Rapid development of new media, economic impact of blockchain technology, climate change, gender equality, the state of European democracy. Young people and young adults are living in extremely dynamic times.
Five art institutions from five European cities decided to give them a voice and listen to their ideas for a more friendly and sustainable future for Europe. ŁAŹNIA is also taking part in the Augmented Europe (Auge) project.
Auge is a project that aims to involve young people across Europe in shaping the future for our continent through digital media. The project encourages young participants to formulate ideas, transform their visions and dreams into ‘real’ steps that determine the way we live together. Young individuals receive support during the process from artists and experts often being also activists.
During Artathons, five cities joined forces to develop ideas and projects addressing five challenges through transnational participatory events:
- Milan: Media literacy and digital awareness
- Barcelona: Gender diversity and inclusion
- Berlin: Climate change and space colonization
- Riga: Blockchain and future economies
- Gdansk: Democracy and public health
In October 2023, the Artathon Gdańsk event was held. It featured five groups of young people who were supported by professional facilitators, experts, and artists. Together, they worked on a report that focused on the state of contemporary democracy, as well as the opportunities and threats presented by technological developments. Participants together with their peers from Italy, Germany, Spain and Latvia came together to listen to lectures from renowned artist Filip Ignatowicz on "The Performatics of the Internet in the Context of Artivism and the Democratisation of Art," and scientist Magdalena Żadkowska on "Challenges for Young Europeans - can we speak of a homogeneous generation?".
After each Artathon, manifestos are created to describe the course of activities, challenges tackled, and proposed solutions to the problems. These manifestos, which include the one on democracy and public health in Gdańsk, can be found on AugE. You can access them by clicking on the respective city.
There will be an international meeting on April 11 in the metaverse, which will include all participating cities. The purpose of this meeting is to share the results of the Artathons and to start co-creating the final event in Milan this May with the help of digital artists. Information on calls for meetings will be available soon at AugE.
AugE | Augmented Europe is a project funded by the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV). Project partners: MEET Digital Culture Center (Milan), Public Art Lab (Berlin), RIXC Center for New Media Culture (Riga), Espronceda Institute of Art & Culture (Barcelona), ŁAŹNIA Centre for Contemporary Art (Gdańsk).