Curiosity and Surprises The Best Ideas of Lithuanian Creative Industries

National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania Advertising ...... 10

Architecture ...... 24

Cinema ...... 36

Computer Games ...... 48

Design ...... 58

Literature ...... 70

Theatre ...... 82

Visual Arts ...... 94 Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania: Emerging from the Gray Zone

Does Lithuania boast enormous creative potential? Does it show creative self- expression? Does it have rich cultural production? Is life in Lithuania becoming faster and also more dynamic? Is a new generation of Lithuanians becoming increasingly interested in new technologies? I believe all these questions can be answered with a definite “yes”. However, another question arises: does the ability to answer these questions provide us with a firm confidence in the well-being of creative and cultural industries and the flourishing of what has been dubbed the “creative economy”? I would not be so quick to state this.

If I had to highlight one essential precondition for the prosperity of the Dr. Arūnas Gelūnas creative and culture industries, it would be cooperation and networking. Even Minister of Culture of the though one has to accept the classical truth Republic of Lithuania that in most cases creative talent resides in the soul of an individual, there is also rich evidence to support the opinion that it usually takes more than one individual for a creative idea to become a part of the creative economy. It should be mentioned that due to different historical, economical, and social factors, the managerial and entrepreneurial skills of a number of creative people in Lithuania were lacking, which also applies to their willingness to cooperate with

National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania managers and entrepreneurs. However, create networks in order to ensure the However, even against this rather grim the attitude of politicians has been no development of the creative and cultural background of coping with the effects of different: they considered the creation of industries are changing their long-standing economic recession, the last few years have culture to be a part of citizens’ “leisure prejudices and opinions. been marked by cooperation initiatives. activities”, characterized by the free play Cooperation between the International of imagination and spiritual nature that A survey of the economical impact of the Cultural Programme Centre (under the possesses no economic value. There is a creative and cultural industries carried out Ministry of Culture) and the Enterprise prevalent idea that these kinds of activities by the National Association of Creative and Lithuania Company (under the Ministry should be supported by state funding with Cultural Industries in 2008 reported that of Economy) in presenting Lithuanian no hope that they can ever pay it back, Lithuanian industries earned more than 1 cinema, book publishing and creative and that creators of culture will apply for billion euros in 2006. Most of this revenue work to a foreign audience can be called a state support indefinitely. I think this is the came from such sectors as architecture and completely new step in this process. picture that has dominated the cultural and engineering, advertising, travel agencies economical landscape of many European and sight-seeing, the press, radio and The current economic situation around the countries up until quite recently. Thus television, and book publishing. world demands new strategic approaches. the situation most creative and cultural The Ministry of Culture is contributing industries operators find themselves in is The above-mentioned analyses led to to the discussion in a national policy that of a “gray zone” – an in-between space the launching of the National complex paper entitled “Lithuania 2030”, which between culture and the economy. This is program “Lithuanian Cultural and Creative strongly supports the creative and cultural best shown by an example of a group of Industries”, which is a cooperation industries as an inseparable part of the young fashion designers that is looking for platform between the arts, sciences, higher future economy of our country. financial support for their project, and upon education and business in 2009. The same turning to the Ministry of Culture, they are year a creative incubator development The publication of this catalogue, which told their project is “too profit-orientated” program was launched by the Ministry is an attempt at providing an introduction to support, but when turning to the of Economy of Lithuania, which led to 10 to the most outstanding examples Ministry of Economy, their project is treated projects receiving financial support of more of Lithuanian creative and cultural as “too artistic” and thus is outside the than 17 million euros. Of course it should industries, comes as yet another account scope of economic and business activities. be noted that the expectations for the long- of this intricate but exciting project-in- awaited positive results of these initiatives progress – the project of emerging from However, there are clear signs that this were somewhat obscured by the financial the Gray Zone of narrow-mindedness situation is gradually improving and that crisis of 2009 that according to international into the Green Zone of cooperation and all the parties that need to cooperate and experts “hit us all and hit us hard”. networking. Creativity is one of the key components to success in any field. It gives vitality to solutions that are to be implemented into our everyday life – from new businesses and advanced technologies to decisions applied to social or economical issues.

Apart from creativity, I would like to mention the only other word that I know that gives us an exact direction we should all move toward, a daily guide for the things we do. That word is perfection.

Perfection implies that all the things we do should be beautiful, aesthetically pleasing and include complex decisions. It also includes a perfectionist’s ability to pay particular attention to detail. Moreover, it is a different way of thinking, which encourages a search for creative solutions in every single task we are responsible for.

And I believe that you, the people working in creative industries, are driven by a passion that inspires your creativity. You are here to move forward toward perfect changes. The perfection I am talking about is the one described by famous French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: “Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”

As creativity has no limits, I wish you the best in pursuing perfect ideas and never losing your aspirations to make our world a better place.

Artūras Zuokas Mayor of the City of Vilnius

National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania Since time immemorial, every human has had a desire to express themselves encoded in their very being. The history of the world bears witness to the fact that we, as a distinct life form, have set ourselves apart throughout all the periods of our existence with one particular characteristic, which is the goal of not only existing but also of creating something that would outlive us in the centuries to come. This relentless desire to make our mark in society, which then in turn becomes an energetic and relentless ambition, drives us forward. Thanks to this we are able to shine and amaze those around us, giving them the gift of something original, valuable and beautiful.

Enveloped with a spirit that harbor cities possess, Klaipėda is very much like this catalogue – full of diverse cultural and architectural monuments possessing great artistic value. Such a result would be unimaginable without creative people who love their city, the understanding, devotion and trust of whom remind us that we would not be the people we are now without our dreams and imagination.

Creativity is not a concept bearing a single meaning, thus each person understands and utilizes it in one’s own individual way. For some it is sincere communication and the ability to provide positive emotions to others, whereas others see it as fantasy that gives meaning on canvas, or an emotional state expressed by subtle improvisation.

Every initiative that strives to present the works of our artists is welcome. I am very happy that our readers will have the wonderful opportunity to get acquainted with the classic works that represent not only the artists themselves but also Lithuania in a cultural context. This publication is a testimony to the hard work and an acknowledgement and assessment of your immeasurable creativity. It is the presentation of professionalism, resolute ambition and vibrant desire to a broader audience.

On behalf of all citizens of Klaipėda, I would like to congratulate you on your successful contribution in implementing this project. I believe that you will find inspiration while admiring the works of art presented in this catalogue, which just may encourage and spark the fire of the creative and inspired artist within yourself.

Sincerely,

Vytautas Grubliauskas Mayor of Klaipėda 8 National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania ithuania was rather late in joining in all advertising fields right here in the advertising club. It’s a club Lithuania. where everyone tries to attract the attention of the public so money After all, the creation of an can be earned in advertising a advertisement takes great teamwork. brand. The first advertising agencies If you want to make a precise, sprung up when the country effective and entertaining ad, you regained its independence in 1991. need the brain of a group of strategy L Today it is difficult to imagine the experts generating ideas, the deadpan landscape of Lithuania without wit of a copywriter and the strong billboards advertising something. and original vision of an art director. Traditional and internet media is You need a quick imagination, quick- teeming with advertisements. Just thinking designers, and organized trying to remember the situation in project managers with almost 1991 and compare the amount of mercurial mediation skills. If you advertisements back then with what want to turn an idea into a catchy we have now could make you dizzy advertisement, you have to work with wonder. with the best – invite photographers, stylists, designers, operators, However it must be said that the producers, film and special effects increase in quality is much more people. Finally, this newly created important than the growth in masterpiece will end up in the hands quantity. The Lithuanian advertising of media planners. And only then industry took their first baby steps, will this ad reach consumers who are got up on its own two feet, and grew sitting comfortably in front of their up quickly – the last few years have TV, looking through a free magazine seen Lithuanian advertising agencies in a café or trying to kill a little time garnering awards at international on the internet at work. advertising festivals. Today we can say with confidence Of course, prizes and that the Lithuanian advertising acknowledgement massage the industry is strong and healthy. We egos of marketing specialists have intelligent strategists, artists and those who create the with endless imagination, as well advertisements. However, the best as experienced producers. Next sign of the maturity of the Lithuanian time when you need to create an advertisement industry is the fact advertising campaign for your brand, that you can find experienced experts look for it in Lithuania. SATTA OUTSIDE’09 campaign. Not Perfect 2009

National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 9 e Lithuanians often joke about our inability to agree on various issues. However despite this, people in Lithuania can be very united. This was proved by the Baltic Way, which was a social action that took place on the 23 August, 1989 in all three Baltic countries. During this campaign, people formed a 650 km long human chain that stretched from Gediminas Tower in Vilnius through Riga and right up to Tallinn’s Tall Herman Tower. Approximately 2.5 million people took part in the campaign, W with about 1 million of these people being from Lithuania. Nobody in the West is surprised anymore by what are known as flash mobs. They are organized by shopping malls, various brands as well as by personal initiatives of individuals. Their formula is ingeniously simple: a group of people gather at an agreed-upon time and place and perform an act of some sort. The goals of these flash mobs can vary from being simply a fun way to spend time all the way to the implementing of serious marketing strategies. The effect of a flash mob relies on two main components – a feeling of community between the participants and the surprise of those who unexpectedly encounter the flash mob. Guerilla marketers are particularly interested in the latter component.

The Soviet Union still existed in 1989. Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia did not yet exist as states. Computers that occupied entire rooms were installed in just a few research labs, while the internet was known only to a handful of those in the military, scientists and some young enthusiasts. We simply did not have the internet. Not a single Lithuanian advertising agency existed – the first ones started to appear later in 1991. However, we had an ever-growing desire for freedom. By participating in the Baltic Way, we told the whole world about our intent to be free.

Today the Baltic Way is a well-respected, documented and carefully analyzed page of our country’s history. However, this romantic and grand act could be viewed through the prism of advertising. We could call the Baltic Way one of the most impressive and successful flash mobs in history, the best social campaign in our region which made a huge impact on today’s geopolitical map. The three independent The Baltic Way. 1989. Baltic countries can already count their age in decades. To Lithuanians, the Baltic Way serves as a reminder that we Photo by Kęstutis Vanagas/bfl can be united. It also reminds us that it is worth striving for higher existential aims, and not worry just about what we will buy or consume today.

10 black and graceful creature with a long tail. The title for the most famous and beloved animal in Lithuanian advertising goes to a blue-eyed panther that elegantly followed the movements of a handsome young man in an Omnitel mobile operator ad campaign in 2003. Afterwards all ad agencies and their clients would refer to this ad – you could hear people in ad agencies saying “give us a panther”, “we want another panther” or even “we don’t Creative team: R. Drąsutytė, R. Šarkauskaitė A need a panther”. What is this panther character exactly and why is it so important when talking about Lithuanian advertising? What was shown in the TV clip and in the press was the story of a friendship between a panther and a young man, but in a very subtle manner. Wherever he goes, she goes too. It doesn’t matter whether the panther is real, or it’s just the imagination of a guy in a video. The most important thing is that by using a simple association, millions of viewers have taken the qualities of this strong, wild and untamed creature they saw on TV and attributed them to Lithuania’s biggest mobile operator. In short, it’s a huge plus for Omnitel, and this plus has been measured using both qualitative and quantitative analysis. However today it’s not the exact amount of popularity it garnered, but the very fact that those that saw it really liked it. It is hard to explain rationally why people liked it, which is why that even after a careful analysis of this example and mixing the correct ingredients together, nobody in Lithuania has been able to create another panther, though many have tried.

There have been more fascinating and complex advertising campaigns in Lithuania. There were ad campaigns that swept awards at local and international ad competitions; there were very effective campaigns that sparked huge sales of product or services. The panther can boast only one award – which is an unprecedented connection with viewers. Even today, almost ten years later, you can still sometimes hear the panther ringtone on the street. Anyone who has been in advertising business for a while will say that that is an important victory, if not the most important one.

www.ddb.lt National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 11 f there would ever be a survey of what ads made Lithuanian viewers smile or laugh out loud, then without a doubt the top spot would be taken by the Hedgehog advertising campaigns of the Ežys pre-paid mobile operator cards that were made by various creative teams.

