WHEN: October 2025 - March 2026
WHERE: Anyksciai, Lithuania
FOCUS: rural creative hub/ art incubator
Summary of the programme
The Anykščiai Art Incubator – Art Studio offers a vibrant peer-learning exchange in the heart of rural Lithuania, focusing on creative entrepreneurship, and community engagement. Set in a renovated heritage building, the 5-day programme will immerse visitors in workshops, artist studio visits, participatory activities with local residents, and discussions with cultural policymakers. Participants will explore how arts and culture can sustainably revitalise peripheral regions, while exchanging practices and building connections across borders. The programme combines hands-on learning, networking, and inspiration in a creative environment shaped by nature, heritage, and collaboration.
Activities will include:
- Workshop on “Adapting Cultural Heritage Buildings for Creative Use”
- Study visits to cultural and regeneration sites in Anykščiai
- Discussion with local government on cultural policy in peripheral regions
- Seminar on “Creative business development in non-urban areas”
- Community engagement through Art therapy as a tool for inclusive education
- Reflection walks in nature
Exchange period
The peer exchange with Anyksciai Art Incubator-Art Studio will take place on a five-day period between October 2025 - March 2026. The selected Visitor will agree directly with the Host on the exact dates.
Description of the Host organization
The Anykščiai Art Incubator - Art Studio is a cultural hub where art, business, and community meet. Located in a heritage building, it hosts 18 resident artists working across various disciplines, offering workshops, exhibitions, and events. Founded in 2008 and fully active since 2014, the incubator fosters creative entrepreneurship and collaboration. It provides space for events and supports experimentation in arts, crafts, and technology. Through national and international projects, it strengthens ties between artists and the local community, aiming to grow creative industries and inspire a new generation of artists.
Anykščių menų inkubatorius viešoji įstaiga | Menų Studija
Anyksciu menu inkubatorius
What makes Anykščiai Art Incubator – Art Studio an Ambassador of Good Practice?
The Anykščiai Art Incubator promotes creative entrepreneurship by uniting artists and craftspeople in a shared space. Home to eighteen artists—many from other Lithuanian cities—it supports art-making, education, and cultural events that enrich the local scene. By offering studios, programs, and exhibitions, the incubator helps retain talent, attract visitors, and boost pride in place. Its model shows how rural creative infrastructure can drive regeneration. Combining physical space, artistic community, and dynamic programming, the incubator provides a replicable framework for fostering cultural vitality in small towns and non-urban areas.
What does Anykščiai Art Incubator – Art Studio hope to gain from the P2P exchange?
- Exchange of best practices, tools, and methodologies related to culture-led regeneration in non-urban areas.
- Concrete, transferable insights for improving their own programmes and practices.
- Joint project concepts or partnership plans developed during co-creation sessions.
- Stronger ties between participating organisations, artists, and cultural stakeholders across Europe.
Facilities for the Visitor
- Multi-functional spaces for exhibitions and artist showcases, seminar rooms, Art Shop–Gallery, studios and open workspaces
- Visitor will have access to artist studios and coworking areas to observe or participate in daily creative work, fostering direct learning and collaboration.
- On-site Team will provide logistical, organisational, and translation support to prepare the peer exchange.
The Open Call for Visitors will be open until
07 September 2025!
Apply here
