Future DiverCities 2
The international project investigates the potential for using empty spaces in the cities. ANTI Festival’s project pilot promotes participation in culture and civic action as well as ecological change-making at Konepaja Kuopio.
The collaborative project by the ANTI – Contemporary Art Festival and its 12 European partners has been granted support by the European Commission’s Creative Europe Programme. The four-year project will be carried out between 2022 and 2026. ANTI Festival’s budget for the project is nearly EUR 400,000, of which EU funding amounts to EUR 237,055.
13 cultural organisations from ten different countries participate in the international project. The French cultural house Friche la Belle de Mai leads the cooperation between the project actors. From Kuopio, ANTI Festival and Savonia University of Applied Sciences participate in the project.
At the start of the project, ANTI Festival set up a local coalition in Kuopio. Panel members were invited to participate in co-development workshops for art and culture activities. Four workshops were facilitated by FEMMA Planning, an agency specialising in urban planning, from September 2022 and till March 2024. The workshops were free of charge and included discussions on wishes for the future and development of the Kuopio Konepaja industrial area.
Starting at 2024 ANTI Festival aims to organise art and cultural activities driven by the local residents in the indoor and outdoor spaces of the Kuopio Konepaja area until the end of the project.