This is the most fun, original and dynamic Lithuanian brand. It seems that two forces were able to join up Creative teams: A. Dargužis, T. Gruzdys, T. Ramanauskas; A. Dargužis, I successfully: a brave client (what is quite rare in and A. Maceikaitė; R. Stanevičius, M. Kneipferavičius, A. Baltušnikas Lithuania) and really talented ad people (luckily we have many in Lithuania).

The result was witty and visually attractive ads; a connection with young viewers, quotes that spread like wildfire; great sales, lots of prizes, the ad makers’ satisfaction, the respect of their colleagues and, of course, jealousy.

Ežys shook up the Lithuanian advertising market in 2004 when they aired an ad showing two working class guys (Kęsts and Vyts) in track suits and bling sharing their opinions on life in a plain but heartfelt language. Viewers wholehearted took to these two guys right away – they seemed so familiar, so naive, so...us. It injected a healthy dose of irony into the conscious of Lithuanian viewers. This ad led to a number of experiments with content, form, and channels of media.

You could find Ežys special offers on sacks of potatoes and notebooks; Ežys offered the chance for young adults to try out new and popular professions, or develop their creativity at Ežys’ art incubator, or vote for Mėsa (Meat), which was a band created by Ežys that also competed in Lithuania’s Eurovision song competition. It is precisely the humor and intriguing experiments with media that turned Ežys into a unique brand with an impressive history of development.

www.leoburnett.lt

12 www.themilk.lt e would be in no way wrong in stating that the plays directed by Dalia Ibelhauptaitė are the most visible in Lithuania. Even if most people on the street are interested in computer games or discounts at shopping malls, they will still end up finding out what she and her creative crew of talented actors, musicians, singers, scenographers and designers are offering them this season. W The news about new concerts or operas will reach the masses in the form of an elegant ad in a free magazine, Creative team: R. Šarkauskaitė, M. Ratavičius; T. Silovas, M. Ratavičius; on a bookmark in a book loaned from the library, on the R. Šarkauskaitė, L. Januškevičienė, A. Budukevičiūtė; G. Kumetaitis, outside of a bus, or in the form of an extravagant and T. Cislikauskas unconventional outdoor ad (one of which was already banned – a giant ad featuring a meat grinder screw in the center of the city was vetoed by city officials, however that just sparked the interest in the meat grinder as well as the play).

Today it is clear that the decision of this hard-working and productive director to employ the best advertisement forces in Lithuania for creating publicity for her plays has worked very well. The original, eye-catching visuals certainly attract more people to Ibelhauptaitė’s performances. News about the premières even gets out to people who don’t have much interest in theatre premières. The ads for Ibelhauptaitė’s plays not only adorn the city and create added value for the city landscape, but also carry out a kind of educating mission.

And finally, the ad agencies that are in on the action also win. Their hard-working talents get a real opportunity to create art and work for art during work, and show their creative ambitions and skills that are often left aside when working on commercial projects. Acknowledgement by the professional advertising community is also critical – the ad makers that have worked together with Dalia Ibelhauptaitė have won a number of important awards at international ad festivals.

Sweeney Todd. Poster Nightingales Are Back. Poster DDB Vilnius 2009 Adell Taivas Ogilvy. 2010

www.ddb.lt www.themilk.lt

www.ogilvy.lt National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 13 an an advertisement be both deep and funny at the same time? Can it sell without sex or furry little animals? Are there any unique ads in Lithuania?

Ads can be both fun and deep; ads can reach the eyes, ears, and hearts of people without an image of a little dog wagging its tail, or a very manly man and femme fatale being passionate over a piece of chocolate; ultimately there are unique advertisements in Lithuania. Creative team: S. Masteikaitė and Petpunk C A 15 second animation short that invited people in Vilnius to the “Let There Be Night” event proves just that.

In 2009 Vilnius became a European Capital of Culture, during which there were more than 1,500 culture and art events that attracted more than 1.5 million visitors. A number of these cultural initiatives have become annual events. For cultural industries, this meant more possibilities for expression and cooperation. Theater, music, visual arts, cinema, architecture and literature – the pure arts were intermixing and searching for non-traditional forms, formats, places and even time. What did commercial advertising do? It rejoiced in the chance to do ads about art, and enjoyed broader creative freedom.

“Let There Be Night” is now a favorite festival of Vilnius that lasts the whole night. From serious plays at the National Drama Theatre to enthusiastic improvised concerts below church scaffolding, it is a night when Vilnius doesn’t sleep. It is a kind of northern cultural carnival that happens once a year.

Created by DDB Vilnius and released into the dark of night by Petpunk, the short animated invitation deserves the three above- mentioned yes answers for several reasons. The authors cleverly, precisely and conceptually dove into the proverbial deep waters and emerged healthy, alive and stronger. The night is not something bad – it is a dragon that gathers together both the idle and hard- working people of the city before eating the sun. Even small kids know that the snake-like spirals of the dragon are supposed to be fun and cool. But enough about the ad’s content. Regarding how it looks, the clip is also comprised of small miracles - the authors have given a second thought to and playfully adapted Lithuanian folk culture by using imagery of wooden carvings. And don’t forget we are talking about advertising, a genre that is constantly chasing contemporary and fashionable trends.

It does not matter how often Lithuanian advertisers have done something according to some cookie-cutter method. Sometimes they create unique things. www.ddb.lt

14 www.petpunk.com t just so happens that Lithuanian advertisers know the subjects of both beer and mobile communications very well. Although after work they might drink water, milk, wine or somewhat stronger drinks, at work they are most often making beer commercials. This competition between breweries (in Lithuania we have 4-5 big, active brands that Creative team: R. Šarkauskaitė, V. Gostasevičius, have a constant media presence) is a joy for advertising A. Kadzevičius, R. Stanevičius, and A. Baltušnikas agencies and reason strategists, media planners and ad I makers can’t afford to rest on their laurels. Almost everything has been tried – they taught us how to turn, pour, and shake beer (these kinds of ads are periodically released by every beer brand), showed us a number of stories that have become well-known (courtesy of Švyturys, Lithuania’s biggest brewery and DDB Vilnius and Not Perfect ad agencies), and given us a number of games and lotteries (by beer makers Utenos alus, Kalnapilis, and Tauro alus). Lithuania has gained a great amount of experience over the last 20 years in beer marketing strategy and beer advertisements, which is now in demand in neighboring countries such as Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Latvia.

The “Moving Riga” ad for Aldaris beer is a textbook story of success. A famous Latvian brewery submits an order for an image campaign to a Lithuanian advertising agency. The agency then gathers together an international team and creates an original and witty mini-story. The TV fairy tale is about Rigans who end up pulling the city next to the Aldaris Brewery so they can be closer to their beer. It has won awards not only in the Baltic, Slovenia, and Ukraine (first prize at the 2010 Adrenalinas Awards, silver at the 2010 Golden Hammer International Advertising Festival, silver at the 2010 Golden Drum International Advertising Festival, and gold at the 2010 Kiev International Advertisement Awards), but also won a bronze at the New York International Advertisement Awards. It is an honor not only for the beer, but also to the strategists and the creative team that spent years in offices, bars, on movie sets and photo studios patiently observing the stream of golden beer filling empty glasses.

www.themilk.lt National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 15 dvertising, which is one of the most commercial sectors in business, sometimes behaves in a totally non-commercial way. It doesn’t tell you to go out and buy something. It does not count the hours spent on a project, and does not provide a big bill to the client. Sometimes they do it for free. And by doing this, people in advertising often feel good. Because these jobs may not bring profit, but the people doing them will feel there is a purpose. Do we A need to remind you that “What is the point?” is one of the most difficult-to-answer questions in advertising?

So, we are talking about social advertising. How is it doing in Lithuania?

There are no official statistics about the ratio of commercial advertising to social advertising in Lithuania. However, keeping in mind that there are a number of social problems in Lithuania, we wish there were more targeted social advertisements that make an impact. We wish that clients (in this case, social institutions, public organizations or socially-responsible business clients) would not look at social advertising as a shabby curtain of sorts that covers up empty slots of time on TV, or a shovel for digging up money and shoring up the budget, or as a cheap way to improve one’s image.

Because social advertising can be abused in this way. However, in such cases the result is something that is hastily-made, of bad quality, insincere, and moralizing. Real social advertising can have an impact (you don’t have to show hungry children or the bloody victims of accidents), it can have a tangible effect not only on how the audience thinks, but on how behaves. Do we have good examples of social advertising in Lithuania? Yes. Here are some:

A trolleybus that has an ad on it that reads “Driver, protect my kids, and I will protect yours”, which is still remembered even though quite a few years have passed (DDB, Vilnius, 2005. Creative team S. Masteikaitė and T. Silovas). Social campaign for “Unicef”. Vrs grupė. 2008 Invitation card to charity evening for Jieznas Children’s Home. Milk 2009

www.ddb.lt www.vrs.lt www.themilk.lt 16 www.not-perfect.com A classic campaign in form but impressive in content - a UNICEF campaign to build schools in poor countries tells about a boy that learns to read from an inscription on a landmine (VRS group, 2008. Creative team T. Kasparavičius and M. Mačiulskis).

A person dressed up as Jesus stops you for a chat in Cathedral Square and tells you about the possibility to support Save the Children Lithuania using direct debit payments every month (2010. Creative team G. Grigaliūnaitė and K. Kosas).

An innovative brand called “For a Good Man”, which is an attractive tool to collect donations and sell various goods and services – from fresh buns to CDs (VRS group, 2010. Creative team N. Žemaitytė and E. Šniokaitė).

A non-traditional campaign on Lithuanian roads that calls on drivers to stop at pedestrian crossings and let pedestrians pass (Apeiros, 2010. Creative team Š. Mikulskis and A. Jakučionis).

Posters with texts that remind one of the quiet but clear voice of one’s conscious that appeared on billboards when the business world was engulfed by the economic crisis (Not perfect, 2010. Creative team D.Valančiauskas and P. Senūta).

Social campaign on Lithuanian roads Apeiros 2010

National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 17 n Western countries, the history of advertising is two or sometimes even three hundred years old. And in Lithuania, we started everything from scratch in 1991. To be more precise, everything started from the production of the first pin-up ads for the then newly established private cooperatives, tri-colored bumper stickers or pins that we were proud of wearing on our lapels. Soon afterwards the first advertising agencies began to appear and together with I them business learned and started using the expressions “brand”, “advertising strategy”, and “marketing campaign”. The advertising market not only grew, but matured. The creation of an association by a group of ad agencies was an important moment in the history of Lithuanian advertising.

KOMAA (the Lithuanian Association of Communication Agencies) was established in 2002. Today KOMAA unites 21 Lithuanian agencies that provide creative and media services. The goals of KOMAA are to develop the Lithuanian advertising market, strengthen the image of the industry, represent business interests in governmental institutions, organize seminars, solve problems of agencies and customers, and encourage the professional development of the agencies’ staff.

Each year KOMAA organizes the Adrenalinas International Advertising Festival, which is an important event in the Lithuanian advertising and media professionals’ community. Where else if not at Adrenalinas could you see the full spectrum of Lithuanian advertising with all of its ups and downs? Where would you meet so many colleagues, from the strictest of critics to most enthusiastic of supporters?

