Events

<< November 2009 >>

International Conference "How Many Europes in Europe?"

11 / 01 2009 - 11 / 30 2009

Although European political and economic solidarity has reached unprecedented stage in history, the concepts of common Europe identity and inter-complementary values of European cultures still remain ambiguous in a variety of significant aspects. European frontiers existing inside the continent and often not visible on the map become an obstacle in the efforts to unite neighbouring and historically related cultures into one larger integral whole. Open and cautious communication of different cultural and social experiences in Europe is a hot issue. Acknowledged figures of intelligentsia and artists from various countries will address the issue of the identities of their countries in the European context during the International Conference of Culture.

Crossing Europe

11 / 01 2009 - 11 / 30 2009

This is a special film programme reflecting and expressing the idea of Europe’s unification and community. This is also the first innovative exchange of programmes between film festivals arranged in Vilnius and Linz, both of which are European Capitals of Culture 2009. Crossing Europe film programme will outline the developments in Europe today. The plots of films will provoke the cultural crossing of Europe, the discovery and understanding of European diversity, and the perception of oneself as its part. By inviting young and ambitious film-makers from all around Europe, the festival will help to discover the emerging directors upon whom the future face of the European cinema will rely. The programme also provides a fine opportunity for the Lithuanian film-makers by introducing them in Linz film festival Crossing Europe and calls for the discussion in co-production forum Young Generation of Cinema. The Austrian audience will already have an opportunity to view films by Ðarûnas Bartas, Arûnas Matelis and Audrius Stonys in 2008. The Film Festival Crossing Europe will reach its crescendo with the unique event matching the classics of European cinema and modern interpretation of Lithuanian artists. It will consist of Carl Theodor Dreyer’s masterpiece of mute cinema La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc (1928) and music composed by the famous Lithuanian composer Bronius Kutavièius specially for this film.

Exhibition Time in Photography. 1960-2009

11 / 01 2009 - 11 / 30 2009

Fifty years of Lithuanian history emerge from the photographs of renowned masters. Collective memory is reconstructed through the photographs of Antanas Sutkus, Aleksandras Macijauskas, Algimantas Kunèius, Romualdas Poþerskis, Vytas Luckus, Virgilijus Ðonta, Alfonsas Budvytis, Remigijus Paèësa and Romas Juðkelis. The oppressive atmosphere of Soviet stagnation and the people’s burdensome past are restored through images. The Chronicle of Reform Movement Events by Jonas Kazlauskas transports us back to the days of independence fights, reinstating an exhilarating atmosphere of shared goals and experiences. The period following 1990 finds its own new observers. Rimaldas Vikðraitis, Klaudijus Driskius and Arturas Valiauga carefully record the changes affecting country life and the general public by commenting on them through series of photographs. Algimantas Aleksandravièius creates a portrait gallery of Lithuanian artists. Vytautas Balèytis, Kæstutis Stoðkus, Arûnas Baltënas, Andrius Surgailis and Stanislovas Þvirgþdas search for time stamps in architectural ensembles and landscapes. Alvydas Lukys, Gintautas Trimakas, Vidmantas Ilèiukas and Joana Deltuvaitë focus their attention on the eloquence of ordinary things. The youngest photographers, Ugnius Gelguda and Akvilë Anglickaitë, observe the lifestyles of their generation, common to any urban setting.

William Shakespeare HAMLET

11 / 01 2009 - 11 / 30 2009

Oskaras Koršunovas likes to stress his attempts to stage contemporary plays like the classic ones, while his staging of classics is that of contemporary plays. HAMLET is no exception. It will not be a historical play restoring the breath of epochs gone. The famous play by Shakespeare should help one to grasp and express the spirit of the present time and the generation of the director himself. “This generation lives in erotised illusion, rather than in a real world. It is calculating, adaptable and self-contented. At the same time it is not matured and unwilling to make decisions necessary for a grown-up person. Recently everyone speaks about the need for security rather than about the need to change. This generation is living behind the curtain separating it from reality and this curtain must be torn off, because illusionary peace and safety can be very dangerous. Therefore we are in great need for immediate and merciless self-analysis in order to understand our environment and behaviours This is the only way to save our future which comes from us, rather than from slogans or declarative mottos”, – says the Director.

