J.U.S.T = Jamming Underused Socialist Treasures
In Vilnius, the transition from Soviet to post-Soviet has been marked by changing modes of consumption and leisure. Certain spaces, such as the old town and shopping centres, have been highlighted as places for leisure and its commodification, while the sites of the leisure of Soviet times, whether it be stadia or bars, despite having central locations, have fallen off the map of the city. In the age of sporting mega-events and the much vaunted creative class, it is striking that the potential of the Soviet entertainment infrastructure re-mains so underused. The J.U.S.T project wonders what are the reasons for this and whether focusing on such sites can bring about modes of social interaction that obviate the intense commodification of leisure witnessed in the old town or shopping centers. Is there a potential for entertainment to accumulate something other than capital in Eastern Europe?
“In the age of sporting mega-events and the much vaunted creative class, it is striking that the potential of the Soviet entertainment infrastructure re-mains so underused.
Thus, the J.U.S.T project proposes an experimental intervention for three underused sites of Soviet era leisure in Vilnius. By reanimating and changing the software of these spaces, we propose new forms of self- and spatial- organization that bring these spaces back to the map of the city and enable new forms of exchange and entertainment that aim at social inclusion and greater fairness.
