Valentina Gulin Zrnić gave the public lecture in Ljubljana on December 3rd 2024 within the platform (Humano)Geografski klepet (Human-Geographic Talk) at the Geographic Institute Anton Melik, Department of Human Geography together with the Post-gradute school ZRC SAZU.
Dreaming, disruption and experimentation: the timespace of the European Capital of Culture
The Croatian city of Rijeka was the holder of the title European Capital of Culture (ECoC) in 2020. Through an array of programs and projects this prestigious year-round event was aimed to “revive future hope”, as stated in the bid book “Port of Diversity”, and to initiate various forms of civil engagement. Covid-19 pandemic hindered the realization of the program, and due to the interruption, the regular evaluation of program, results and impacts was omitted. However, placing the emphasis on the processes that emerged during the preparation of the ECoC as well as on adapting the whole event to the new and uncertain circumstances in 2020, significant questions can be raised about rethinking the urban. Long-term fieldwork in Rijeka, together with the analysis of key ECoC and strategic municipal documents, produced the material for the interpretation of transformative potential of the ECoC, the role of affective urbanism, forms of temporal agency for imagining and activating the future, as well as changing urban ethics.