Twilights - Ruhrlights

11 / 28 2009 - 12 / 06 2009

Duisburg of Ruhr Area in Germany has united its efforts with two other cities – Mulheime and Oberhauzen – to realise the idea of artistic light shows and water. The project was launched in 2008 in Mulheime-on-Ruhr. Vilnius as well as Duisburg is situated on the confluence of two rivers – the Neris and the Vilnelė. It is believed that the name of Vilnius City has originated from the name of the river, just Ruhr’s name originating from the Ruhr river. During LUX light festival in Vilnius two cooperating European Capitals of Culture – Vilnius 2009 and RUHR 2010 (Germany) – will draw our attention to the waterways of both countries.

Cold War Modern: Art and Design in the Split World: 1945-1975

10 / 05 2009 - 12 / 14 2009

Both Western and Eastern fine arts, design of things and clothes, architecture and film art of the period marked by dramatic conflict and competition between the two political blocks will be brought together for the first time in the international exhibition Cold War Modern: Art and Design in the Split World: 1945-1975. 1945-1970 was a time remembered not only for its political tension, but also for the exceptional creativity. It affected a wide range of people’s activities - from everyday life to the most remarkable cultural achievements. The armament and space races, as well as the development of science and technology, made a huge impact on the culture of that period. By concentrating on this difficult and volatile era, the exhibition will reveal the Cold War as a competition between differing concepts of modern life and art in a world divided by the Iron Curtain. The exhibition includes works of outstanding artists from the West (Francis Bacon, Naum Gabo, Richard Hamilton, Isamu Noguchi, Pablo Picasso, Gerhard Richter, Ossip Zadkine, etc.) and the East (Erik Bulatov, Jiří Kolář, Josef Koudelka, Aleksandr Laktionov, Boris Michailov, Yevgeniy Vuchetich, Krzysztof Wodiczko, etc.), artists of modern design and applied art (Magdalena Abakanowicz, Pierre Cardin, Joe Colombo, Charles Eames, Stanislav Libensky and Jaroslava Brychtová, Raymond Loewy, Paco Rabanne, Eero Saarinen, etc.), architects (Archigram, Archizoom, Le Corbusier, Buckminster Fuller, Arata Isozaki, Richard and Alison Smithson, etc.) as well as films by Eastern and Western film directors (Stanley Kubrick, Mikhail Kalatozov, Andrei Tarkovsky, etc.). The exhibition will also display unique engineering items, such as a model of Sputnik, the first artificial satellite of the Earth, and a model of the Vostok space capsule, as well as the spacesuits of US astronauts and USSR cosmonauts, a model of Jeðted (former Czechoslovakia) TV tower, etc.

Exhibition VYTIS: HISTORY AND ART

07 / 04 2009 - 12 / 31 2011

The tradition of imaging the coat of arms of Lithuania Vytis (“the Chaser”) from the most ancient images found on ancient seals and coins of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to the works of our days will be presented at the exhibition – the comprehensive history of Vytis imaging will be shown, as well as images of Vytis in the art of Lithuanian emigrants of the end of 19th – beginning of 20th century. The versions of Vytis images created by Juozas Zikaras, Adomas Galdikas, Antanas Žmuidzinavičius, Mstislavas Dobužinskis, Petras Rimša and other professional and folk artists before the Second World War will be exhibited. Coins, medals, awards, phaleristics, flags, documents, books and other pieces of applied arts with Vytis images from the museums and private collections will be exhibited.

Urban Stories. 10th International Art Triennial of the Baltics

06 / 01 2009 - 11 / 30 2009

Forty Lithuanian and foreign contemporary artists and city researchers will stay in the peripheral Vilnius districts of Pilaitë, Ðeðkinë, Naujininkai and Naujoji Vilnia for two weeks. European artists will map everyday life of Vilnius with innovation by enriching traditional image of the old city with the feel of modern reality. The artists and theorists will be invited to leave behind stereotypical tourist and representative Vilnius images and explore more varied social and physical geographies of the city. On the base of this research the city atmosphere, the stories of its current residents will be merged into a new complex narrative about Vilnius with the help of modern art means (such as dimensional installations, cinema and video films, different art campaigns and mass media interventions). The artist research and communication with the residents of the peripheral Vilnius districts will translate into the exposition that will take place in September-November and a two-week programme of temporary events and different projects throughout the city. Vilnius will acquire project chronicles that can be turned into a newspaper, magazine, community radio station or TV channel.

