Domeikava | Contemporary Neighborhood
Domeikava has joined the project of “Contemporary neighbourhoods” in 2020. This Kaunas district locality is distinguished for its close neighbourship to the city with it‘s even more diverse and bountiful spectrum of cultural services, big numbers of new settlers and rapid urbanisation. Hence it also faces a lack of participatory culture, it is more difficult to include the community and encourage the discovery of its distinctive local heritage and identity.
In an attempt to organize activities gathering the community, it was chosen to execute live action, role-playing and orientation games plan through which it is sought to create a gamified live discovery and experience platform of the Contemporary Neighbourhood Domeikava before 2022. The platform is used as the base to unite the community and involve external partners. There are no passive observers: everyone included becomes an active participant or organiser (game creator), or a player. It is believed that a game is one of the most universal and neutral ways to involve the community regardless of the age and social class.
The neighbourhood has preserved heritage objects from different times periods that are closely related to the common history with Kaunas or Lithuania, a distinctive spirit of patriotism. The gamified live discovery platform that is being created with the help of the local inhabitants and resources as well as external partners is also linked to the public spaces and heritage objects within the neighbourhood. By these means it is sought to give meaning to the memory of the historical past, use it while forming the contemporary identity, use creatively the resources at hand, involve and interest as diverse and big audience as possible, encourage to be proud of their locality. Our goal is communication, movement and creation of a new contemporary event.
“What is Domeikava like? To me it is a new mold that has been molded over the time. Domeikava’s new districts can be seen off the highway. Some former gardeners associations are becoming residential areas as well and the significance of gardens itself is diminishing. Many of the people that move in here take loans, work a lot and come to Domeikava just to sleep. We strive to involved these people as well in addition to the old inhabitants of Domeikava. The newcomers are invited to participate in the game and the oldsettlers to take roles of the game in the orientation game checkpoints” shared her insights the Domeikava leisure hall cultural events organiser Žaneta Jankauskaitė.
Every autumn, in September, Domeikava contemporary neighbourhood project executives together with the partners invite not only the inhabitants of the neighbourhood but also people from all over to come to the big event of the year – the orientation role playing game that takes place in pseudo historical and fantasy Domeikava. During the game the existing reality intertwines with the fantastical history. Most of the game locations are venus important to the neighbourhood, historical venues or historical sites where one can meet its acquaintances or fictional inhabitants of this place hence the game links an intriguing story, real and fictional stories, and last but not least creates links within the local community.
Throughout the year other smaller events and activities are organised as well and their goal is to give meaning to and preserve the distinctive historical memory of the place, use it while forming the contemporary identity, creatively use the resources at hand, interest and involve an as diverse and big audience as possible as well as encourage the locals to be proud of the place they live in. The chosen game format helps to show the visiting sites, history and the creativity of the inhabitants in their best light. For example, during the quarantine period a virtual interactive game version was successfully carried out on the social network “Facebook” – “Doctor Stephen’s notes” (a link to the virtual interactive game version on “Facebook” social network can be found here). Where will the story go to and how will it continue within the game depended only on the votes of the people.
The project of “Contemporary Neighbourhoods” in Domeikava neighbourhood is carried out by Domeikava culture center, “Kaunas 2022”, “Carpe Noctem” team that coordinates the game, local culture and community leaders.
Brieft statistics. The processes that took place in Domeikava in 2020 involved 20 partners, 2 events and 23 activities were organised. 77 people have participated within them and 180 spectators have participated within those events and activities. 4 professionals have participated in the creative processes and shared as well as executed their ideas within them. A long-lasting creation was created in Domeikava: a game. Many interactive actions in this Kaunas district are yet to come. If you’d like to learn more about the creative community life of Domeikava and / or take part in it you’re invited to write us: [email protected].
Už teksto parengimą dėkojame “Kaunas 2022” kultūristėms -savanorėms Emilijai Smilinksiatei ir Aušrinei Vilimaitei!
“Šiuolaikinių seniūnijų” projekto akimirkas Domeikavoje įamžino A. Aleksandravičius.
Daugiau informacijos apie ,,Šiuolaikinių seniūnijų” projekto veiklas Domeikavoje galima perskaityti paspaudus žemiau esančias nuorodas:
