The Social Space of Cultural Resilience is both a process and a set of practices in which art and culture become tools for strengthening social resilience. Built on an ethics of care, the project is oriented towards supporting relationships, counteracting burnout, systemic actions in the area of safe spaces, and the development of collective practices – all with the perspective of building a true community. The integration of art, curatorial practice, and interdisciplinary academic research supports the creation of a flexible model of the Social Space.
In 2025, we are developing this process through consultations and substantive meetings with partners and experts. We are working in partnership with the Cluj Cultural Centre (Cluj-Napoca, Romania) within the framework of the Re:Form. Experimental programme for rethinking work. We are also partners of Namur 2030 (Belgium) in the Fragilities project. We are preparing the first networking seminar with the participation of Polish artists and researchers, including Katarzyna Kania and Marta Wołowiec. In 2025, we held several co-creation sessions with experts, including Elvira Rilova (curator, ECoC consultant for Las Palmas 2031), Rarița Zbranca (Programme Director of the Cluj Cultural Centre, researcher at Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj, participant of the European Research and Innovation Day 2025), and Katarzyna Zielińska (Co-Director of zusa gGmbH, focusing on supporting mental health). Representatives of the Lublin 2029 team participated in international seminars and congresses such as the Resistant and Resilient Congress. We are in ongoing consultations with European Capitals of Culture and candidate cities (including Oulu, Bourges, Budějovice, Tartu, Leuven, Lviv, Molenbeek, Wrocław, Skopje, Leeuwarden) on issues of sustainable organisational structures, combating inequalities in cultural work, and democratising the ECoC process. We conduct in-depth conversations about how cultural teams and organisations can build resilience, agency, and support networks.
The project grows from the belief that lasting social resilience is born from practices of cooperation and care. That is why we are creating a space for the exchange of experiences between artists, researchers, and activists, while also amplifying the voice of cultural workers through dialogue with watchdog organisations concerned with labour rights and independent initiatives to improve working conditions in culture. The Social Space of Cultural Resilience is an open laboratory – a process based on relationships and experimentation with new models of work, where art becomes a field for testing community practices and, at the same time, a tool for systemic change.