Sacral Music Festival

05 / 01 2009 - 12 / 31 2009

The project will introduce Vilnius, which has been open to ideas, languages and religions in all periods, to the residents and guests of the European Capital of Culture. Art programme of the festival will not be limited only to the influence of Latin culture but instead will take an extensive look at the sacral nature of music. It will present sacral music composed by the authors of different epochs and beliefs. Plainsong, Taize, Corsican folk songs, gospel music, Ukrainian cants, sacral music of Russian classics, Tartar and Karaite songs, Jewish music, Lithuanian songs and A. Scarlatti oratorio for the Lithuanian patron St Casimir as well as monastic musical compositions and organ music cycles will be played in the concerts. Groups from Lithuania, Austria, Czech Republic, Great Britain, Spain, Italy, Israel, the USA, Poland, France, Russia, Sweden, Ukraine and Germany promoting sacral music will participate in the festival. The events will take place in the most picturesque Vilnius temples.

MEETINGS ON CROSSROADS

05 / 06 2009 - 12 / 05 2009

“Meetings on Crossroads” is a period of cooperation between Linz and Vilnius Music Schools giving rise to strong interaction of musical art. Concert repertoire of musicians from Linz and Vilnius Music Schools comprises musical compositions and their instrumentations of both countries. The concert and series of musical events will enable the performers and audience to get acquainted with music of each country which celebrates the year of the European Capital of Culture. Concert programmes will be developed and prepared getting deep into the heart of the Austrian and Lithuanian music, folklore and other events of culture which reveal specifics and uniqueness of the country.

Virtual Historic Vilnius

04 / 01 2009 - 12 / 31 2009

The purpose of this museum is to create a “visiting card” of Vilnius or an “ABC-book” for getting acquainted with Vilnius. It will comprise the most important objects of history and culture of Vilnius and introduce the following themes: Vilnius – the capital located on the boundary of West and East, Vilnius – the city of communism and anti-communism from mounds to modern and post-modern, Vilnius – the city of 10 confessions, etc. The project does not aim at covering a multifaceted cultural life of Vilnius today – it will introduce the history and heritage of Vilnius emphasising their role in today's life. This virtual museum will introduce the history of Vilnius, historical capital of the Lithuanian State and one of the metropolis in Central and Eastern Europe of exclusive ethno-religious, cultural, social and political value. Incoming tourism will be promoted and an appealing image of Lithuania and Vilnius will be created by presenting the history of Vilnius City to different target groups (Vilnius residents, other residents of Lithuania and foreigners) in interactive format. The virtual museum of history will not only promote knowledge of the past, but also provide inbound tourists with the opportunity to plan their own routes of places to visit.

On Site

04 / 09 2009 - 12 / 06 2009

The project of Linz artist Anja Westerfrölke distinguishes historic exposures and meeting of different cultures in Vilnius. Textile and audiovisual technologies are used to reveal historic layers of prison, monastery and church and their original architecture in Visiting the Sacred Heart of St. Jesus Church. From the outside the church still looks as imprisoned between the walls of the former prison: stairs inside the church connect several floors on which rooms, closets and public premises are located. The project consists of three parts: 1. Installations, exhibition and performances Installation of textiles, audio and vide projections will symbolically reveal historic layers of the church and monastery. To disclose architectural and cultural specifics of the sacral interior selected fragments of interior will be covered with material used by restaurateurs. In 2008, creative workshops of Austrian and Lithuanian students “Textile and sacral architecture” were organised alongside the seminar “Art and representation” and presentation of installations “Local policy” and “Stories of light”. 2. Visiting and history of the monastery Art events linking the historic place and traditions of social and economic activities of monks. Tracing the monastery garden. Seminar “Herbal plants, pharmacology and nursing”. Lecture “St. Mary visiting St. Elizabeth. Stories of the pictures of saints”. Symposium “Women and spiritualism”. 3. Works and items made in prison As part of this project the exhibition of the works of art created in prison and creative workshops with the convicts’ families will be organised.

