Process:
The social and cultural atmosphere created in small cities has enormous potential to influence the way of life of their communities. This unique atmosphere is created ‘on the spot’ by dedicated individuals – residents, city officials or civil activists. Art and culture play an important role in local efforts to engage residents and unite them around common goals. It is particularly true for the city of Pavlohrad, in Eastern Ukraine, which - in addition to its culturally diverse population (more than 100 different nationalities) - has welcomed quite a high number of IDPs (6500+) from Donetsk and Donbas region since 2014.
Aiming to make a link between city resources and its cultural heritage, ethnic diversity, human capital and the current needs of its community, Pavlohrad launched the "Small Theatre – Great Place for Inspiration" project. Pavlohrad Drama Theatre, a historic building from the 19th century and part of the cultural heritage of the city, served as a foundation for the initiative. Dating from 1869, the old theatre had almost ceased its activities and needed renovation.
At the same time, the expanding and culturally diverse population of Pavlohrad needed a sizeable place for meetings, information sessions (especially for IDPs), master classes, or social gatherings. In 2015, the decision was made based on a participatory process to renovate the historic building and establish an open-for-all theatre-centre allowing for several activities to take place.
When the renovation started, Pavlohrad residents not only closely followed the process but also contributed to some renewal activities by clearing-out unnecessary vegetation around the theatre, dusting parts of the old building, helping with furniture installation, etc.
The city also worked to assure freedom of creative thinking and exchange, amateur initiatives and particularly encouraged those cultural actors who pursued the sustainable development of Pavlohrad’s community and created free access to the city’s cultural values.
A year before the end of the project, the old theatre was already hosting many social events, cultural meetings and debates, art courses, folk (including Georgian, Hungarian, Roma, Russian, and Ukrainian) and dance groups (modern and classic for adults and children), music and band practices (Roma, Ukrainian), theatre and movie evenings.
In order to evaluate the project, an annual progress report was done for the City Council by all project participating parties.
As of 2020, the best proof of the success of this initiative was the fact that the renovated Theatre building was always full of people of different ages, origins, and professions who took part in a variety of projects and culture initiatives. At the end of the project (2020) the Pavlohrad City Hall planned to conduct an evaluation.
The “Small Theatre – Great Place for Inspiration” as initiated by the City Hall in collaboration with different NGOs and civil society organisations.
Key reference documents:
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