Trans Europe Halles 97 Conference took place in Tartu (Estonia) in May and June 2024. During this annual conference about ‘Art of Survival’, Alter-Places organised two hybrid panels coordinated by the IZOLYATSIA (Ukraine) and Long Winter / DIY Space Project (Canada). By embedding the Alter-Places discussions within the broader Arts of Survival theme, the project naturally intersected with critical reflections on sustainability. In this context, sustainability is not only approached from an ecological standpoint, but also as a cultural and social imperative, a matter of resilience, adaptation, and long-term viability for independent cultural spaces, particularly in times of crisis. Framed as an “art of survival,” sustainability becomes both a practice and a mindset, enabling cultural actors to rethink their infrastructures, relationships, and ways of inhabiting spaces.

As urban landscapes embody a series of injustices (displacement, gentrification, marginalization, ...), alternative cultural places (ACP) have diversified their action, extending beyond the cultural sector, to contemporary forms of solidarity. These renewed practices and somewhat undisciplined paths are developed by ACPs communities to open their spaces and inhabit them with new sets of competences focusing on care, transmission, pedagogy, co-creation, and any form fostering and welcoming diversity of expression and selves. However, ACPs are faced with tensions, backlash movements, official censorship as well as hidden forms of self-censorship. This panel explored some of ACPs’ strategies and challenges associated with such transformations and issues, including work organization, alliances, censorship, instrumentalization – as well as the space for hope cultural spaces and communities can nurture in a contemporary urban environment.

Moderator: Laura Aufrère - La Main (France)

Speakers: Anastasiia Ponomareva - Urban Curators Agency (Ukraine), Anastasiia Gulak - IZYUMRecovery (Ukraine), Amy Gottung - DIY Space Project (Canada), Louna Sbou - Oyoun (Germany), Olivier Le Gal - La Station - Gare des Mines (France), Casey Wei - Artist and researcher (USA)

Urban landscapes embody a series of injustices: displacement, gentrification, marginalisation and segregation. In response to that, alternative cultural places have expanded their action beyond the cultural sector to contemporary forms of solidarity. They often become beacons of hope and resilience for the local communities. Communities inhabit these spaces with new sets of competences focusing on care, transmission, pedagogy, co-creation, and any form fostering and welcoming diversity of expression and selves. However, alternative art spaces these days are facing dangerous tensions, backlash movements, official censorship as well as hidden forms of self-censorship. This panel explored some of the strategies and challenges associated with such transformations, including work organization, alliances, censorship, instrumentalization. We will also discuss how our centres can cultivate hope and openness in a contemporary urban environment.

Moderator: Amy Gottung - DIY Space Project (Canada)

Speakers: Anna Karnaukh - Lanka.pro Creative Agency (Ukraine), George Moroti - Gallery Gachet (Canada), Natassa Dourida - Communitism (Greece), Iain Dace - NGBG (Sweden)