Mind Sharpener

Mind Sharpener was a recurring programme of lively, accessible talks and debates rooted in academic research but open to anyone curious about ideas. Running from May 2018 to December 2020, the series brought researchers, thinkers, and practitioners to Ideas Block to share their work with a wide, non-specialist audience — and to let that audience become an active participant through questions, tasks, and open discussion.

Topics ranged across poetry and literary theory, the psychology of language acquisition, violence in political discourse, models of thinking, the philosophy of music, museum theory, esotericism, and the Baltic cultural imagination. Talks were held in English in an informal setting, over tea or wine, and drew a regular community of curious minds.

The series was co-curated with poet and researcher Davide Castiglione, who also led several of the sessions himself. Sixteen editions took place in total, spanning nearly three years and bridging the gap between academic discourse and public cultural life.