So if you want to know what’s new, good, bad, or just whether something interesting happened this year in the Lithuanian advertising market, pack your luggage and come to Adrenalinas. Most likely it’s here behind the scenes where it’s easiest to meet all the partners you need, take a look at an agency or creative team that you like, and feel the pulse of Lithuanian advertising. And despite the worldwide The Adrenalinas International The Adrenalinas International The Adrenalinas International recession, that pulse is healthy and strong. Advertising Festival Advertising Festival Advertising Festival Poster. Not Perfect 2007 Poster. Not Perfect 2010 Poster. Not Perfect 2011

18 www.komaa.lt MEMBERS OF KOMAA

Creative agencies

Adell Taivas Ogilvy www.ogilvy.lt ADVISION www.advision.lt DDB Vilnius www.ddb.lt Grey Worldwide: Vilnius www.grey.lt Kredo R www.kredor.lt Leo Burnett Vilnius www.leoburnett.lt Lowe Age www.loweage.lt Milk www.themilk.lt Not Perfect Y&R www.not-perfect.com SAN Vilnius/JWT www.san.lt TBWA\Vilnius [email protected]

Media agencies

Adcom www.adcom.com Carat www.carat.com Creative Media Services www.cms.lt Media House www.media-house.com Mediapool www.mediapool.lt Mindshare www.mindsharebaltics.com Omnicom Media Group www.omnicommediagroup.lt Starcom www.starcom.lt

Full services agencies

Tarela www.tarela.lt VRS grupė www.vrs.lt

National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 19 big part of advertisements in Lithuania are adaptations of foreign ads, which is a result of globalization. However when a new brand comes to Lithuania, it would be good for the brand to familiarize itself with aspects that are particular to the local market and develop ties with both international ad agencies and local ad agencies in Lithuania.

Advertising takes teamwork. Even in Lithuanian advertising A you have specialization. Successfully passing the message to the consumer requires a number of specialists in various Creative team T. Ramanauskas and G. Saulis fields, including brand strategists, project managers that ensure the smooth running of a project, as well as the idea-generating artists, which include the visualizers and scriptwriters, stylists, photographers, make-up specialists, illustrators, designers, producers, operators and a number of other professionals.

We would not be boasting if we said that Lithuania has experienced specialists in all fields, including the strategic side, creative side, production, and media planning. So if you decide to do an ad in Lithuania about tomato sauce or a chocolate bar with nuts being broken in half, you could fly an Italian or French specialist in to do a photo shoot with boiling spaghetti or making chocolate. But you don’t have to. You can consult with local advertisers and find the experts you need right here.

We have seen many times what a chocolate bar with nuts that has been broken in half looks like. We can illustrate the statement that many professionals of various fields work in Lithuania by using the example of a series of posters that was created by the Love Agency team and that could be used for a used bookshop abroad. The posters would certainly be a great addition to the display windows of any bookshop in Berlin, Rome or London. So the next time you want to advertise a product or a service in Lithuania, don’t hesitate to contact a local Lithuanian advertising agency.

Mint Vinetu’s “Become Someone Else” (“Pabūk kuo nors kitu”) campaign. 2011

20 www.loveagency.lt National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 21 22 National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania ithuanian architecture experienced newly established and restructured architectural and urban design more after independence than during architect offices that are testing competitions, and in this way the entire 20th century. Architecture international markets and offering searching for unique expression, historians will be the judge of this their ideas at international trying new creative forms and in the future, however no one will architecture competitions, as proving that our ideas can compete deny the fact that the last twenty well as high-quality large-scale with those of others around the years were especially significant. complexes by well-established world. It is a period in which generations companies that have stood the L of architects have changed rapidly, test of time who also pay just as The explorations of public space is a along with the attitude towards much attention to detail. The large second distinct trend that is tied to architecture, its place and importance number of local and international the qualitative, mature realizations within the society as well as the cities architectural competitions, awards of architecture, where established it has impacted. All kinds of things and nominations as well as public offices search for a new language occurred, and it was intense. These initiatives, coming from the bottom architecture, test the features of changes greatly affected the architects and changing the direction of the public space in real life while at and how they understood themselves architecture industry, reveal the the same time creating unique and as well as the cultural industries on unfading potential of active and socially responsible architecture that the whole. socially responsible architects. interprets the features of traditional architecture. Perhaps the main elements that This text, which gives an overview of define contemporary Lithuanian the creative industries of architecture, The third trend is the understanding architecture is the constant, can be divided into three groups of architecture as a field of culture; dynamic search for new direction, representing the main trends of bottom-up initiatives, the forming characteristics of national identity, the development of Lithuanian of an architecture community and contemplation on and interpretations architecture as a creative industry the actions, exploration, platforms, of identity, the exploration of and its achievements. and workshops they have undertook public space and the changing which are just as important for the of its limits, experiments with The first is the dynamic offices appearance of new architectural new, ultramodern architectural that illustrate the rise in quality characteristics and discoveries, along expression that have been negative of Lithuanian architecture and with the promotion of a new quality and positive. In Lithuania there its growing potential. These are and the creation of visions for the are highly recognizable designs by winners or nominees of international future.

National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 23 INTERNATIONAL AWARDS AND COMPETITIONS he works of Lithuanian and Finnish architects shared third place at the Stockholm Public Library International Architectural Competition to expand Stockholm’s Asplund Library that took place in November 2007. This achievement by a team of 9 co-authors that was put together by Rolandas Palekas and 8 other authors (Rolandas Palekas, Andrė Baldišiūtė, Bartas Puzonas, Alma Palekienė, Akvilė Brazauskaitė, Monika Zemlickaitė, Gilma Teodora Gylytė, T Džiugas Karalius, and Lina Sužiedelytė) could be called historic. It is the best success by Lithuanian architects at an international competition ever, which proves that our ideas can compete with those of others around the world. The Asplund Public Library in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, was designed by Gunar Asplund in 1920-1928, and is the pride of the city. The competition for expansion of this cultural symbol received much attention from the architecture community.

The work of Lithuanians was one the most original, offering a straightforward, but effective solution: they suggested to “cut into” a hill located on the site and put the new library under it. The work “cut” stood out with its conceptually robust idea and precise aesthetic, and intelligent way to provide a new context for Asplund’s building. This suggestion was very complex: despite the very simple idea, the project was both visible and hidden at the same time. The comission’s report stated that “inner cuts penetrate deep into the hill, cross the limits of the competition, but save the profile of the hill with the design of a grass roof”. The creation of a space, and not a building reflects the office’s philosophy that architecture is an art of spaces, and not of volumes. When a new building emerges, it provides new limits for spaces, ties, new transformations, and an unavoidable relationship with the surrounding environment.

The authors say that they did not create a building by cutting the hill. Architectural and conceptual values are expressed by the exceptional space of the entrance of the new library, while the monumental character of the old Asplund Library is strengthened in this new context. The multifunctional entrance space joins the old and new Rolandas Palekas Architecture Study libraries and becomes a public space. This project represents Project CUT for the Expansion of the Stockholm Library. 2007 the course of the office in its search for uniqueness – harmony with one’s surroundings, a conceptual cleanness, Photo on courtesy of the authors clarity, and the search of new regional and Scandinavian architectural features.

24 www.palekas.lt INTERNATIONAL AWARDS AND COMPETITIONS he competition of ideas for renovation and expansion of the Latvian National Museum of Art, which was won by Processoffice, was one of the most significant events in the context of Latvian, Estonian and Lithuanian architecture in the last few years. The museum, which was built in Riga in 1905, is an architectural monument that holds great significance for the country, however it has become dated both morally and physically. The conditions of the competition stated that T the project of reconstruction and expansion of the museum should provide solutions as to how to adapt the museum to be able to meet the modern needs for international exhibitions, educational work and public activity.

The Lithuanian project (authors Vytautas Biekša, Andrius Skiezgelas, Marius Kanevičius, and Rokas Kilčiauskas; co- authors: Ježi Stenkevič, Austė Kuliešiūtė, Miglė Nainytė, and Giedrius Špogis) is neither too pushy nor too expensive, and was designed after a comprehensive analysis of the museum and its environment as well as of the city. The building was created, as the authors themselves said, “with their hands tied”, in a restrained manner, and avoiding architectural excesses.

In this competition Lithuanians were almost the only ones that did not offer a modern addition. In their project, they utilized the attic and transferred a part of the premises underground. In addition, an accent was put on a glass terrace at the museum’s entrance. A part of the premises located underground was to be covered by glass and visible from the public space right next to the museum.

The winners of the competition demonstrated a unique and sensitive attitude: an old building is considered something to cherish, and great attention is paid to every square meter. According to the commission of experts, the arguments to renovate the existing building are strong and persuasive. The project is oriented towards creating a new value that is oriented at an old building, the space of which would be re- emphasized by renovating it. New premises for administrative and technical support are fit in a compact underground space, which creates a new local space and functions right next to the Processoffice and Andrius Skiezgelas historical building of the museum. This project is characterized Project of the Extention of Latvian National Museum of Art by a rational script that satisfies the needs of the museum, and proves that reasonableness can be one of the essential features Vizualization on courtesy of the authors of the architecture of our region, and that young architects are competitive in the international market.

www.processoffice.lt National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 25 INTERNATIONAL AWARDS AND COMPETITIONS he project “Office of Meteliai Regional Park” was nominated for the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture at the Exhibition Mies van der Rohe Award 2001 and is one of many nominations that this office (architects Gintautas Natkevičius, Rimas Adomaitis, Jonita Šyvokienė, and Artūras Asauskas) has received. These architects work in a particularly aesthetic and moderate manner, setting themselves apart with their harmony with their T surroundings, and their search for innovation, modernism, and a unique aesthetic as well as sensitivity in creating small-scale objects. This is one of the most conceptual and reasonable offices in Lithuania that is developing its own path, which is characterized by a unique, pure aesthetic with a special attention to details.

A unique building, the office of Meteliai Regional Park, is characterized by high quality architecture, and a sensitivity to the surrounding nature. It is situated on the shores of Dusia Lake in the territory of the Meteliai Regional Park Directorate. The composition of the complex is comprised of two architectural poles – a traditional as well as a modern one, with two stylistically different volumes stressing this dualism.

One of these poles hangs in the air, seeming allowing nature to enter it; it is an elegant, transparent combination of metal and glass placed on slender black columns. It is nestled up to an iconic house with a wooden shingle two-slope roof that interprets traditional architecture and decorative materials. The wall inside is decorated with the same wooden shingles.

The entire life of the complex takes place in nature, which can be observed from the second floor, where you can see the life of the lake from up on high. Thanks to the architects, nature became a full part of the interior, and the visual connection between the inner and outer is kept whole.

Gintautas Natkevičius and Partners Office of Meteliai Regional Park

Photo on courtesy of the authors

26 www.natkevicius.lt MATURE REALISATIONS he new central office of Swedbank has expanded the concept of having the center on the right bank of the Neris River. There were plans to move the city center there during the Soviet period, and work was started on highrise buildings. The architects that designed the building were Audrius Ambrasas’ Architects (Audrius Ambrasas, Vilma Adomonytė, Tomas Eidukevičius, and Donatas T Malinauskas). Konstitucijos Avenue and a pedestrian street are joined together on the bank’s plot of land, which becomes the main axis of the building that connects St. Rapolas Church to the Šnipiškės district. The first floor of the building, together with an intersecting café space and passage way has been developed as a public urban space with separate zones. It is a new interpretation of a public or public-private space, combining bank functions with transparency, publicness, and the city’s needs.

The large complex is comprised of three spaces that supplement but at the same time refute each other, which make everything balance out. Sharp spires stand out with their vertical profile. A horizontal space was designed and placed next to the busy Konstitucijos Avenue, and a soft and wavy stylobate is turned toward the river.

The general composition of the building is common to the whole right bank of the Neris River, however the roof of the stylobatic part of the roof was developed as a wave-like area with plants and recreational zones. Here much attention is given to detail and materials, with the intention to create a coziness, a recreational zone that satisfies the needs of a city dweller. Local residents and visitors are already enjoying it.

The Swedbank building does not dominate the skyline of Konstitucijos Avenue and fits well in the side of the urban hill, however the expressive forms, sharp geometry, contrasting colors of the facade and contours create an image, where priority is given to intensity, not modesty. Openness and friendliness to the environment are essential features of this complex, while the attractive views and Audrius Ambrasas Architects democratic atmosphere expand the limits of perception and The Central Office of Swedbank in Vilnius usage of the bank building, and the high quality of building indicates the skills of the architects. Photo by R. Urbakavičius on courtesy of the authors

www.ambrasas.lt National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 27 MATURE REALISATIONS fter 13 years of reconstruction of one of the main national cultural institutions, the National Art Gallery (the former Museum of the Revolution, architects Gediminas Baravykas and Vytautas Vielius) was opened to public during the celebration of the millennium of the first mention of Lithuania in historical sources. It was one of the most modest and widely covered projects in the foreign press (the architects involved in its reconstruction being Audrius A Bučas, Darius Čaplinskas, and Gintaras Kuginis), that stands out with its subtle attitude and technical details along with a great architectural ear in performing a duet of old and new.

