ECF Princess Margriet Award for Culture 2018: meet the laureates

On 16 May, the European Cultural Foundation will present two laureates with the 2018 ECF Princess Margriet Award for Culture: cultural centre Borderland (PL) and multidisciplinary research agency Forensic Architecture (UK). With the 10th anniversary of the Award, we take a journey across the continent: From the cultural traditions of local communities in Poland to the field of experimental new media and architectural research operating from the capital of England. We celebrate courageous citizens: Those rethinking and reframing how culture can bring about positive social change.
 
Both laureates have been recognised for their outstanding work addressing urgent contemporary challenges through a cultural lens. Their work shows us that we need to create generous and daring cultural concepts based on humanity, inclusion and empathy in order to generate a culture of coexistence in Europe.Both Borderland and Forensic Architecture see art as a way of exposing injustice in our communities, to help us recover and rethink the past in order to change the world. They also teach us the importance of working critically with memory and tangible matter to create a common story and means to be able to tell history in new and different ways.
 
The award will be presented at the Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and includes a sum of € 25.000 per laureate.
 
Borderland
ECF spoke to Krzysztof Czyzewski, one of the founders of Borderland Cultural Centre. The group is awarded for their work in Sejny – a small community in North-Eastern Poland close to the Lithuanian border, with an international outreach and annual festival. Revitalising lost memories and building bridges between the past and possible futures plays a central role in Borderland’s work. Read the full Borderland interview
 
Forensic Architecture
ECF talks to Eyal Weizman (photo), Professor of Spatial and Visual Cultures at Goldsmiths University, London, and founder of Forensic Architecture. Drawing on architectural knowledge and using novel technological and aesthetic methods, Forensic Architecture analyses matter to make sense of the ways complex realities are organised and transformed by conflict. Read the full Forensic Architecture interview