In March 2026, we took part in the Creative FLIP - Ambassadors of Good Practise in Non-Urban Areas as visitors, hosted by the Anykščiai Art Incubator in Lithuania. Before arriving in the small town of Anykščiai, we took a couple of days for a soft landing in Vilnius, visiting a selection of art institutions and smaller galleries to get a first feeling of our new context.
A soft landing in Vilnius before heading to Anykščiai
Then we took the bus to Anykščiai -just as the winter snow was slowly melting away, where we found the Incubator and its team actively programming the new season. We got to share our respective projects & challenges, joined the daily coffee meetings of the team and did study visits to friend organisations of the Incubator, seeing in presence how a cultural landscape is formed in such a place. We also met with the artists working in the premises of the Incubator, walked next to Šventoji river, and got to drink maple water (sula) as harvested from a nearby tree.
What stayed with us most wasn’t only how a different cultural organisation functions in a non-urban area, but also how a whole territory can intentionally reshape -or rediscover- its identity in a way that is more human and more valuable in the long term.
From our days in Anykščiai
Back in Corfu, this exchange reopened reflections on how cultural spaces can contribute to redefining territories shaped by tourism and consumption, and how craft, art and heritage can become living contemporary practices rather than backdrops. We are grateful for the conversations, the professional insights and for waking up daily in a snowy landscape.
The exchange was funded by the European Union and implemented by Goethe-Institut Brussels.
@creativeflip.eu
@creativehubsnet
@goetheinstitut_belgien
@menu.inkubatorius
The exchange was funded by the European Union and implemented by Goethe-Institut Brussels.
@creativeflip.eu
@creativehubsnet
@goetheinstitut_belgien
@menu.inkubatorius