These architects separated the old and new parts of the museum both visually and functionally. The old building hosts a permanent exhibition of Lithuanian visual art from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. The new premises, which are not distinguished by volume but rather emphasized by details, are for exhibitions and offices. The original appearance of the former Museum of Revolution, which is one of the best examples of Soviet Modernism in Lithuania, was preserved after the reconstruction, with only the decoration of the facade and poor quality construction work redone. However the interior was completely redone: what was created was a new, unbroken narrative of spaces that easily flow into one another.

A spacious 1000 m2 hall with conditions of the highest quality for temporary exhibitions was created in place of a former courtyard. The hall’s metal roof, perforated with skylights connects the old building and new “signs” of the gallery – two black, narrow buildings that are positioned like computer monitors that are meant for transferring information to the outside. They hold the gallery’s “brains”, which are offices for staff. The technological character of the new elements created by forms, materials and associations, clearly reflects the period and the ambitions of a contemporary cultural institution and society.

Despite the contrasting architectural expression, the new elements of the gallery complex stress the monumental character of the old building, thus strengthening the visual Audrius Bučas, Darius Čaplinskas, Gintaras Kuginis importance of the museum within the panorama of the (Gediminas Baravykas and Vytautas Vielius) new Vilnius center. According to one of the best critics of NGA Reconstruction. 2009 architecture Aaron Betsky, the building fascinates you with its sensitivity and natural contrast, and is one of the best Photo by R. Urbakavičius on courtesy of NGA contemporary designs that have been brought to fruition in Lithuania.

28 www.ndg.lt MATURE REALISATIONS here is a residential housing block in an out-of-the- way part of Vilnius Old Town, surrounded by Kalnų Park, the Užupis neighborhood and greenery, which is exceptional as it is an example of harmony of historical and contemporary architecture. Strict regulations in the Vilnius Old Town, which is protected by UNESCO, and the State Cultural Reserve of Vilnius Castles, the unique natural environment, and neighbouring 19th T century villas of Užupis demanded a sensitive solution. In taking the principles of traditional architecture and reworking them, the architects created the right image that apartment building should have, but also one that represented a new era, and garnered not only local awards, but also international design awards.

As it is common for old city districts, the small buildings that are often up to three stories tall are laid out in irregular fashion thus forming cosy spaces and niches that open up the view to the greenery from Krivių Street and fit the urban mood of Užupis. The characteristics that are typical of the historical architecture in the area are sloping roofs, and the proportion and color of the buildings can be seen in the Krivių namai apartment block. It is an original architectural language that is fused with national identity. Its contemporary character is strengthened by the minimalistic, polished silhouettes of the buildings, and contrasting and playful facades that are not overloaded with details. The search for expression and uniqueness within the historical environment of new architecture is relevant today, and it is good to know that there are examples that can be looked upon.

Tadas Balčiūnas, Vytautas Biekša, and Marius Kanevičius Apartment Houses on Krivių Street. 2008

Photo on courtesy of the authors

National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 29 INVESTIGATIONS OF PUBLIC SPACE hat is needed is to tie the cultural rehabilitation of Vilnius’ rivers with their history. Shipping on the Neris River began in 1929. After World War II, when the capital underwent rapid urbanization, a decision was made to create a waterway and mark it with buoys and embankments, so in other words, with navigation signs. Passenger vessels started to sail on the waterway after it was established. Keeping this in mind, there are still efforts being made to W ready the Neris River, which is the main river in Vilnius, and adapt it for shipping. However it is only recently that artists have started to inject life back in the river by decorating it with slogans. The newest, and probably longest-lasting initiative that invited the city to “look back at the river” is the cultural platform KULTFLUX, established on the Neris embankment in Vilnius. The project was initiated by the Platform for Urban Culture (PUC – Andrius Skiezgelas, Martynas Nagelė, Ula Tornau and Aleksandaras Kavaliausias, pavilion architects: Andrius Skiezgelas, Martynas Nagelė and Aleksandras Kavaliauskas; construction – Saulius Kavaliauskas and Darius Spranaitis, JPHouse). It is an interactive interdisciplinary platform that invites you to join and act.

First of all, KULTFLUX is an artistical initiative that seeks to revive the embankment, and in this way join the discussion about the possibilities that Vilnius public spaces provide. It is also a specially designed space, which seeks to help Vilnius residents “tame” the river once again and view it from a different perspective, and revive the embankment, the terrain, panorama and position of which in the city makes it perfect for cultural activities. The program of this platform is open and changing.

KULTFLUX’s project raises and highlights the city’s problems that seem to go unnoticed. It is an attempt to define the spheres of interest and limits of the ties between the art-public space or human-public space, mark a particular cultural territory within the city of Vilnius, actively examine both theoretical and practical discourse on public spaces. During the time of its existence, this initiative has received acclaim from the professional KULTFLUX pavilion on the Neris embankment. 2009 community and the general public.

Photo on courtesy of the authors

30 www.kultflux.lt INVESTIGATIONS OF PUBLIC SPACE he idea for an architecture park, which was initiated by the Vilnius city municipality, could be considered an alternative form for the display of architecture in the city. Mindaugas Pakalnis, who is the chief architect of the Vilniaus planas municipal enterprise, stated that “if implemented the “Vilnius Architecture Park” project would transform the banks of the Vilnia River from Užupis to Belmontas forest and former Soviet T factories into an exceptional apartment building area of architectural and active cultural life. Plans are being made where representatives of the creative industries could be comfortably accommodated and where it would be possible to spend one’s free time”. As Rūta Matonienė, an architect and representative of the Vilnius City Municipality coordinating the project, stated that the idea was born after visiting similar architecture parks in Germany and Sweden, which act as a great open-air architectural exhibition.

The “Architectural Park” project is highly regarded in Lithuania, because people from different social strata (real estate developers, architects, sociologists, specialists of creative industries, local or city communities) are involved in the planning process and there is a public discussion not only about the future neighborhood, but also about the area’s historical past, the architectural/urban heritage, and the relationship of the area and the Old Town.

Although this project is in its initial stage, experts from various spheres along with the community are already involved in it in different ways. In 2008 creative workshops that were organized, during which discussions were held with the intention to find common solutions and further development possibilities for the area, along with community surveys, with the results visualized by groups of architects. It is hoped that after the implementation of the project the territory open for visitors will be an exemplary architectural park that allows visitors to experience spatial sensations while standing between buildings that are of a natural size.

Vilnius Architecture Park Currently various groups of architects are developing the Workshop vizualization. 2008 project’s idea of a “self-formed city”. There are plans to carry out the first stage of this park over the next five to Photo on courtesy of Vilnius municipality seven years.

www.architekturosparkas.lt National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 31 CULTURAL INITIATIVES rchitecture Fund is a non-governmental independent non-profit organization that supervises activities devoted to cultivating humane, sensitive, thinking and perceptive traits in people. It is an informal movement that was based on the first architectural exhibition that took place in re-independent Lithuania entitled “View at Yourself” in 2004. In 2009-2011 this public company evolved into a multi-layered voluntary initiative that brings together A about 120 volunteers and which broadens the limits of the understanding of architecture culture, and encourages cultural exchanges and cooperation.

Today Architecture Fund is a platform that initiates and moderates many activities: Architecture [conversation] Fund, Architecture [topics] Fund, Architecture [books] Fund, Architecture [excursions] Fund, Architecture [children’s] Fund, The Arnas Dineika Scholarship, an online database of modern architecture at www.modernizmas.lt, publication projects, and other activities that arise a reaction to current events, initiatives and suggestions of volunteers.

The largest initiative, which is the Architecture [discussion] Fund, connects a number of activities, including high- quality lecture cycles (with five lectures for every topic) for architects and the public. The lectures attract not only architecture experts, students or others that are interested in the field, but they are becoming more and more attractive for people from other spheres, because these conversations inspire them to look at architecture from a different angle, understand it, and love it. The project does not limit itself to lectures – after the lectures there are also discussions over a glass of wine, a collection of books recommended by lecturers, and a community of like-minded responsible and conscious people that are interested in what is going on around them.

All the activity of Architecture Fund is carried out using the relay race principal, when a new volunteer is paired with a more experienced volunteer. Then the next year after the new volunteer has gained experienced, they then tutor a new volunteer, and so on, thus ensuring continuity and Architecture (discussion, excursion, news, children...) fund. 2011 constant dynamics. This is an important step in the direction of a culture of architecture in Lithuania. Photos by Norbert Tukaj

32 www.archfondas.lt CULTURAL INITIATIVES fter regaining independence, Lithuania soon encountered the problem of dealing with new architecture principles. After being fed up with spontaneous architecture and uncontrolled urban development, new alternatives were introduced for developing and solving problems of large private urban areas of cities. One of the ways was to begin initiating international architecture competitions and creative workshops that would attract high-level creative and intellectual potential from both A local and foreign resources. Andre Baldi Architecture Urbanism is a socially responsible company of young architects that designs only socially responsible architecture, and that is the reason why they, together with JSC “Žalioji linija” (the Green Line) organized and coordinated probably the biggest and most important creative workshops to work on the development of the Ogmios neighborhood in Vilnius and the regeneration of the Lituanica industrial area in Kaunas. Teams from Lithuania and abroad took part in the workshops, with the winner selected by an international commission. The provided results were not only important as guidelines for territorial development, but also as a storehouse for ideas and an expression of decision making and the educational process.

The international Ogmios creative workshops on urban development took place on 23-26 October, 2008. The idea was to transform the current 140,000 m2 shopping area into a special multifunctional centre that would be attractive to both business and residents. The participants received a task to prepare ideas for public buildings, offices, and a recreation and shopping center complex over a span of three days with the help of 24 students.

The international Lituanica creative workshops on urban development took place on 24-27 September, 2009, with a second stage taking place on 10-23 December, 2009. The focus of the workshop was an 11 ha territory in Kaunas’ Old Town that belongs to several owners. A part of this territory is public land and not divided into lots. The participants had the task of creating a vision for the building, evaluate and justify these aspects: the using of the context’s uniqueness, the visual International workshop Lituanica organized by Andre Baldi Architecture and functional connection of the territory with Kaunas Castle Urbanism. 2008 and its surroundings; the integration into the spatial fabric of the Old Town, the selection of a suitable scale of the spaces; Photo by Saulius Jankauskas the preservation of valuable Old Town silhouettes; and the selection of an appropriate height of the structures.

www.andrebaldi.lt/index.php?cid=35 National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 33 34 National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania ithuania cannot boast a big national sponsorship and funding, while to the production of the film “The cinema market, however its cinema is directors of a new generation came Bug Trainer”. In 2011 Lithuanian film well-established and acknowledged into play. director Mantas Kvedaravičius made internationally. Lithuanian films his debut with the documentary often participate in prestigious Šarūnas Bartas’ name is associated “Barzakh” produced by outstanding cinema festivals in Cannes, Berlin, with the turning point in post- Finnish film director Aki Kaurismäki, Leipzig, Amsterdam and elsewhere, Soviet Lithuanian cinema and the which opened the DocPoints Festival and have been winners of a number establishment of Kinema, the first in Finland and the program of L of awards and special prizes. independent cinema studio in the documentaries in the Panorama Lithuanian films are appreciated country. Lithuanian cinematography session of the Berlin International for the values of cinematography has been made well-known by the Film Festival. In the same year that have been maintained, for their films of Audrius Stonys, Valdas the Lithuanian film industry was visual expression, and their themes of Navasaitis, Algimantas Puipa, Gytis featured at the European Film Market personal and social identity. Lukšas, and Kristijonas Vildžiūnas. for the first time. Professional interest The creative and organizational work in cinema art is promoted by an The outstanding works of film of Lithuanian Jonas Mekas, who educational project for secondary directors Almantas Grikevičius, resides in the U.S., has been of crucial school students called the Skalvija Algirdas Dausa, Arūnas Žebriūnas, importance to the development Film Academy. The annual Vilnius Raimondas Vabalas, Vytautas of avant-garde cinema. In 2007, International Film Festival Cinema Žalakevičius, and Marijonas Giedrys Arūnas Matelis was awarded Spring (Kino pavasaris) introduces set themselves apart with their the Best Director Award in the its viewers to world cinema, while individual style and professionalism Documentary Feature Category by the Scanorama European Film Forum within Soviet cinema, while directors the Directors Guild of America for presents a thorough panorama Robertas Verba and Henrikas the film “Before Flying Back to the of European films and initiates Šablevičius were instrumental in the Earth”. Film producer Rasa Miškinytė cooperation in film production creation of a genre known as poetic has utilized the possibilities that among cinema professionals from documentary. After independence, international co-production offers, Northern, Eastern, and Central substancial changes occurred in with Polish, Japanese, Dutch and European countries and the Baltic the principles of film production, Finnish film companies contributed countries.

