KOMĒTA
7th – 9th of July, Daugavgrīvas Fortress in Riga
Kometa is an open-air festival, a social and cultural experiment which invites to “see the invisible” and practice freedom through music, dance, lectures, workshops, circus performances and talks.
The aim of the festival is to revive the Daugavgriva fortress as a place of culture and thinking and to stimulate public discussions about its future development.
The Daugavgriva fortress is the only construction of this type of fortification and one of the most significant military heritage sites in Latvia. It is a unique national monument, which dates back to the 17th century, but it has been neglected for years. Although institutions acknowledge that the fortress must be preserved, first, as state property and, secondly, as a cultural heritage, still its long-term development has not been a priority of any institution.
Since the beginning of 2014, a local non-governmental organization Bolderaja Group has been actively involved in the ideological revival and practical management of the fortress. Other organizations have also taken part in bringing life in the fortress by organizing concerts, movie evenings, White Night and Museum Night events. However, these separate events have not had the necessary capacity to draw the public’s attention to the fort and to stimulate debate about its long-term development.
The Kometa is a unique festival because it offers cultural content with the potential to have a lasting impact on visitors after the festival. Festival encourages thinking, analyzing, evaluating as well as acting and promoting community-building, which in the current local and global political and social situation is likely to become more important than ever.
The festival will traditionally be open free of charge to all and in particular to the local communities, seniors and families with children.
Find more : http://festivalskometa.lv/en/
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