Duration: 2 hours. Meeting location: Černobylio Motina sculpture.
Historic parks are rarely simple to manage and restore. We are not very used to seeing parks as separate structures with their own rules and characteristics.
In a two-hour workshop, we invite curious citizens to discover how landscapes of historic parks are often shaped, preserved, and imagined for the future. Participants will observe patterns and layouts of the Sapieha park, try different roles of discussing the area, and experiment with ideas of what the park could become in the future.
The workshop will be held in English.
No prior knowledge or special skills are required to participate in the workshop. All materials and instructions will be provided on-site. Participation is free, but registration is required by email rumai.edu@cac.lt.
Sapieha Park is the only 17th-century Baroque park in Vilnius. In the modern landscape of the park, one can see traces of not only the Baroque style, but also the changes brought by the 19th century hospital period and the 21st century. The park, which represents a history of several centuries, continues to function as a lively, everyday gathering place for citizens. Over the past decade, a number of competitive ideas for the development of Sapieha Park have been presented.
The workshop will begin with a guided walk through the main alley of the park. Participants will be able to get to know the historical periods of the park and understand which elements characterize the Baroque park, which appeared later, during the hospital period or only in the 21st century. The second part of the workshop is a role-play game called The Sapieha Park 2070 Vision. Participants will be invited to play a role in a committee that has to make a decision about the future of the park. You will step into different roles and experiment with ideas about the future of the park. After the workshop, you will be able to understand how the restoration of historic buildings is different from the restoration of historic parks. You will draw maps, glue images, and discuss your solutions with each other.
The workshop is created and led by Alina Kalachova, who researched the Sapieha Park and has explored its history, design, and transformation over time in the thesis “Features of the Preservation and Development of the Sapieha Palace Park in Vilnius.” She studied projects about the park that were developed in the past, looked into current functions of the area, and opportunities for future development, including European best practices of historic park development.