National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 35 ilm critics have compared the films of Šarūnas Bartas with the work of Andrei Tarkovsky, Bella Tarros, and Robert Breson. In 1989 Bartas established Kinema, the first independent film studio in the country where the first Lithuanian co-produced films were made. Bartas made his cinematic debut with the film “In Memory of the Day Passed By” and was awarded a special jury and viewers’ prize at Amsterdam Documentary Film Festival in 1990. F The world premieres of the feature films “Three days”, “The Corridor”, “Few of Us”, “The House”, “Freedom”, and “Seven Invisible Men” have taken place at Berlin, Cannes, www.kinema.lt/lt/10908715000616/ Venice film festivals and have garnered numerous prizes. In 2001, Šarūnas Bartas received the National Culture and Cameramen: Audrius Kemežys, Dmitri Ermakov Arts Award for his films “Few of Us”, “The House” and Music: Alexander Zekke, “Freedom”. http://www.myspace.com/zekkebrothers Sound director: Vladimir Golovnitski His newest film, “Eastern Drift”, tells the story of a drug Editor: Danielius Kokanauskis dealer who is floating around France, Russia and Lithuania. Cast: Klavdija Koršunova, Šarūnas Bartas, Eliza Sednaoui, Erwan Bartas moves his viewers from the melancholic geographical periphery in his earlier work to another kind of wasteland – Ribard, Arūnas Storpirštis modern cities. “Telling the plot of the film, I wanted to Co-produced by: Studio Kinema (Vilnius), Lazennec et Associes show what I feel and see. The three countries where the plot (Paris), with participation of Cinema without Frontiers (Moscow) unfolds seem very distant and should be different, but the International sales: UMEDIA, www.umedia.fr cities are alike. One could easily take Moscow for Paris and Paris for Vilnius and vice versa. Those three territories are the three themes of the film” (Šarūnas Bartas). The film was featured in the Forum program of the Berlin International Film Festival. In 2010, “Eastern Drift” was also in the cinema in France.

Awards

2010 Lithuanian Cinema Academy Silver Crane Awards: Best Film (“Eastern Drift”), Best Director (Šarūnas Bartas), Best Actress (Klavdija Koršunova) http://www.lietuviukinoakademija.lt The Best Baltic Film in the Tridents Baltic Film Competition at the Black Nights International Film Festival (PÖFF), 2010, http://2010.poff.ee/eng Main Prize at the 19th KinoShock 2010 Open Film Festival in “Eastern Drift”. Director Šarūnas Bartas. 2010 Anapa, Russia www.kinoshock.ru/eng

36 ack To Your Arms” is the first-ever Lithuanian-Polish co-production. The film studios that were involved in cooperation were Uljanos Kim studija and Studio Filmowe TOR (http://www.tor.com.pl), the latter led by outstanding “ Polish director and producer Krzysztof Zanussi. Kristijonas Vildžiūnas is one of the most fascinating contemporary Lithuanian directors today. His feature film B “The Lease” marked his international directorial debut in the Upstream Competition of the Venice International Film Festival. The world premiere of his second feature film “You http://www.kaiapkabinsiutave.lt/ Am I” was screened in the Different View program of the Cameraman: Vladas Naudžius Cannes Film Festival. Both films received awards for Best Feature Film of the Baltics at the Riga International Film Music: A. Komasa-Łazarkiewicz Festival “Arsenals”. Sound director: Saulius Urbanavičius Storyboard: Galius Kličius The drama “Back To Your Arms” was inspired by real-life Costume designer: Agnė Rimkutė events. The story is based on a letter that was sent by Dalia Editors: Kristijonas Vildžiūnas, Valdas Misevičius Juknevičiūtė (an American of Lithuanian descent) to her Cast: Elžbieta Latėnaitė, Andrius Bialobžeskis, Jurga Jutaitė, husband poet Algimantas Mackus. The letter described the details of a meeting that took place between a father and Margarita Broich, Giedrius Arbačiauskas, and Aleksas Kazanavičius daughter in 1958. The characters, fated to be separated during World War II, face extreme situations and are forced to make decisions they can put off no longer. Their meeting turns into a chance for opposing political powers to use the situation to their own advantage.

Awards

Eight 2011 Lithuanian Cinema Academy Silver Crane Awards: Best Picture, Best Director (Kristijonas Vildžiūnas), Best Script (Kristijonas Vildžiūnas), Best Actor (Andrius Bialobžeskis), Best Actress (Elžbieta Latėnaitė), Best Supporting Actor (Giedrius Arbačiauskas), Best Supporting Actress (Margarita Broich), and Best Production Design (Galius Kličius), www.lietuviukinoakademija.lt

“Back To Your Arms”. Director Kristijonas Vildžiūnas. 2010

National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 37 uropean Film Academy (EFA, www.europeanfilmacademy. org) member Arūnas Matelis was the first film director from Eastern Europe to win the Directors Guild of America “For Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary”, one of the biggest awards in the film industry. “Before Flying Back To Earth” is perhaps the most well-known Lithuanian film worldwide, having garnered a number of awards. It is a moving and poetic glimpse into the lives of children living E with leukemia in a hospital. Matelis stated that “being in this hospital with children who are suffering from severe illness, I was able to observe a phenomenon that inspired me to make this film. I witnessed children and their parents, who despite their anxiety and pain, often looked happier than those www.nominum.lt beyond the walls of the hospital. Why? How could that be?” Cameraman: Audrius Kemežys Sound: Kipras Mašanauskas, Jonas Maksvytis, Viktoras Juzonis, Awards and Arūnas Matelis Editor: Katharina Schmidt Best Documentary Award, Directors Guild Of America, 2006, Film companies: TAG/TRAUM (Germany) and Nominum www.dga.org (Lithuania), in cooperation with ZDF/Arte TV Golden Dove Grand Prize, International Film Festival DOK- Leipzig, 2005, www.dok-leipzig.de World première at the Leipzig Film Festival 2005, Silver Wolf Grand Prize, Amsterdam International www.dok-leipzig.de Documentary Film Festival, 2005, www.idfa.nl Best Lithuanian Film 2005, “For directorial mastership and discretion introducing a tender topic”, Lithuanian Cinematographers’ Union, www.kinosajunga.lt Lithuanian National Award 2006, “For giving meaning to humanist values, for essay-like language in the documentary “Before Flying Back To The Earth”” Grand Prize, Documenta Madrid International Film Festival, 2006, www.documentamadrid.com Big Stamp Award, International Documentary Film Festival Zagreb DOX, 2006, www.zagrebdox.net Grand Prize, Pärnu International Documentary and Anthropology Film Festival, 2006, www.chaplin.ee/ filmfestival Honorable Mention, Documentary Film Festival Silverdocs, 2006, www.silverdocs.com Spirit Award, Brooklyn Film Festival, 2006, www.brooklynfilmfestival.org Gold Star Award, PIN 2007, http://www.wipo.int/portal/ index.html.en LT Identity Award for 2006 “For Promoting the Name of Lithuania” “Before Flying Back To Earth” LNK Wing of Merit Award Director Arūnas Matelis. 2005

38 antas Kvedaravičius received his M.A. in Cultural Antropology from Oxford University. He is currently studying at Cambridge University where he is working on his Ph.D. and a monograph on the power and pain of the state. From 2003 to 2005, Mantas Kvedaravičius taught the theory of religion, law and politics at universities in New York State. Since 2006 he has been investigating cases of torture and disappearance in the North Caucasus. The M images that were filmed during a three-year period in Chechenya gave birth to a heart-wrenching chronicle of www.barzakhfilm.com suffering. The characters of “Barzakh” are the loved ones Cinematography: Mantas Kvedaravičius of those who have disappeared, and one man that has Additional Cinematography: Ahmed Gisaev, experienced torture. “I wanted to reveal what people go Zarema Mukusheva through when they don’t know whether their beloved ones Sound: Tero Malmberg are dead or alive. Almost every single Chechen family has Editing consultant: Timo Linnasalo, Giedrius Zubavičius dealt with this”, said film director Mantas Kvedaravičius. “Barzakh” opened the DocPoints – Helsinki Documentary The film was produced by film company Sputnik Oy Film Festival in Finland and the program of documentary (Finland) which is headed by Aki Kaurismäki, films at the Berlin International Film Festival Berlinale 2011 and Lithuanian film company Extimacy Films (www.berlinale.de). International sales: The Match Factory www.the-match-factory.com Awards

Ecumenical and Amnesty International jury award at the Berlin International Film Festival, 2011 Lithuanian Cinema Academy Silver Crane Award for Best Documentary, 2011 Grand Prix in the International Program of the BelDocs Documentary Film Festival, 2011 (Belgrade, Serbia), www.beldocs.rs Honorable Mention from the Planete Doc Film Festival, 2011 (Warsaw, Poland), http://planetedocff.pl/ The Best Baltic Documentary film, 8th Vilnius Documentary Film Festival (VDFF), 2011

“Barzakh”. Director Mantas Kvedaravičius. 2011

National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 39 he Bug Trainer” is an internationally co-produced documentary about Ladislas Starewitch (1882-1965), who was a pioneer in puppet animation. He started his work in puppet animation in Lithuania, moving to Russia, and “ later to France. Starewitch kept guard over his secrets. He worked alone and never disclosed his unique methods of animation to others. For cinematographers in the genre around the world, his achievements and craftsmanship T were long the pinnacle of their dreams. “The Bug Trainer” is a combination of a feature film, documentary and animation, examining early cinematography as well as the political and historical events shaping Europe in the twentieth century. Script writers: Linas Augutis, Donatas Ulvydas, Jonas Banys The film premiere was in the International Documentary Cameraman: Ramūnas Greičius Competition of the 43rd Karlovy Vary International Film Animation operator: Mikołaj Jaroszewicz Festival, www.kviff.com. Production designer: Jurgita Gervilaitė Animator: Adam Wyrwas Editor: Audrius Naujalis Awards Music: Linas Rimša Best Educational Film, ReAnimation’09 International Production company: “Era Film”, www.erafilm.lt Animation Film festival in Yerevan, 2009 Co-producers: SE-MA-FOR Film Production (Poland), www.se-ma-for.com, Special Jury Prize, XVI Minsk International Film Festival NHK (Japan), Avro (the Netherlands), Yle Coproduction (Finland). Listapad, www.listapad.com, 2009 In cooperation with DR TV (Denmark), SVT (Sweden), NRK (Norway), Grand Prix, Berdyansk International Film Festival TSR (Switzerland), ETV (Estonia), LRT (Lithuania). Under the patronage www.day.kiev.ua, 2009 of the National UNESCO Commission of Lithuania Special Jury Prize, The 2010 World of Knowledge Film Festival in St. Petersburg Lithuanian Cinema Academy Silver Crane Award for Best Directorship, Best Script, Best Music, and Best Production, http://www.lietuviukinoakademija.lt, 2009

“The Bug Trainer” Directors Donatas Ulvydas, Linas Augutis, Marek Skrobecki, Rasa Miškinytė. 2008

Film still by Paulina Majda

40 According to Brian Frye, a filmmaker, curator The spectrum of Mekas’ creativity is broad, and writer living in New York , “the founder ranging from narrative films (“Guns of of Anthology Film Archives, the Filmmakers’ the Trees”, 1961) to documentaries (“The Cooperative and Film Culture magazine, Brig”, 1963) and diaries, for example Jonas Mekas helped shape the public image of “Walden” (1969), “Lost, Lost, Lost” (1975), avant-garde filmmaking in America, as well “Reminiscences of a Voyage to Lithuania” as profoundly influenced its self-identity.” (1972), “Zefiro Torna” (1992) and “As I was Moving Ahead, Occasionally I Saw Brief A Mekas is the godfather of American avant- Glimpses of Beauty” (2001). garde filmmaking, or “New American Cinema”, as he dubbed it in the late 1950s, and His films have been screened at festivals played diverse roles in it: in 1954 he became and museums around the world. the editor in chief for Film Culture, and in “Celebration of the Small and Personal 1958 he started writing articles for the Movie in the Time of Bigness” was presented in http://jonasmekasfilms.com/ Journal column in the Village Voice; in 1962 he the Lithuanian Pavilion at the 51st Venice founded the Filmmakers’ Cooperative (FMC) Biennale 2005. His newest film “Sleepless together with a group of people including Nights Stories” was featured at the Berlin Emile de Antonio. In 1964 Mekas founded the Film Festival 2011. Filmmakers’ Cinémathèque, which eventually grew into the Anthology Film Archives, one In October 2007, President Valdas Adamkus of the world‘s largest and most important granted Jonas Mekas citizenship of the repositories of avant-garde films. Republic of Lithuania by way of exception.

