Lastadija: artistic quarter for free spirits

We came here on a warm autumn afternoon. Between several houses marked with Latin letters and numbers we saw a courtyard, a small vegetable garden with chaotic plantings and a nice wooden gazebo — obviously built not so long ago. We were met by Anna, the coordinator of the quarter.

Anna became a guide to Lastadija for us. We quote them a lot in the text in order to convey firsthand what Lastadija lives by and how it considers itself in the neighborhood.

How Lastadija came to be

Not everyone knows that Lastadija is a project of the Free Riga Union. This organization revives abandoned houses and donates them for cultural and artistic projects, public and residential purposes.

All three buildings (on Turgeneva and Pushkina streets) are owned by a large developer — so they are not the property of the union. At the initial stage it was important to explain and prove that the organization, being a social project, really needed this space.

And Free Riga succeeded — they explained that the city needs space for young artists. That’s how Lastadija appeared seven years ago.

The name and neighbors

How did we search for a name for our quarter?

Well, it was important for us to find a name that would separate us from the Maskavas neighborhood — because it’s still a bit out of the way and not resonate with us.

As for Lastadija, it is a very old name for the neighborhood where we are — between Old Town, the railway and Lāčplēša street. It was essentially a transit place where merchants, boatmen, artisans and farmers had their storage or stopping place.

So we decided to return the old name of this place.

At the same time, to be called Lastadija means respecting the history of this place and thus building relationships with neighbors.

We understand that people don’t always like the fact that some guys from the art cluster have appeared in their neighborhood and are doing something. That’s why we communicate with our neighbors, explain who we are and why we are here, and make, for example, common dinners. We just repeat: you can come and spend time here, we are open to you, this place is yours too. It is important for us to build this bridge.

About the fox

The huge fox has become something of a symbol of ours, we are already called «the place with the fox». We didn’t intend it as a symbol, but we don’t have anything against it either.

The fox is the diploma work of one of our residents Aleksandrs Marinoha in collaboration with his father Oleg Marinoha and animals’ rights’ activists “Dzīvnieku Brīvība”, who are also participants of the quarter. It appeared here in the crazy covid times, and the fox has a big concrete meaning: it is the first monument in the Baltics for animal rights, in particular, and most obviously, it is against the use of fox fur for garments.

It’s made of metal, and most of the material is recycled. Interestingly, it used to be rather black, but then, under the influence of the sun, it turned red and became even more fox-like. Before that, people thought it was more like a huge cat.

The whole quarter is a big experiment.

Being Lastadija’s resident

Today we have 30-32 residents. However, there’re at least 5 free spaces (living + studios), so we do really want to get new blood and new energy in the quarter. But we have several important points on which we select residents

First of all, you have to be proactive.

Lastadija was created as an initiative-based quarter. For example, if you are an artist and you want to create a project, we are here to support you. It could be any type of initiative: from gardening to contemporary art.

The initiative in the quarter is not only about creating projects, but also about creating a community. It’s not enough to just «rent a place» here — you have to be willing to invest your time to develop the community. This may not be much, for example 12 hours a month. But you have to find something you’d like to do anyway.

Lastadija is not for passive use.

Self-realization as an act is super important. Here you can implement your ideas / projects and realize yourself. It’s an active step.

On the other hand, we have no strict wishes about what we expect. We don’t want to force people to do something they don’t want to do. This is also an experiment for us: you come and initiate something. And we see whether it works.

You have to live up to our values.

Values that we expect to see in our residents: to be participative, environmentally conscious, socially inclusive and respectful to different groups of people. Lastadia is something of a place for outcasts. So please be kind enough to be inclusive.

You have to follow the simple rules of the community.

We have big residents meeting every month — from each house it has to be at least 1 member. Each house also should have meetings 1-2 times a month, cause each house is a little ecosystem. Communication is a key. It’s an important thing to realize when you’re coming to a community — you have to talk. If you don’t know whom to talk to — come to the administration.

In any case, we give each new member three trial months, during which both the person and the community can decide whether they are good together.

It’s normal if a person realizes that life in the community is not very comfortable for them — it’s important to match.

Lastadija in faces

If we briefly describe people in the here and now, we can do it like this: they are definitely creative, open-minded and willing to try new ideas, they are experimental and also a bit of an “outcast” – although this word doesn’t quite capture the essence, but something like that in a good way.

One of the most important people in the community, Oleg — we call him “Dedushka” and I think he’s been here since the beginning. I would call him a multi-artist, because he can do literally everything: metal and woodworking, painting…. Everything.

He brings a lot of practical ideas, like designing and building a wooden terrace. I would call him an icon and I can’t imagine what Lastadia would be without him.

We didn’t have such a big community in Free Riga’s previous projects — so there was no system of how to manage it and make sure that everyone is involved and feels good. So NGO Piedzīvojuma Gars helped us and shared their own experience and systems, gave structure and key techniques.

Without all these people, Lastadija would not be what it is now.

Events in the quarter

Various public events are regularly held in Lastadija. This allows participants to express themselves and at the same time allows them to establish contacts with neighbors, telling about themselves and their initiatives.

One of our most legendary events is the Punk and hippie festival, which takes place in the summer. It’s huge, super cool and has just amazing music.

There are a lot of events connected with music here. For example, hold raves or DJ sets of electronic music.

What’s more, last year Lastadija held an open-air exhibition here. As a wall for works they used their fence (behind which the parking lot is now hiding). Everyone could come to see this exhibition at any time. Literally. Even at night.

Even if you are not from Lastadija, you can still prepare and hold your event here. It can be a concert, an exhibition, a night film screening, or a lecture. You bring the idea — we help and provide the space. Very often we connect people within our community and those who want to make their own project with us, if we know that they are interested in the same subject.

The main requirement for a project or event is that it must coincide with our values. They are not open to ultraconservative, transphobic and homophobic people. Otherwise, welcome.

A stereotype about Lastadija to dispel

The most terrible myth about Lasadia, which I have heard, is rooted in the past of the district.

This stereotype sounds like this: Lastadija is a place for drug addicts and junkies. And this is fundamentally wrong.

The fact is that before our quarter appeared on this place, there was a wasteland — tall grass grew on it and flowers bloomed in summer. But as soon as you got closer, you could see that the whole ground was strewn with needles. At night, this wasteland was not illuminated in any way — and drug addicts came to it. And a dealer lived not far from the quarter.

Despite the fact that it was a long time ago, the stereotype is still alive. But we have very strict rules regarding drugs in the community. I will not hide it, once we faced such a situation in the quarter — in the end we had to say goodbye to this participant. Of course, we did our best to help him, but we realized that we are not a rehabilitation center — and we simply do not have enough competencies.

Plans for the future

When winter starts, we will go into a little hibernation — there will be no open public events, so we will be able to engage in the community. And this is the key aspect of this space — to support the community.

We also have an idea for renovation of one of our buildings. The buildings are 200 years old — they were built in the 18th century. Presumably, there will be a complete renovation of one house next year. On the one hand, we are encouraged, and on the other — we will lose this building for a while. But it’s incredibly cold in winter, so it’s impossible to stay there.

And as for the next season, we will need to think again about collaborations and public events in order to strengthen our ties with the neighborhood even more. To put down roots in this place, and not to be aliens. We also want to finish an indoor place for lectures and seminars, a social cafe, and concerts will be held here.