River//Cities at the Turning the Tide: Stockholm Lab Culture, Water, and the Power of Art in Times of Change — 14–17 October 2025 | Stockholm, Sweden

In mid-October, River//Cities Network joined partners from across Europe in Stockholm for four days of art, dialogue, and collective action around water, climate, and cultural change. The Turning the Tide Stockholm Lab, led by Intercult and co-funded by Creative Europe, brought together artists, cultural workers, urban activists, scientists, and policymakers to explore how art and culture can help communities adapt, collaborate, and build resilience in the face of the climate crisis.

"…the most important result of the Turning The Tide: Stockholm Lab was its contribution to solidarity with each other, empathy for and understanding of the different ways of living under the threats of climate change. Most important result as solidarity, the understanding of each other's points of view, is the basis democracy or peace are built on. And important also because artists expressed their thoughts in the most common language in the world: the language of art." — Eva Stache, architect, Netherlands

14 October — River//Cities Satellite Event at Vrak Museum of Wrecks

The week opened with a dedicated River//Cities satellite event at the Vrak Museum of Wrecks, bringing together cultural practitioners from across Europe to explore how creative work can build new relationships between people and water.

Architect and artist Germaine Sanders (Netherlands) led "Floating Value & Future Flow – Drawing as a Way of Thinking," a hands-on workshop in which participants used collective sketching and visual dialogue to connect ideas across disciplines. Working in small groups with large sheets of paper and colourful markers, they reconnected with the playful power of drawing as a tool for thinking and communication.

Robert Alagjozovski (North Macedonia) then invited participants to rethink failed riverfront developments through his workshop "Counter-strike River Apocalypse." Using gamification and civic role-play, groups took on the roles of political stakeholders navigating a contested riverfront, uncovering the complexities of negotiation, conflicting interests, and the potential for both cultural and political action within cities.

The day continued with a series of talks rooted in River//Cities' core concerns. Lia Ghilardi (Urban Strategist and Cultural Planner, UK) presented "Reimagining Urban Ecosystems through Culture," making the case for a shift from extractive, mechanical systems toward regenerative, ecosystem-based thinking — and introducing her method of cultural mapping as a way to uncover both the challenges and hidden strengths of communities.

Magdalena Zakrzewska-Duda (Baltic Sea Cultural Centre, Poland) presented "Ways of Working with Culture by Rivers and Waterways," highlighting how River//Cities and other networks across Europe are using art to foster ecological awareness, social inclusion, and community resilience — turning rivers into spaces of dialogue and connection.

Jenny Marketou (Artist, Greece/USA) and Bernd Herger (Chairman, River//Cities, Austria) presented "In the Belly of a Garden," a site-specific sculptural work uniting soil and water, celebrating the wetlands and waterways of the Danube in Vienna's Aspern Seestadt — created within the framework of the Turning the Tide project and embodying the ecological spirit at the heart of River//Cities.

Eva Stache (Architect, Netherlands) offered a poetic reflection titled "Water, the Unknown Friend," tracing our often-overlooked relationship with water — visible to us mainly when it becomes troublesome: when it floods, rains, or disappears.

The day closed with Dr. Liz Gardiner (Cultural Planner, Scotland / Fablevision) outlining next steps and emphasising the importance of continued cross-border collaboration in shaping sustainable, water-connected futures.

15 October — Art as a Drive for Social Change, at Vrak Museum of Wrecks

The official opening of Turning the Tide Stockholm Lab brought together artists, planners, diplomats, and cultural leaders under the shared belief that art holds the power to transform both people and places. The event welcomed Her Excellency Mag. Doris Danler, Ambassador of Austria in Sweden, and Her Excellency Ekaterini Fountoulaki, Ambassador of Greece in Sweden, who both underlined the importance of international cultural collaboration.

The day featured contributions from urban and cultural planning experts including Lia Ghilardi, Johannes Tovatt, and Astrid Rompolt, alongside the Dutch duo Dear Hunter, who presented their map of Stockholm — the outcome of a six-week residency in the city, developed through their method of cartopology, combining cartography and anthropology.