Awards Pier Paolo Pasolini Award, Paris, 1997 International Documentary Film Association Jonas Mekas has received numerous grants Award, Los Angeles, 1997 and awards from such institutions as the New Governors Award, Skohegan School of York State Council on the Arts, the Rockefeller Painting and Sculpture, 1997 Foundation, the National Endowment for the Doctor of Fine Arts, Honoris Causa, Arts, Albright Knox Gallery, and the Long Universitatis Vytauti Magni, Lituanika, 1997 Wharf Theatre Foundation. In 2003, Jonas Mekas received the Great Cross of the Order for Merits, one of the Gold Medal, Philadelphia College of Art, “For top Lithuanian award from the state, for devotion, passion, and selfless dedication to promoting Lithuania, as well as fostering and the rediscovery of the newest art”, 1966 developing international ties. Guggenheim Fellowship, Guggenheim In 2006, the Directors Guild of America Foundation, 1977 awarded the Anthology Film Archives for Creative Arts Award, Brandeis University, merits to the film industry. Jonas Mekas’ film 1989 “Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania” Mel Novikoff Award, San Francisco Film was included among the best of America’s Festival, 1992 films protected by the USA National Cinema Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, Protection Council. (Only 25 films are added Jonas Mekas Ministry of Culture, France, 1992, 2000 to the National Film Registry of the Library Lithuanian National Award, 1995 of Congress every year). The Movie Critics Photo by Doctor of Fine Arts, Honoris Causa, Kansas Association of Los Angeles honored Jonas Gediminas City Art Institute Special Tribute, New York Mekas for his contribution to the US film Kajėnas Film Critics Circle Award, 1996 industry and culture.

National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 41 he first national film stand of Lithuania was introduced at the European Film Market at the Berlin International Film Festival Berlinale (www.berlinale.de) in 2011. The stand was organized by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania and public company Eksportuojanti Lietuva and MEDIA Desk Lietuva (International Cultural Programme Centre). In 2011 more than twenty enterprises and organizations were on hand T to represent Lithuania, including such film companies as Kino vilkai, which is a collection of eight enterprises based in Vilnius, Tremora (www.tremora.com), Era Film (www.erafilm.lt), Monoklis (www.monoklis.lt), organizers of festivals such as the Vilnius International Film Festival Cinema Spring and Kaunas International Film Festival (www.kinofestivalis.lt), and representatives from cinemas including Skalvija (www.skalvija.lt), and Pasaka (www.kinopasaka.lt).

In 2010 the European Film Market was visited by more than 6,500 representatives of the film industry from 81 countries, including film companies, distributors, broadcasters, and film festival organizers. There were 419 companies from 50 countries that had their own stands.

First national film stand of Lithuania European Film Market at the Berlin International Film Festival Berlinale. 2011

42 t the Skalvija Film Academy, students have lectures on the theory and analysis of feature films and documentaries and cinema history, as well as hands-on workshops where students learn how to use film-making equipment (such as camera, lights etc.). Professionals in the field of film making, including screenwriters, directors, editors, cameramen, and film critics gladly A share their knowledge and experience. Every semester concludes with the creation of short films by students of the academy and a public screening at Skalvija cinema. Fellows and partners of the Skalvija www.skalvija.lt Film Academy including the public company Čiobreliai, public limited companies Cinevera and Actors agency, and sponsors – the Municipality of Vilnius and the Cultural Foundation of the Republic of Lithuania. Cinema Center Skalvija was awarded a Silver Crane for its years of work in educational projects. At the 15th Annual Europa Cinemas Conference, Skalvija garnered the Europa Cinemas Award for Best Programming in 2009. Europa Cinemas, which unites 1,005 cinema theaters in 68 countries, is dedicated to supporting the distribution of films made locally and European-wide, as well as the realization of related projects and events.

Skalvija Film Academy

Photo by Romas Ušakovas

National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 43 ilnius International Film Festival Cinema Spring (Kino pavasaris), www.kinopavasaris.lt is the biggest and most important event in film in Lithuania since 1995.

Partners include the EU’s MEDIA program (www. mediadesklithuania.eu). Cinema Spring is a member of the Confederation Internationale des Cinemas D’Art et V D’Essai, http://www.cicae.org/. Each year more than 100 films from all over the world are featured at the festival during a two-week period. The New-Europe – New Names Program Competition was inaugurated at the Vilnius International Film Festival www.kinopavasaris.lt Cinema Spring in 2009, and quickly became the highlight of the festival. The films are judged by an international jury formed of professionals from the film industry.

In 2011 the Second Annual International Film Festivals Forum was held. The main aim of this event was to establish and foster ties with the main international film festivals in Central and Eastern Europe. Every year the festival invites viewers to cinemas in Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Panevėžys.

Lithuanian films and premieres comprise a major part of the program, but the festival also offers events geared for the needs of the film industry, including meetings between festival organizers from neighboring countries, film making workshops, master classes for upcoming professionals and workshops for young film makers, and meetings with film directors, producers, and program organizers.

The festival is proud to have received guests such as Emir Kusturica, Mike Leigh, Leos Carax, Javor Gardev, Attila Galambos and actors like Hana Schygulla, Ian Somerhalder, and Dexter Fletcher among others. In 2011 the 16th Vilnius International Film Festival Cinema Spring had over 64,000 visitors, which was the biggest number in the history of the festival.

Vilnius International Film Festival Cinema Spring

44 he European Film Forum Scanorama has been organized since 2003. What started out as the Nordic Film Forum soon became the biggest forum for Nordic film in the Baltic, with ties coming through cooperation and direct contact with the best international film festivals in Europe. Scanorama was the first to bring European films to a wider audience (Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda), because its fundamental concept is to promote the spirit of good T film troughout Lithuania. www.scanorama.lt Scanorama not only screens films but also distributes European copyright films to Lithuanian cinemas and TV channels. In 2006 Scanorama became a member of the Alliance of Central and East European Film Festivals, which is an international network of European film festivals. In cooperation with the Crossing Europe Film Festival Linz, Scanorama organizes their own Crossing Europe, which is a panorama of the work of Europe’s brightest film directors. The primary focus of Scanorama are on the Go Young Generation master class workshops and Guest Voice competition program, where the best short film from the Baltic is selected. The original and already traditional Scanorama nights include retrospectives of prominent European film directors, film classics, and educational programs.

European film stars that have visited include Lena Endre, Baltasar Kormakur, Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, Lars von Trier’s producer Meta Louise Foldager, along with representatives of such institutions as the European Producer’s Club, European Film Promotion, Norwegian Film Institute, experts of MEDIA, board members of the Council of Europe European Film Support Fund Eurimages, and international film festival directors. Scanorama is the only festival thus far to have brought two Oscar winners to Lithuania – James Marsh and Simon Chinn (“Man on Wire”) – along with a host of shooting stars in European film.

European Film Forum Scanorama

National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 45 46 National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania n recent years Lithuania has seen an application distributor alongside Apple. The production processes that had nothing to do increase in the number of both commercially company, headed by Ilja Laurs, started out with the Lithuanian creative industry. successful companies and enthusiasts that by selling applications and games to a major make computer games. It is true that we have telecommunications companies in Lithuania. During the last few years Lithuanian neither a computer or video games industry, specialists have seized the opportunities that nor a market that would create a demand The two above-mentioned trends are still came with Apple products like the iPhone and for this industry. We do not have specialized clearly visible today: some game makers see iPad. The number of Lithuanian products in educational institutions that are able to provide life as too short to experiment and create Apple e-shops is increasing. Game makers are I training, however some of them are starting something that isn’t profitable, while others also keenly interested in Android. to expand the scope of their study programs. say that they never think about the financial Globalization and enthusiasm are two reasons gain. It is both ironic and symbolic that An example that could point toward a bright that can explain this phenomenon. Wireframe Dreams, who were the makers future for the Lithuanian gaming industry of the first commercial computer game in are Paulius Liekis and Arminas Didžiokas, Since the beginning (if we consider the Lithuania, disbanded right after the release who won first place in an augmented beginning to be the beginning of this century), of their first game (2006). Due to the weak reality programmers’ contest organized by there have been two trends: some began purchasing power and lack of tradition, Qualcomm, which is a mobile technology looking for possibilities to turn making Lithuanian users (the majority of them are very producer. They created a game called computer games into a lucrative business, young) are not keen on buying games, because “Paparazzi”, where the play becomes a others declared their love for the gaming they can download things illegally. paparazzi photographer and photographs his culture and did not care about the financial victim; however the target unexpectedly comes benefits. The former immediately developed Exceptions to this rule are companies that rushing at him and starts smashing the phone. relations with partners in neighboring make games and cooperate with governmental They won a money prize of $125,000 dollars countries (Russia and Ukraine), because institutions and make educational products for their efforts. these countries had larger markets and had and applications that are used in learning. closer ties with the biggest computer game Their business has fewer risks involved. We Paulius Liekis has been programming for more companies in the West. The latter organized want to distinguish one particular company, than a decade. Liekis and Didžiokas and some themselves into independent teams and put which created a simulation game for the Prison other game makers recently banded together their products on the internet. department – this product is used to improve and established Pixel Punch (www.pixel- the re-socialization skills of prisoners. punch.com). Their new product for iPhone, Here we could mention two success iPod touch and Android devices is a fight stories: “Ivolgamus” (www.ivolgamus. Until recently Tecmo Koei, which was a game called “Rice&Shine”, which can be found com) is the oldest computer game maker in subsidiary of a Japanese company, was also on their website. Lithuania, which later became a subsidiary of active in Lithuania, and a great example that Nordcurrent and uses their former name less illustrates the logic of economic and cultural It is also worth noting the appearance of the and less. Today the company has two studios globalization. Young and talented designers works of famous children’s book illustrator (one in Vilnius and one in Buenos Aires) and that worked in Lithuania contributed to the Kęstutis Kasparavičius on the iPad: his recent creates games for all platforms and in many corporate process of making games going illustrated story “The Story of Big Klaus and languages. Their products are sold in many on in various countries, sometimes not Little Klaus” (2011) (http://itunes.apple.com/ Western countries and are regulars on various even having a clear idea of the result. Their sn/app/id420241415?mt=8#) became part of lists for the best computer games. “GetJar” works become elements of an anonymous the AppleTreeBooks series. This adaptation (www.getjar.com/about) is a different kind of program or product. Many young Lithuanian received a warm welcome by a multilingual success story. During the last few years, it has programmers and designers provide their audience on the internet. The visual quality become a leader in selling mobile applications services to such companies as Unity or of the book and top-notch illustrations were and right now it is the largest independent Electronic Arts, thus taking part in global highly praised.