European Jazz

02 / 01 2009 - 11 / 30 2009

Three concert cycles of European jazz masters will draw together artists of different nationalities and art traditions. The concerts are to reflect the variety of contemporary European jazz, diverse world music cultures and art phenomena. Contemporary European jazz legends and performers from Austria, France, Poland and other European states will participate in the programme.

European Café

01 / 01 2009 - 12 / 31 2009

Each month the all-year-round discussion club will invite the residents and guests of the capital to join discussions on hot topics of culture, economics and policies related to the presentation and perception of contemporary culture. The debates in cafés with the participation of various cultural figures from architects and film-makers to poets will provide a fine opportunity to discuss contemporary culture and today’s art live.

New City Face. 2nd Quadrennial of Contemporary Lithuanian Fine Arts

01 / 01 2009 - 12 / 31 2009

This interdisciplinary project is going to pinpoint the unique cultural heritage of Vilnius and its modern apparel, introduce the latest art works of fine art in an extraordinary way, and seek impressive union of theatrical and cinematographic effects. At nights, the façades and interiors of the main buildings of Vilnius Railway Station, Vilnius Airport and Vilnius Bus Station will be transformed with the help of light and video projections containing the compositions of art works. The new looks of the familiar architectural shapes will provide the city with different, mystified and intriguing face. In daytime, the approaches of these Vilnius “City gates” will become open-air galleries. Lithuanian and foreign artists will display their latest art works, dedicated for the public sites, here. The art works demonstrated in the transit areas will meet the incoming flow of passengers surprising, engaging and inviting them to get involved into the cultural city life.

Film Marathon “52 weeks”

01 / 01 2009 - 12 / 31 2009

All 52 weeks of 2009 will be dedicated to the important stage of evolution in cinema. Fifty-two best-known films of the world that had the greatest influence on the language of cinema and its development will be screened. The films will be selected according to two different viewpoints - classical and experimental. The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI), representing the classical approach, will select the most significant films from this perspective, while the experimental perspective will be shaped and presented by the Film Department of New York’s Museum of Modern Art, together with Anthology Film Archives. The new trends in cinema have interacted with various social, political and economic phenomena, therefore, each week will feature additional films intertextual with the main 52 films. These supplementary films will portray the evolution of genres in cinema and how it influenced public opinion. Thus, we will see the first cinematic derivatives of political propaganda, advertising and musicals.

Handicraft Heritage of Vilnius

01 / 01 2009 - 12 / 31 2009

The heritage of crafts in the city is relevant to the Vilnius of today in its struggle to revive old handicraft traditions as an expression of urban culture of the Lithuanian Grand Duchy (LGD). The revival of olden craft customs in Vilnius is also important to the development of cultural tourism and the endeavour to present Vilnius as a city upholding old European traditions. Once per month, educational events will be organised in the original sites of craft workshops in order to revive the old tradition of Vilnius handicrafts. During the Bartholomew Fair, fine, crude and ethnographic handicrafts using old technologies, will be demonstrated by Vilnius craftsmen. The fair is expected to attract the members of ethnic minorities (Karaites, Tartar, Jewish) and, thus, to disclose the historical multi-cultural characteristics of both Vilnius City and its old crafts. The educational, entertainment, cultural and social influences of the project will allow Vilnius to be portrayed as a modern and dynamic city in which creative people design the future by reconstructing the past.

1984. Survival drama

01 / 01 2009 - 12 / 30 2009

1984 is the best-known twentieth-century dystopia, written by George Orwell while Stalin was still in power. The book ponders what life would be like in a future totalitarian society in the far-off year of 1984. What if we, children of the twenty-first century, took a look at the past, to the real 1984 in the Soviet Union? Perhaps you simply forgot or cannot even imagine what it looked like? Well, now you are presented with a unique opportunity to experience the historical setting of the Soviet regime. An underground bunker located in Vilnius District, built in the ‘80s as an alternative television station in the event of nuclear war, will provide a venue for the authentic survival drama of 1984. This survival drama in the bunker is set in the Soviet era in Lithuania during the 50 years of occupation which ended on 11 March 1990. The project will strive to portray the impact of the totalitarian regime not only on political, economic and cultural life, but on the daily lives of people as well. The authentic atmosphere of 1984 will cast participants of the project into the grim reality of those times. 1984. Survival Drama will have no stage or viewing hall, no actors or audience. All those who go down to the bunker of their own free will become its actors.

