The finish of the international project “PhotoKICK”: a burst of knowledge, new experiences and entertainment

The farewell with the two-year international project dedicated to photography “PhotoKICK” was interactive, informative and cheerful. On February 2-3, a virtual international conference and creative workshops were organized at Klaipėda County Ieva Simonaitytė public library. The events provided unique experiences and allowed to look at photography from new perspectives.

Hundreds of participants were interested

The first part of of the ERASMUS+ project “PhotoKICK”(lit. “Photography Kaleidoscope: Inclusion, Communities and Knowledge”), which was implemented in 2022-2024, was dedicated to presentations by authors who illuminated the motley world of photography.
Virtual conference “Education and photography: from the object to the lens” held on February 2 and brought together several hundred participants representing various European countries. It is gratifying that the participants took a lot of information, which not only enriched everyone’s knowledge, but also became an incentive to try some ideas or put them into practice.

Presentations were read vy Viktorija Žilinskaitė, the senior methodologist Klaipėda County Ieva Simonaitytė public library, Artis Gustovskis, director of the Kudliga‘s Art and Technology Center, Žygimantas Ruškys, museum curator-collection custodian of the Museum of Photography, Danguolė Ruškienė, art researcher, exhibition curator, and photographers Agnė Gintalaitė and Adrejs Kovalovs, who proved once again that photography is much more than an art form.

And it is truly diverse. According to specialist‘s reports, photography can be a great tool for bringing together a community, bringing non-traditional spaces to life, and promoting human critical thinking and development. At the same time, its perspectives are limitless: from commercial use to contact with artificial intelligence that can bring impressive results.

A combination of theory, practice and entertainment

On February 3, the final events of the “PhotoKICK” project moved from the virtual space to Klaipėda County Ieva Simonaitytė public library, where creative workshops were held throughout the day.

Everyone knows that in the age of smart technology, anyone can take photographs. However, Irina Jarec and Mindaugas Masaitis, educators of the Vilnius County Adomas Mickevičius Public Library provided another intriguing approach: according to them, anyone who wants to can make a camera from things they have at home.

After introducing the history and working principles of “pinhole” photography, the educators handed out coffee cans transformed into photo boxes and encouraged participants to choose the objects they want to capture. Soon, in a dark room, the light-sensitive paper placed in the boxes turned into artistic photos before the eyes of the participants.

Aterwards, Latvian photographer A. Kovalovs invited to leave the slow photohraphy world and return to the modern world, emphasizing that a professional device is not necessary to create professional photos – it can be done with a smartphone.

The photographer clearly and vividly conveyed the basics of photography to the participants of the workshop, broadened their knowledge about the possibilities of application of photography, and also encouraged everyone who likes to capture shots to do so boldly and without fear of experimenting.

The third activity led us back to the origins of photography – photographer Artūras Šeštokas not only introduced us to the the technique of wet collodion photography, invented in the 19th century, but also made it possible to take pictures using it. The historical process seems like alchemy in modern times.

The participants of the workshop saw with their own eyes how a glass plate is covered with collodion, how it is soaked in a solution of silver nitrate and how it finally enters an ancient photographic device.

It takes about half an hour after one click until the black-and-white portrait clearly visible on the glass. The tools available to the photographer made it possible to observe the photo development process itself.

In addition to the all-day workshop, the participants also had more entertainment – participants and library visitors could take photos with a 360-degree camera or take pictures in the photobooth “PhotoBOOTH” and get a witty snapshot.

Two intellectual products have been developed

Erasmus+ Cooperation partnershipa project “PhotoKICK” was launched in 2022, and, apart from the topic of photography, aimed to strengthen the creative abilities of adults, increase the involvement of communities in cultural and artistic activities, and deepen the competences of adult learners and andragogues.

Project coordinator Klaipėda County Ieva Simonaitytė public library and partners – National Museum of Lithuania, Art and Technology Center (Latvia), cultural association “Espacio Rojo” (Spain), scientific and research association for art, culture, educational programs and technologies “EPEKA” (Slovenia), Hungarian National Museum – has turned many of the set goals into reality.

In the port city library alone, exhibitions of professional and beginner photographers were organized, various creative activities related to photography, lectures were organized, and the newly opened „Nišinė gallery“ was established. The international project provided opportunities for cultural specialists from various countries to gain new knowledge and experience in preparing exhibitions and expositions, and also provided an opportunity to look at the fields of photography and education from different perspectives.

During the implementation of the project, two intellectual products for adult education specialists, educators, and artists were created: guidelines for creating educational photography exhibitions and a program for educational photography exhibitions. These products can be found at www.photokick.eu.

„Erasmus+ project „Photography Kaleidoscope: Inclusion, Communities, and Knowledge“ is funded by the European Union.

Article prepared by Evelina Zenkutė.
Photographer – Vytautas Petrikas.