National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 47 he company was established in 2010 (and managed by Rolandas Razma). It creates applications and games for Apple devices like the iPhone, iPad, and iPod (iOS platform). Applications and games are published on the internet and available for millions of users around the world. UD7 applications are also popular among Lithuanian users: they have been among the top selling products. Their products have gained popularity in T the U.S. and the U.K. UD7 Studios were one of the first creators of iPhone games in Lithuania.

One of UD7 games is an original (and free) social game called “Floonr” (www.floonr.com), described as their own interpretation of a message in a bottle. The players are invited to write a message, attach their photo and send a balloon with this message. Other players can catch that balloon that is traveling around the world. The balloon moves on a real map, and other players can comment with a flying message or ask about the author. The description of the game says the following: “No boundaries, no restrictions. Share your message with the world and do it in style!” The game is in English.

48 http://ud7.com This studio was established in 2010. The game makers were gathered together for the “Nebula 44” game project. The slogan you can see on their website is “3 developers. 2 designers. 1 tiny lab. Oh yeah”. Artūras “arturaz” Šlajus is the head of a team that includes Mykolas “mikism” Mickus, Jonas “jho” Abromaitis, Tomas “tommy” Putanas, Valdas Jokubaitis and Sigitas Dilys. T “Nebula 44” (http://nebula44.com) is a web browser team strategy game: players are invited to become leaders, establish bases on various planets, and create fleets of airships with the purpose of conquering space. The game has highly detailed graphics, developed visuals, stylistics.

While working on this project, Tiny Lab found time for smaller games, such as “Gotcha” (2011) (https:// market.android.com/details?id=com.tinylabproductions. gotcha), an arcade-style game which is about aliens with flying saucers that abduct all the cows, sheep and pigs from the planet, and even the occasional farmer. The humorous game has great graphics. In the game players are invited to become these evil aliens and is described as “a great way to kill five minutes while you are waiting for someone”.

National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 49 he company 3j consists of students from Vilnius that have been working together since they were 17 and who are now studying art and programming. The name 3j comes from the first letters of their names - Jurgis Jonaitis, Jurgis Tamulis and Justinas Malijonis – while in the meanwhile they have added new members (Marius Tamulis and Julius Mikutavičius). They have always expressed the non-commercial aspect of what they do. 3j T are looking to “improve the quality of Lithuanian games and animation”. Julius, Jurgis and Jurgis are studying animation at the Vilnius Academy of Arts. Though they have known each other since childhood, they finally united their efforts and formed a group in 2007. In 2008 they released their first game called “Hell”. They say that this creation is the best example of their work to date. The game has collage-like graphics and gothic elements, which invites players to experience “the school of life”.

3j’s work has received rave reviews from internet commentators and reviewers. 3j games have been praised for their hand-drawn animation, great music, simplicity, and dream-like atmosphere that envelops the player. The characters and overall look of these games remind some commentators as being made with the aesthetics and skill of a craftsman and art application techniques, thus a great alternative to what they say is the “boring internet avatar system”.

The team occasionally cooperates with partners abroad. The primary 3j work platform is Flash. 3j promotes the 2d platformer game genre. 3j’s studio does not only make games, but animation as well.

50 www.3j.lt ucky Loot Studios was established in 2010, and has comprised a group of talented game makers that decided to leave Nordcurrent/Ivolgamus, the oldest computer game maker in Lithuania. They formed a team in order to fully utilize the possibilities of the iPhone game market. Two programmers and an artist are constantly working with Lucky Loot Studios projects: director Arūnas Pangonis, Martynas Ligeika and Ramūnas Graželis. The L team creates games for Apple iOs platforms. “What can be worse than a game which is boring to play?” they ask with a rhetorical flair. Lucky Loot Studios aims to create fun and innovative games.

Their first game called “King Rupert” (now adapted for the iPad) takes place in a medieval kingdom with wizards and a bewitched king. The makers have employed the use of 3D graphics in this 10 level game, which uses puzzles. The medieval style was created with humor, and reminds you of old animation and illustrations from fairy tales.

Lucky Loot Studios has also created a number of physics- based games, where the characters are drunk animals. For instance, the game “Drunk Bear” invites players to build bridges and help the drunk bear take empty bottles to a place where they recycle them. “The bear is drunk, out of money and BOOZE! The only way to solve this problem is to sell empty bottles to earn some cash. However, the bear lives in the woods and it is a long and bumpy way to the city. Help the drunk bear to travel to the city and not fall down on the middle of the road!” The game has hints of irony everywhere; the drunken bear character could be interpreted as a game that plays with stereotypes of Eastern Europe.

http://luckylootstudios.com National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 51 volgamus (now a subsidiary of Nordcurrent) was established in 2002. It is the oldest and most consistent computer and video game maker in Lithuania, and stands out for its commercial achievements. In 2011 the company had 40 employees in Vilnius and 20 employees in Buenos Aires. Nordcurrent/Ivolgamus has made games for PlayStation 3, PSP, iPhone, iPad, Android, Wii, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, PC and other platforms. They have released I more than 50 games. The newest games of this company have been a smash success, such as “101-in-1 Games” (iPhone), “Jewel Keepers” (for PCs, WiiWare, PSN, iPhone, iPad, and DSiWare), “Monster Buster Club” (DSiWare), and “Arcade Essentials” (PSN and WiiWare).

The “101-in-1 Games” collection (http://www.nordcurrent. com/games/101-in-1games-ip.html) gives one an idea about the style of production of Nordcurrent/Ivolgamus. This collection was a success due to the amount it offers: the new version includes 121 games in a single package. The games are tied together, so while playing one game you could unlock another, so you never know what will happen next. Players have praised the game for this element of surprise; however some complain that the quality of each individual game is not as impressive as the sum total. It poses a more general question: do the simple and more traditional games you play in your free time still have a future in a place where visual solutions and plots are becoming more and more complex? Yes, most likely, because a difficult strategy game may not be suitable to kill those five spare minutes you have. However due to the ever-increasing quality of games, the expectations of players are also increasing, even for the simplest of products.

52 www.ivolgamus.com his company has been providing services for the Prison Department under the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Lithuania since 2005. On the request of the Prison Department, Terra IT created a simulation game called “My Way”. The purpose of the game is to develop the re-socialization skills of inmates. The game gets players involved in various situations where the freedom of choice is important. Experts created life-like social T situations where players can have a job, pursue a career, improve relations with those around them, and plan a schedule and life. When playing this game, inmates solve tasks, answers questions, and choose their environment. Players can also have a virtual family. The game was created together with psychologists, teachers and other experts. The initial flash version grew into an MMO game. It is a network game – inmates in the same facility, along with former inmates, can connect to the local server and play in the network. There are possibilities to have a multiplayer game, when players have to cooperate, compete and perform tasks together.

www.terrait.net National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 53 iork is a group of programmers and designers that are serious about the possibilities of new technological devices and platforms. Kiork makes various kinds of games, and stands out from other Lithuanian companies with its games that are adapted to iPad and iPhone and which feature original works by artists. Kiork has turned a collection of original art works into a jigsaw puzzle game where players unlock more and more pictures as they K solve the puzzles. The game “d’ART Jigsaw HD” (http:// www.appstorehq.com/d-artjigsawhd-ipad-282773/app) uses the work of Eglė “Daywish” Zioma (http://daywish. deviantart.com). Eglė is a true veteran of the Lithuanian gaming industry: she did work for the first Lithuanian strategic game “PSI: Siberian Conflict” (2006). Another of Kiork’s products is the game “d’ART Bizarre” (http:// www.appstorehq.com/d-artbizarre-iphone-412025/app), which uses the work of Lukas Lukoševičius (http://www. lukasluk.com). Both games have received acclaim for their art and surreal aesthetics.

54 Gaumina, a digital branding company, is one of the biggest internet solution companies in Lithuania today. It creates advertising games, as well as educational and entertainment games. The game “Stickman Madness” (two parts) (http://stickman-madness.com/ index_v3.htm) has received international awards and has quickly became an internet classic, even spawning a wave of clones. This shooting game stands out from T other games in the genre for its professionally-made graphics, simplicity and fun. The game is presented as a game with characters that look like black dots on sticks. A good description of the game can be found on one of its ads: “Shooting at you from all angles, it’s like a box of burnt matches that have gone insane”.

www.gaumina.lt National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 55 National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania esign is one of the most tangible sectors Lithuanian design, and also at the same working toward this. Examples of where artistic value and economical time the traditions that are forming and these are the Design Innovation Center benefits merge together into a common their continuity. The staff of Studija LT, (Dizaino inovacijų centras) under whole. In today’s world, consumer which is comprised of professionals the guidance of the Vilnius Academy goods are worthless in the market of different art fields, and their brand of Arts; the Dizaino forumas, which without good design. Attractive design name “LT Identity” amazes with its organizes Design Week (Dizaino savaitė) generates added value that the driving productivity and infectious good mood. among many other activities. The Hotel force of economical progress depends Alongside Studija LT, another duet of Things (Daiktų viešbutis) should also D on. But the quality of the design does called Petpunk is worthy of mention, be mentioned as a welcomed initiative not only impact the economical benefits, a group of people who have their with a commercial bent that is involved but it greatly influences our daily life own unique and easily-recognizable in various educational activities, and forms the environment in which style. Combining graphic design with including the organizing of design we live. Therefore the concept “design” animation, PetPunk creates both purely events, fairs, markets, and presentations should not be something understood too artistic works but also unexpected and of Lithuanian designers for the broader narrowly. Design is meant to address original advertisements, music videos public. more issues than just beauty: it includes and visualizations. convenience, practicality, durability, The year of 2011 was announced as the and innovativeness among many other Lithuanian designers have Year of Design in Lithuania. This kind things. demonstrated their potential in the of attention indicates the priorities of international market before. Thousands the state in this sphere. This year Vilnius Judging from the works of Eglė of mobile communication users all was given the opportunity to organize Ugintaitė and Gabrielė Meldaikytė, over the world have a Nokia C7 phone, the Spring: ICOGRADA Design Week in recent graduates of the Vilnius Academy which is a work of designer Tomas Vilnius 2011, which is an international of Arts, designers also solve problems Ivaškevičius, who currently resides graphic design event. Also the National that are connected to medicine, or in Finland. Žydrūnė Grigonytė, who Art Gallery held an international problems tied to the exclusion of people is living and working in Israel, has conference, exhibition and creative with disabilities. Design is a branch of invented a nonwoven decorative fabric workshop called “Modernization. Art, art, thus the conceptual gunpowder called Zidra, which was recognized in Design and Architecture of the Baltic of an idea that is typically associated the fashion world as one of the most States in the 70s and 80s of the XXth with artistic practices also belongs to interesting trends in the industry in Century”. For the first time ever, an the problematic field of design. This 2011. award called the Young Designer’s is perfectly illustrated in the works of Prize was given out in 2011. In addition such designers as Mantas Lesauskas It can be said that the quality of design Design Week, which was held for the or fashion designers for the Mados and the wider perception of it directly fifth time, was organized together with infekcija Fashion Show. depend on the ability of society to assess the Innovation Festival “IF...”, initiated and understand it. Design is a culture by the European Commission. These are It would perhaps be rather hard to talk that needs traditions in order to mature, just a few of the events that took place of a Lithuanian design school as such. which are formed through higher during the Year of Design. Let us hope, However acclaimed furniture designers education, educational programs, and that these efforts and initiatives will Nauris Kalinauskas and Juozas Brundza the introduction of design innovations bear fruit and Lithuanian design will allow one to speak with confidence and achievements to the broader public. become even more attractive both in the about the maturity and quality of Many organizations in Lithuania are domestic Lithuanian market and abroad. uozas Brundza is the founder of LTD studio and a lecturer at the Department of Design at the Vilnius Academy of Arts. He has won numerous competitions in Lithuania and abroad, and has represented Lithuania at such events as international ICFF exhibitions in New York, Design Act in Moscow, and Milan Design Week.

