugnė Pavlovaitė and Aaron Kopp – introduced the co-creating research framework, including its aims, guiding questions and methodological approach.
To celebrate the launch of the 2025–2028 financial cycle of Magic Carpets, the film Birth of a Superorganism by videographer Mindaugas Drigotas was screened. Superorganism was the title of the final event of the previous platform cycle – an international exhibition, symposium and storybook. Mr M. Drigotas followed the team of emerging curators over a 17-month period, capturing behind-the-scenes moments and emotional experiences leading up to the event in Tartu – European Capital of Culture 2024.
To conclude the Kick-off Meeting, Kaunas Biennial sought to showcase the city’s vibrant cultural life to its international guests. Partners were invited on a curated tour that began with the exhibition From Amber to the Stars. Together with M. K. Čiurlionis: Now and Then at the National M. K. Čiurlionis Museum of Art. The programme continued with visits to several exhibitions at Meno parkas gallery, including Route 66 by Aleksas Andriuškevičius, The Light That Grows by Aušra Kaziliūnaitė, and Sensing Takes Time by Laura Matukonytė and Emilija Višinskaitė. The guests also enjoyed a visit to the Kaunas City Museum’s permanent exhibition, which presents the city’s history, people, nature and contemporary life.
Led by Kaunas Biennial (Lithuania), the platform includes Members: Budweis – European Capital of Culture 2028 (Budweis, Czech Republic), IDEIAS EMERGENTES – Produção Cultural, CRL (Porto (Guimarães), Portugal), Jam Factory Art Centre (Lviv, Ukraine), Lab852 d.o.o. za promidžbu (Zagreb, Croatia), Latitudo Srl (Rome, Italy), META Cultural Foundation (Bucharest (Slon), Romania), New Theatre Institute of Latvia (Riga, Latvia), Novo Kulturno Naselje (Novi Sad, Serbia), OPENART, Örebro Kommun (Örebro, Sweden), Openspace.Innsbruck (Innsbruck, Austria), Tbilisi International Photo Festival (Tbilisi, Georgia), Unfinished Foundation (Gzira, Malta), Wroclaw Institute of Culture (Wroclaw, Poland). Associated Partners: Centre Claude Cahun (Nantes, France), Diyalog Derneği (Istanbul, Turkey), Folkestone Fringe (Folkestone, United Kingdom).
This project is co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union. In Lithuania, the project is financed by the Lithuanian Culture Institute.