On May 13, 2025, the final session of the mini-project “The Other in Art and Life” took place at the Rothko Museum and was envisaged for young students from Daugavpils schools. The event was organized as part of the Horizon Europe program’s project “The Cultural Literacies’ Value in Europe” (CLiViE) with the aim of developing young people’s cultural awareness, creative self-expression, and critical thinking skills. The workshop took place in collaboration with the Rothko Museum and was attended by young people from the Art Education Competence Centre “Daugavpils Design and Art Secondary School “Saules skola”, Daugavpils State Gymnasium, Daugavpils Science Secondary School, and Daugavpils Secondary School-Lyceum of Technology. The workshop was supported and observed by artists from the Rothko Museum, teachers of cultural studies from the participating schools, career counsellors, and school administrators.

At the beginning of the workshop, Alīna Romanovska, the CLiViE Project Leader at Daugavpils University, reminded the young participants about the research conducted within the mini-project “The Other in Art and Life”. She emphasized the importance of cultural literacy and cultural education in promoting social cohesion, as well as the significance of young people’s opinions and active participation in ensuring the quality of the research. The attending students, teachers, artists, and school administrators listened with interest to her report on the progress of the project, the challenges faced during the research, and its importance in fostering cultural literacy across Europe.

The practical part of the workshop was led by Mairita Folkmane, the education programme curator at the Rothko Museum. She divided the young participants into teams and invited them to create a unique “pizza”, where each student marked and designed their own distinctive slice by using colours and various materials. Each slice encoded one value they had gained during the course of the mini-project. Through that creative task, the students tried to evaluate their participation in the activities and visually express their emotional response to the activities offered during the project. At the end, the teams had the opportunity to present their collaborative works and submit them for the inclusion in a joint youth exhibition, which will be on display during the events organized in the framework of the Night of Museum 2025. In the conclusion, the young participants received certificates for attending the non-formal educational activities, while the school administrators and teachers were given letters of appreciation for their support in implementing the project.

To evaluate the effectiveness of art-based education and determine its benefits and economic impact, the Horizon Europe project “The Cultural Literacies’ Value in Europe” envisages implementing four mini-projects. Within these projects, researchers from Daugavpils University will collaborate with both formal and non-formal educational institutions and the project’s official partners from European universities and cultural institutions. The cooperation with the cultural industry adds significant value to the project, while the involvement of children and young people in its activities enhances their cultural literacy, personal development, and positive participation in society. Additionally, the project promotes tolerance, equality, and inclusion within both the Latvian and European cultural space.

Project homepage: https://www.clivieproject.eu  

The project is supported by the European Union’s “Horizon Europe” Research and Innovation programme under the grant agreement No. 101132285.

Further information:
Associate Professor and Senior Researcher at Daugavpils University Alīna Romanovska
alina.romanovska@du.lv