Vol. 22 (2023): Culture Crossroads

The collection of articles has been created on the basis of the papers presented at the conference “Artistic research. Various areas, approaches, and experiences”, which was held in Latvia on 5–7 May 2022, at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music. The conference took place within the framework of the national research programme “Cultural capital as a sustainable development resource of Latvia (CARD)”. The programme was implemented by a consortium that consisted of five institutions, namely Latvian Academy of Culture as the leading partner, together with Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music, Art Academy of Latvia, National Library of Latvia, and Institute of Literature, Folklore, and Art of the University of Latvia. The aim of the research programme was to create an interdisciplinary knowledge base on the diversity and value of cultural capital as a resource for Latvia’s sustainable development. The unifying concept of the studies of the national research programme was the cultural and creative ecosystem, that is conceptualized as a set of interdependent elements – organizations, groups, and creative personalities – whose activities are aimed at balanced and productive existence of the entire society. It was important for the researchers of the programme to look at culture in a modern way and properly assess the economic, political, and social potential of culture in all three dimensions – past, present, and future – identifying cultural resources in music, visual arts and design, audiovisual, theatre, and performing arts.