Baroque Dialogues

01 / 01 2009 - 12 / 31 2009

This is a special programme of baroque art (architecture, music, theatre, literature and dance) which will take place in the baroque churches and chapels of Vilnius, the Royal Palace, and other locations in Vilnius suited for concerts. The aim of the project is to present Europe’s heritage of baroque art through relevant means and interpret it in a contemporary light, a heritage which created Vilnius, one of the most beautiful baroque cultural centres of the Old Continent. An interaction of Europe’s seventeenth and eighteenth-century common cultural heritage and twenty-first century ideas of artists will build new bridges in the present for the creation of the future. The programme, which will consist of concerts, operas and publishing events, will feature performers, interpreters and artists from a number of European countries.

Haiku to Vilnius

01 / 01 2009 - 12 / 31 2009

Haiku to Vilnius is a public creativity action: we invite every Lithuanian to create a haiku poem dedicated to Vilnius. Awards for the best three-line poems will include special prizes and publicity through outdoor advertising, newspapers, television, radio, and unusual sites of the cities. From now on, public areas of Vilnius will be directly open to poetry. Everyone is invited to give a sense to their impressions of Vilnius in a delicate literary form, thus, contributing to the development of the open city together.

Lithuanian Capital of Culture

01 / 01 2009 - 12 / 31 2009

National Competition Lithuanian Capital of Culture should enliven the cultural processes not only of Vilnius but of the entire Lithuania. Artists and cultural institutions of the cities and towns prepare cultural projects representing their cities. The winning city or town for the best project submitted will be awarded the exclusive title of the Lithuanian Capital of Culture for a period of one year.

Public Spaces Animation Programme

01 / 01 2009 - 12 / 31 2009

The Public Spaces Animation (PSA) programme consists of: 1) permanent works of art in public spaces; 2) temporary projects of art in public spaces; 3) discussion platform “Alternative vision of the city”; 4) projects in transit spaces (airport, railway and bus station); 5) living environment animation projects based ion cooperation of artists, architects and communities (contest “My Yard / Art Yard”). Permanent works of art in public space reveal the perception of the most outstanding Lithuanian masters of sculpture of the last decade of the urban space. Their aim is to develop an alternative for the époque-making monumental thinking and encourage more creatively insight of inhabitants and guest of the city to the environment surrounding them. Temporary projects in public spaces aim at distinguishing historic and cultural transformations and revealing specifics of a particular location. Selected semantic areas are different: sacral (St. Jesus’ Heart Church and the Monastery of Visitation), disappearing public (former House of Culture of Railway Employees) and institutional (“Talking Doors”) space. Approaches to the Sport Palace also represent potential space for the participants in this project. Discussion platform is designated for theoretic, critical and artistic analysis of public spaces. The public space of the city is disappearing because it is more and more occupied by signs of commercial culture. One of potential ways of artistic/critical analysis of public spaces is a specially created film about disappearing public spaces of Vilnius and demonstration of this film in unexpected places. The final event of the discussion platform – exhibition of projects submitted for PSA pending in end-2009. The purpose of LAA project “New face of the city” is to provide an innovative interpretation of transit spaces – airport, railway and bus stations and their approaches. As a rule, these spaces are occupied by people for a short time; they are intended for quick “use” and often are visited by accidental visitors. But at the same time they are like a visiting card of the city which might be introduced each time from a different perspective. Living environment animation contest “My Yard/Art Yard” is devoted for giving artistic and functional meaning to remote living spaces of downtown and places of entertainment. The title of the contest denotes the principal aim – to create the public space available to all giving to it creative meaning just as if you were creating in your own yard and for our family. The contest seeks to involve into the creative process different social groups actualising the network of avenues, streets, squares, unused buildings as the space suitable for creation and discussions.

PEOPLE Programme Foundation Projects

01 / 01 2009 - 12 / 31 2009

Creative initiatives of Vilnius communities in the City of Vilnius. The Foundation has been set up exclusively for culture / art / social community initiatives. The community in this case means people permanently residing in a respective territory and connected by common public needs and interests. For the purposes of this contest communities will also include groups of people formed for sports, religion, entertainment and other purposes. The contest of this Foundation which has been lasting for two and half years already provides the opportunity to implement projects focusing on community needs.

<< November 2009 >>