Artistic research and creative practices from Vienna, Gdańsk, Evia, Scotland, and Stockholm demonstrated how art can inspire environmental awareness, foster community participation, and drive social change. Artists Gisela Stiegler (Austria) and Celina Przyklęk (Poland), whose works were developed during one-month residencies in Sweden, presented new pieces curated by Elisavet Papageorgiou of Intercult.

16 October — Water, Cities, and Sustainability, at Kulturhuset Foajé 3

Activities moved to Kulturhuset, focusing on the challenges coastal and riverside cities face in the context of climate change. A central highlight was an art fair featuring 15 works created within the Turning the Tide project — installations, performances, and visual storytelling offering powerful reflections on water, resilience, and the climate crisis. Participating artists included Jenny Marketou, Tina Eskilsson, Ongoing Realities, Ludmila Christeseva, Vlady, Ajja, Zoe Lakides, Kasia Piorek, Celina Przyklęk, Gisela Stiegler, Froso Papadimitriou, and Kamila Chomicz.

Marie-Andrée Robitaille (Artistic Director, Cirkus Cirkör) brought the programme into public space with "Semaphores as Acts of Change," an interactive performance using handmade golden flags at Sergelstorg to demonstrate how art can activate shared civic spaces and provoke reflection on water and climate.

"To go out with these fragile, beautiful shiny flags…what a joy! And how strong we were, how committed, and how open our minds became." — Germaine Sanders

Expert talks ranged from Stockholm's urban flood resilience strategies (Jonas Althage, City of Stockholm) to how art and science can seek solutions together — embodied in an open, unmoderated dialogue between Germaine Sanders and Jonas Althage. A roundtable on building resilient waterfront cities brought together hydraulic engineers, architects, and water governance experts, exploring how art can be a force for reimagining our cities' relationship with water.

"My key takeaway: learning to live with water rather than against it is more than a symbolic value. That's why initiatives like Turning the Tide are crucial: by bringing together creative voices, institutions and communities, they help us rethink the built environment, our relationship with nature, and our social responsibilities." — Carlo Galluccio

17 October — Future Visions: Turning Ideas into Action, at Vrak Museum of Wrecks & Stadsgårdsterminalen

The final day looked forward — from awareness to concrete action. A lecture by Karim Jebari (Institute for Futures Studies) on the future of humanity set the foundation for a roundtable, "From Words to Action: Art, Activism, and Technology," exploring how creative interventions and innovation can translate ideas into tangible solutions. Participants included climate activist Pella Thiel, artist Belinda Retourne (Homo Colossus), Annika Bromberg (Hållbart Kultur Nu), and Jenny Marketou.

The Austrian dance duo Adrian Dorfmeister-Pölzer & Simeon Ohlsen performed "Do you relate?" — dancing in water within the museum hall, captivating both Lab participants and museum visitors alike.

The Lab concluded with an evening exhibition at Stadsgårdsterminalen, where Jonna Bo Lammers and Agnieszka Stobierska presented site-specific works exploring climate justice, urban development, and collective resilience — bold murals and ecology-rooted interventions transforming the terminal's walls and windows into platforms for reflection.

"Turning The Tide: Stockholm Lab was a reminder that change begins not only in policies or plans but in the imagination — in the fleeting, fragile moments when perception shifts… This, ultimately, is what Turning the Tide offers to Europe's cultural landscape: a practice of seeing, sensing, and making meaning together across borders. It is not about providing answers but about cultivating attentiveness — to the river, to one another, and to the fragile systems that sustain us." — Liz Gardiner, Fablevision

Thank You

River//Cities is proud to have been part of this remarkable gathering. Our thanks go to Intercult for leading the Turning the Tide project, to Creative Europe and Kulturrådet for their support, and to all venues and partners who made the Stockholm Lab possible: Vrak – Museum of Wrecks, Stadsgårdsterminalen, Kulturhuset, and Färgfabriken.

A special thank you to all Turning the Tide partners: Wiener Bildungsakademie (Austria), City Culture Institute (Poland), Artit (Greece), Dear Hunter (Netherlands), and Fablevision (Scotland) — and to every artist, expert, and participant who brought their creativity and commitment to Stockholm.

Until next time — let's keep turning the tide.

The Stockholm Lab is part of the wider Turning The Tide project, led by Intercult and co-funded by the EU's Creative Europe programme.