Panevėžys, the fifth biggest city of Lithuania, was the industrial hub during soviet occupation years. Since Lithuania regained its independence more than 30 years ago, the city has been tackling the urban decay problem with many of its large factories abandoned. IŠKROVOS has taken the challenge to reconstruct the face of Panevėžys by celebrating its industrial past. We hope to bring the city’s forgotten streets back on the map by repurposing the key industrial buildings for this annual festival of music and art.

Industrial culture and its evolution could be dualistically defined as tangible and intangible. Tangible includes industrial landscapes and buildings that constitute the industrial heritage of a certain area and are often a target of preservation activities. Intangible industrial culture includes expertise, attitudes, values, traditions, and interlinked social factors beyond the factory. The 2023 theme is looking for applications which would encourage the debate on this topic between the residents and visitors of Panevėžys.

Savaitę truksiančio festivalio metu, liepos 22-29 d., IŠKROVOS atvers duris visuomenei su savo kasmetine festivalio programa. Liepos 22 d., šeštadienį, 500 m2 ploto galerijos erdvė kartu su rezidencijų studijomis, trimis gyvos ir elektroninės muzikos scenomis atidarys festivalį, užimdama erdvias industrines erdves ir kviesdama žiūrovus pasinerti į meną, muziką ir industrinę kultūrą visą savaitę truksiančio festivalio metu. Kviečiame įvairių sričių kūrėjus teikti paraiškas dalyvauti parodoje, pasirodymuose ir (arba) kūrybinėse dirbtuvėse.