Agrita Ozola, Chairwoman of the Baltic Culture Fund Expert Committee:
“From 2022 to 2024, the State Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia administrates the program of the Baltic Culture Fund. Its aim is to promote cultural cooperation between the Baltic States and to strengthen the international recognition of Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian culture through joint cultural projects and events in order to achieve greater international influence.
For the 2022 competition, 24 projects were submitted for a total amount of EUR 1.218.861. The Expert Committee selected six projects, allocating the total amount of EUR 300.000 available in the program. Two projects in the visual arts field, two music projects, and one project in architecture and one in photography field were supported. All projects are aimed at promoting the international recognition of Baltic culture outside the Baltics.
Funding from the Baltic Culture Fund will ensure the participation of Baltic musicians and artists in several important European music and art festivals, as well as exhibitions in Japan and New York. The joint activities of the Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian architects' associations in developing and promoting the concept of holistic renovation of modernist buildings were also supported.
It must be admitted that most of the projects submitted to the competition were aimed at promoting professional cooperation between Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian cultural institutions and the development of a common cultural space in the Baltics, but applicants should pay more attention to the international impact of projects. The range of submitted projects shows that the cooperation between Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian cultural institutions is becoming closer, but much remains to be done to create a common vision.”
Following projects were supported in the Baltic Culture Fund program in 2022:
(Name of the project, sum allocated, project applicant, project coordinator,
field)
1) “Betweenness: Technoculture & The Baltics”; EUR 70000; KIM?, biedrība; Evita Goze (visual arts);
2) “Baltic Music Presentation in European Festivals”; EUR
65000; Lithuanian Composers Union; Mykolas Natalevičius (music);
3) “Baltic Focus on MENT 2023”; EUR 45000; Latvijas Mūzikas
attīstības biedrība/ Latvijas Mūzikas eksports; Agnese Cimuška-Rekke (music);
4) “Holistic renovation of modernism housing”; EUR 30000;
Architects Association of Lithuania; Ruta Leitanaite (architecture);
5) “Baltic Glass artists in the spotlight at the European Glass Festival”; EUR 45000; Agijas Sūnas mākslas galerija "A LA PRIMA", SIA; Marta Ģibiete (visual arts);
6) “Human Baltic”; EUR 45000; Vsl Kulturines ir organizacines
idejos’; Sergej Grigorjev (visual arts).
Commission of experts 2022: Agrita Ozola (chairwoman), Ana Ablamova, Jānis Dripe, Kai Lobjakas, Ragnar Siil, Dovile Tumpyte.
The Fund is administrated by national cultural endowments on a three-year
rotation basis. The last application round was open from January 3rd
to February 22nd 2022 and is hosted by the Latvian State Culture
Capital Foundation (Valsts kultūrkapitāla fonds)
Next application round: January 3, 2023 - February 22, 2023.