Going Public. On the Possibility

of a Public Statement

Aprill 2012, Vilnius 

 

This interregional project, initiated by Goethe Institut in Vilnius and conceptualised by Lena Prenz, involved Lithuania, Belarus, Kaliningrad region (Russia), and Germany, and reflected on the potential of art in public space and different concepts of public sphere. The starting point of the project were the collaborative workshops “How To Say?” that were held in Vilnius in April, 2012, and were devoted to the discussion of the relationship between art and public sphere. The workshops were organized by Contemporary Art Study Centre (EHU, Vilnius), Lithuanian Contemporary Art Centre, and Critical Urbanism Lab (EHU, Vilnius).

 

Art Critique?

Aprill 2012, Vilnius

 

Initiated by Alena Glukhova and Anna Samarskaya, this project involved theoretics, art-critics, and artists from France, Germany, Serbia, Switzerland, Poland, and Russia. The project was comprised of a series of masterclasses that were oriented towards the practice of writing in the interdisciplinary art field, cultural analytics, new concepts of art-critique, and artistic writing.

 

“Europe (to the power of) n”

2011-2012, Vilnius

“Europe (to the power of) n” (2011-2012). This transnational exhibition project devoted to the views of Europe in contemporary art was initiated by the Goethe Institute in London. Contemporary Art Study Centre and European Humanities University were among partners of the project. It was anticipated by a series of “Scenarios of Europe” exhibitions in Leipzig Museum of Contemporary Art held in 2011-2012. As a part of this initiative, Galerie Y on October, 4 (2012) hosted an exhibition “West of East. An Exhibition About Europe in Six Chapters” (curated by Lena Prenz, supported by CASC). A demonstration and discussion of “Reclaiming the City” (directed by Stefan Rusu) was organised at the Lithuanian National Art Gallery (Vilnius) and Galerie Y.

 

”ToKino”

May 28 – June 01, 2013. Vilnius

 

A large-scale four day film festival “toKino” was held in Vilnius in the last decade of spring. Festival gathered authors and researchers from more than 10 countries. It was organized by LitPro, the project of European Humanities University in partnership with THe Barys Zvozskau Belarusian Human Rights House and “Belarus Watch”. «toKino» — is an international festival of films that were created on the authors’ own funds and that aimed to reach actual social problems and raise discussions. Events of the festival form a platform for the authors who search for alternative ways of speaking on the problems that are significant to them and/or use movies and video as a tool of social action. Festival gathered in Vilnius more than 50 participants from 13 countries: Australia, Lithuania, Belarus, Russia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Portugal, Italy, France, Ireland, Netherlands, Ukraine, Kazakhstan. Contest program of the fest included 34 movies.

 

City Speaks

Aprill 2012, Vilnius

 

As a part of “How To Say” workshops, a series of practical interventions into urban space were organized by Alena Glukhova and Anna Samarskaya. Guided by art-group “Lena Krasit”, artist and curator Sergey Shabohin, and urban researcher Ekaterina Lavrinec, students planned and fulfilled their ideas on urban art-interventions.

 

Lithuanian/Soviet Cinema: Reconstruction

March – May, 2011. Vilnius

 

This project reviews the history of cinematographic production in Lithuania from Soviet period to present in an attempt to reconsider the functioning of national cinematograph in Soviet and transnational film industries. The project included: an expert discussion with participation of leading Lithuanian and Belarusian cinema theorists and art critics: Laima Kreivyte, Zivile Pipinite, and Almira Ousmanova; a collective photo project “Cinematic Vilnius” made by the students of EHU and Vilnius Academy of Arts; a series of cinema evenings in Skalvija Movie theater where Lithuanian movies retrospection was followed by expert discussion; a final public discussion that problematized the trace made by the Lithuanian and Belarusian cinematograph of the Soviet period in a contemporary culture.

 

”K.V. (Call Button) Festival of Short Films on Uncomfortable Issues”

November 28 – 30, 2008. Vilnius

 

This festival aimed at creating an alternative platform for young authors to present their visual statement on awkward social issues. For the organizers of this festival the concept of the “uncomfortable” presupposed not only something marked as dangerous, tabooed or ambiguous but also something that is thought of as miniscule, unimportant or too personal. The festival program included films by both professional and amateur directors from Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Lithuania. The judges were Lithianian and Belarusian cultural critics and film theorists A.Ousmanova, S.Zalneraviciute, G.Andriukaitis, S.Valiulis, M.Zhbankov, and N.Milerius.