Reclaiming Cultural Heritage Through Residents’ Creative Engagement. Placemaking and Arts-Based Research in the Šnipiškės Neighbourhood

Abstract

Aimed at shaping community spaces, public places, and cultural routes, placemaking practices can meaningfully contribute to place identity and a sense of belonging, particularly when they are grounded in the local histories and narratives of place. This paper positions participatory creative initiatives – such as bottom-up co-design interventions – as small-scale yet politically potent practices for reweaving local networks of trust, mutual support and situated learning within neighbourhoods. By referring to R. Sennett’s (2013) notion of “cooperation as a craft”, this paper argues that ongoing placemaking initiatives revive cooperation as a social skill and that the process of co-creation supports this skill. Drawing on findings from an arts-based participatory research project conducted in the historic neighbourhood of Šnipiškės (Vilnius) in 2012-2020, this paper also discusses the methodological premises of arts-based research in historic urban contexts, highlighting its potential to amplify underrepresented voices and to support the co-creation of cultural life – in accordance with the principles of the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.