Neringa Forest Architecture Tours start again!
- Published on Monday, 03 May 2021 12:59
Neringa Forest Architecture Tours with Anton Shramkov in October 2020. Photo by Skaistė Marčienė.
In collaboration with Nida Culture and Tourist Information Centre “Agila” and the Curonian Spit National Park, Nida Art Colony (NAC) resumesNeringa Forest Architecture Tours that NAC started in October 2020.
As discussions around human intervention and activities in the natural landscape are gaining increasing significance, NAC initiated a new research and residency programme entitled Neringa Forest Architecture. The project positions the Curonian forest as an experimental case study; an opportunity for participants to analyse the broader scope of the forest-as-infrastructure concept, including topics such as growth, transformation, policy making, management, technology, art and design in the Baltic-Scandinavian region.
As a part of the programme, NAC is facilitating a series of guided tours. Using the onsite woodshed as a literal and figurative departure point (the shed houses Neringa’s timber and is itself an object and location made using local wood), this series of walking expeditions is designed to cultivate inquiry and discussion about the unique juncture between ecological, political/managerial, recreational and industrial narratives associated with the Curonian woods, landscape and the built environment.
Guided by forestry and national park experts, and architects living and working in the Curonian Spit, Neringa Forest Architecture Tours facilitate conversation, exploration and education. The excursions, while an opportunity to observe the unique qualities of the Neringa Forest, are also a chance to engage in critical dialogue with professionals while traversing shifting geographical landscapes. Discussions will focus on the Curonian forest and its distinct eco-socio-political features, including the complex legal and managerial processes behind its picturesque façade: How were the forests of Neringa planted? Why does the Neringa Forest and its pathways look this way? Why do trees need to be cut down? How does the local (human and animal) community participate in the making of Neringa Forest? What state and civic agencies and institutions are responsible for shaping it? What architecture is envisaged but currently not built? What do people in Neringa desire most in terms of infrastructure and why can it not be realised?
Upcoming tours in May:
Saturday, 8 May 2021, 11 am: During the tour Everything Started with the Ancient Forest, the long-time Nida forester Gediminas Virgilijus Dikšas will tell us about the shift and growth of Neringa forests over centuries to this day. Dikšas was born in Biržai and grew up in Klaipėda. After graduating from Kaunas Agriculture Academy, he was assigned to work in Nida. Dikšas has been living in Nida for almost 50 years now - since the 1970s.
Saturday, 15 May 2021, 11 am: During the tour On Forest Paths, Gražina Žemaitienė will introduce us to the old forest paths and their titles, as well as the origin of these given names. Born in Šilutė, Žemaitienė studied at Kaunas University of Technology and moved to Neringa in 1989. Žemaitienė’s areas of work encompass the planning and realisation of landscape projects in the Curonian Spit and recreational objects in the forest as well as urban areas, and preventive work for visitors of the Curonian Spit.
Saturday, 22 May 2021, 11 am: In his tour Meeting or dialogue places, architect and educator Anton Shramkov will overview and discuss the typology of existing meeting places and attraction spaces in Neringa. The tour will focus on aspects of how and why we use and exploit public spaces. Shramkov was born in Moscow and graduated in architecture from the Moscow Institute of Architecture. He worked as a lecturer in Russia and Sweden. He has been living in Preila since 2007.
Saturday, 29 May 2021, 11 am: Architect and educator Anton Shramkov will guide a tour What is hidden under our feet or what are our resources in Neringa?. It is an introduction and comparison of the usage of previous and current local resources and raw materials in architecture, construction and the daily life of a Curonian Spit inhabitant.
The excursions are free of charge but with a limited number of places available. Prior registration is necessary by email
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or phone +370 600 39972.
NAC urges all visitors to be mindful of the current protective measures against the spreading of Covid-19: we kindly ask you to wear appropriate face coverings and keep a safe distance from other participants.
Neringa Forest Architecture is co-funded by NERINGA Lithuanian Capital of Culture 2021, the Lithuanian Council for Culture and Nordic Culture Point.
For more information please contact:
Skaistė Marčienė
Residency Curator
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+370 600 39 972