The delicately elegant coat stand “Sketch” is one of his J newest works, which was awarded a diploma at Furniture 2011. This sculpturesque plywood object, almost 2 meters in height, is not only functional, durable and capable of holding the considerable weight of clothes, but it is also an aesthetical detail, which can become the accent of a private or public space due to its minimalistic, but expressive form.

The light “Tasty” could be called the successful result of the search for design in national identity. The lamps are made from a torchère rod and baumkuchen, which is a very popular Lithuanian bakery item that you can find during national celebrations and holidays in Lithuania. These avant- garde objects exploit the baumkuchen’s unique form and they can be eaten during parties, festivals, and other events. The light “Tasty” was specially designed for Design Week Milan, where it became a favorite of visitors.

The hanger “Auga” is one of the most celebrated works of designer Juozas Brunzda, which has been awarded the Best Industrial Design 2008 Prize at the Baltic Furniture Exhibition in Riga, and 1st place at Neformate 2008. It was shown at Design Week Milan, and it will represent Lithuania at the ICFF exhibition in NewYork. This hanger is a conceptual embodiment of the designer’s childhood memories in a design object. The idea is based on the old tradition where parents mark their children’s height on the doorframe. At first these marks are not very high on the doorframe, however they become higher as the children grow. Every family member can have his/her own “branch” in this hanger in the form of a hook that changes its position in the family tree according to the change in the height of the children. These flexible hooks can be set up so that even the smallest members of the family can conveniently The Coat Stand “Sketch” The Light “Tasty” The hanger “Auga” hang their clothes. “Branches” can also be personalized by putting names on them and documenting the height of one’s children.

58 www.ltdstudio.lt auris Kalinauskas graduated with a degree in architecture, and later worked in advertising. This experience helped him become who he is today. Now he is one of Lithuania’s best furniture designers. The use of geometrical, simple forms and simple materials is characteristic of his work. According to him, he says that “when you disassociate yourself from understanding of everyday surrounding and take another look at an object, N there comes a magical feeling for creation and a desire to embody your ideas”.

In 2000 Nauris Kalinauskas established a design studio called Contraforma, which gathered a group of young, talented and well-known Lithuanian designers and architects. A design company that is now known worldwide has given them a sturdy foundation for developing commercial links all over the world and present their works on the international market.

Nauris Kalinauskas, together with Contraforma team have presented their works at many international exhibitions and won acclaim at Lithuanian and international furniture competitions. Perhaps the most important achievement is the Red Dot Design Award 2007 for the the seating system “LOGO”.

The The collapsible chair “Mutabor” is eye-catching because of its simplicity and practicality. The box, which is decorated with light, playful patterns, can serve as a container and as a functional piece of furniture, which can be easily put under the bed or into a closet when not in use. The chair is made from single piece of cardboard, and is capable of supporting 100 kg.

Seating system “LOGO” The collapsible chair “Mutabor”

www.contraforma.com National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 59 ftentimes talented designers become known in their own country only after winning acclaim abroad. Designer Tomas Ivaškevičius, who currently lives and works in Finland, and Žydrūnė Grigonytė, who established her company in Israel, are designers that have become well- known beyond Lithuania’s borders.

O Tomas Ivaškevičius is the chief designer of the Nokia C7 mobile phone. He is originally from the town of Palanga, however he studied at a Finnish art school, where he successfully pursued his professional career. According to him, the essential things for a mobile phone are the right size, right weight and the kind of phone that is comfortable to hold. A harmony of convenience, technology and aesthetics is a key to successful design. The new Nokia C7 stands out with its extra thin steel and glass body as well as a big screen, which is very useful for internet users. Tomas Ivaškevičius spent a year and a half in Helsinki creating this phone model, and so far this acknowledged designer is the only Lithuanian working for Nokia. The Nokia C7 mobile phone

Žydrūnė Grigonytė is the founder of Zidra, an experimental material design company and laboratory. She became famous worldwide after inventing the non- woven decorative fabric “Zidra”. This fabric, which now has an international patent, was created more than ten years ago. It is very light, durable and requires almost no care. It can be used as an interior detail or in the making of home textiles, or in clothing or accessory design. The fabric has won praise at many international exhibitions, and shown in many fashion and design publications. Collezioni magazine recognized the fabric as one of the most interesting trends of the design industry in 2011.

Fabric “Zidra”

60 www.zidra.eu TUDIO LT is a creative union for joint creative ventures that includes artists from various fields, including designers, costume designers, graphics designers, photographers, and ceramic artists. One of the main goals the group has set for itself is to create an opportunity for talented and hard-working people to work, search, create together, and foster the exchanging and sharing of experience and ideas. The studio undertakes a number of activities, from making S individual clothing items all the way to ready-to-wear collections, image formation, and accessories.

LT Identity is one of the best known brands of Studio LT, which is owned by founders Jolanta Rimkutė and Ieva Ševiakovaitė. The design objects that bear this brand are the results of a search for Lithuanian identity that correspond to the needs and goals of a modern person while giving respect to the past and meeting the future with hope.

Swedbank + LT identity 2011 “ZOOM” is a joint project of LT Identity and Swedbank, which wants to encourage the creativity of youth and develop their skills of financial management and investments. The designers created “ZOOM” accessories and clothing especially for this Swedbank program. Participants in this program could receive these accessories and clothing in exchange for the “ZOOM” points they collected through the program.

Kalnapilis + LT identity 2011 Lithuania is a basketball country. For the 2011 World Basketball Championship, the Lithuanian brewery Kalnapilis ordered six different kinds of basketball t-shirts from LT Identity, which were later given as prizes to those who purchased Kalnapilis beer. According to the designers, these t-shirts are a completely Lithuanian product, because they were made with Lithuanian material right in Lithuania.

Swedbank + LT identity 2011 Kalnapilis + LT identity 2011 “ZOOM” Basketball t-shirts

www.studijalt.eu National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 61 etPunk is a joint venture that was established in 2005 which brought together Gediminas Šiaulys and Andrius Kirv*e*la, two young and perspective design, animation and motion graphic designers. The duo works both with artistic projects and in advertising. Working with conventional objects, they experiment, play and rediscover. The U.K. based Computer Arts magazine included PetPunk in its Top 10 of best new creators. P They have been invited to international film and advertising festivals and received numerous awards, including the New York Art Directors Club’s Young Guns 2009 Award, which is given to deserving creators in photography, illustrations, advertisements, design, fashion, cinema, interdisciplinary or other visual field who are under 30 years of age.

The impressive motion graphics and animation in the music video “Who’s Shot the Silence” (Mario Basanov & Vidis feat. Jazzu). The black and white, seemingly blurry view weaves together the turns of a vinyl record, mechanical objects and body parts into a musical dance. The duo is known for their extravagant and colorful graphic design reproaches in the advertisement videos for the Vilnius – European Capital of Culture program, and in this work they have charmed everybody with their elegance and subtlety, confirming their versatility. This project was a special project commissioned by mobile phone company Omnitel, which financed the operations that returned hearing to 20 children that had hearing disabilities. The music video “Who’s Shot the Silence” is a provocative story which is aimed at people who hear, but do not listen.

The advertisement videos

62 www.petpunk.com ashion Infection is a festival for both young talents that have original ideas and ambitious goals, as well as for acknowledged professionals. It has been organized since 1999. Fashion Infection does not chase fashion, and does not seek to blindly repeat the traditional fashion week format, but experiments, bravely looks for original decisions, moves forward and is not afraid of growth and change. F The festival is open to everyone, welcoming both professional designers and those just starting out from Lithuania and abroad. Organizers say that one of the main advantages of the festival is the chance for the public to take part in the event (which is rather impossible at festivals abroad). Thus this festival is more of a movement, an art event that shakes up the fashion elite and society.

Injection is a contest that has been held for young, talented designers within the framework of the festival since 2008. The winner of Injection has a right to make a debut on the grand stage of Fashion Infection. Fashion Infection has been organized for more than a decade, raising a generation of new, original and perspective designers. Having once been presented at the festival as bright new talents, now they I appear on the podium as authorities in the field. Agnė Kuzmickaitė has participated a total of 5 times at Fashion Infection. She is well-known both in Lithuania and abroad. She was recognized as the best young European designer at the Createurope: the Fashion Academy Award in Berlin in 2008. Her works are characterized by a clarity of construction and conceptual idea.

Giedrius Paulauskas is an active designer in Lithuanian fashion and well-known for making clothes that have conceptual meaning and innovative constructions. As the author says, “when you create clothes, you create a person that will wear them”. The author made his debut with his first jeans collection for men under the brand GP at Fashion Infection in 2006. Since then he has started an independent line of clothing and accessories under this brand.

Fashion Infection Fashion Infection Agnė Kuzmickaitė fashion Giedrius Paulauskas fashion

Photo by Visvaldas Morkevičius Photo by Visvaldas Morkevičius

www.madosinfekcija.lt National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 63 Mantas Lesauskas is a young conceptual design artist who not only creates functional objects, but who also forms a unique view toward the design itself. The author tries to grasp the essence of global problems with the objects he creates, raising philosophical questions that reflect the experience of memory. He does not bow down to the trends of the masses. His work is rational and logical, M generating a unique, purified aesthetic. While presenting the Dutch project Millegomme in Lithuania, he created outdoor furniture that suits the urban environment of Vilnius. This furniture is not only about the ergonomic reusing of old tires, but there is a philosophy behind it, which tries to solve the problems of socialization as well as local problems, including the revival of “dead” public spaces in the city and the creative involvement of the community.

Another of his projects that could be called social is a creative workshop in Durban, South Africa, which had a goal of inventively using local waste. The author created a series of toys for children from old rubbish containers called “Bin Toy” during the workshop.

Outdoor furniture

“Bin Toy”

64 www.lesauskas.lt esign and Innovation Centre (DIC) is a branch of the Vilnius Academy of Arts. Its primary goals are the training of design and art experts that meet the demands of the market, their integration to the labor market, the promotion of creative industries, and the fostering of connections with international institutions. The centre aims to increase the competitiveness of Lithuania with design, becoming a branch of art and industry that can represent Lithuania at D home and abroad.

DIC has a design laboratory and design business incubator where students can improve their skills, become familiar with materials and also technologies. They provide the conditions for them to forge links with businesses and bring their ideas to life.

The centre disseminates information on design, as well as collects and provides news on students of the Vilnius Academy of Arts, who have had successful debuts at worldwide exhibitions and have formed contacts with companies abroad.

Eglė Ugintaitė is an art student who created a special walking-stick called “The Aid”. The walking-stick’s sensors measure the vital parameters of the user and then communicate this information to a help centre using transmitters. This can help elderly and disabled people feel Eglė Ugintaitė safe when leaving home, thus improving their everyday life. “The Aid” This design won the Fujitsu Design Award 2011 - Life with future computing Grand Prix award.

Gabrielė Meldaikytė is a young designer who created “Single hand cook”. This kitchenware is designed for use with one hand. This graduation dissertation won 1st place at the Salone Sattelite World Wide Moscow 2009 competition, and 3rd place at the Salone Sattelite Milano 2010 and Cumulus 20th Anniversary Student Design Exhibition Cumulus 2010 Shanghai Conference.

Gabrielė Meldaikytė “Single hand cook”

www.dic.lt National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 65 ithuania Design Forum is an association that deals with the promotion of design, and its economical and social integrity as well as its wider use in manufacturing and communication. It was established in 2006 by Vytautas Gurevičius, Nauris Kalinauskas and Marius Dirgėla, who are well-known professionals in the field. They collect and provide information regarding changes in the design market, encourage cooperation between designers L and manufacturers, and also work on making design in Lithuania and around the world better known. With the help of this forum, Lithuanian design was presented at exhibitions in London, Milan and Riga. A total of seven design exhibitions have been organized in various European countries.

Design Week is probably the best known design event in Lithuania, dedicated both to experts in the field and the general public. During this week, many spaces in the capital are used to show achievements and trends of design worldwide that review classical, avant-garde, and experimental designs. The event is not limited to being an exhibition – this week also plays host to a number of performances, open door days in designer workshops, as well as concerts, shows, and competitions.

Another part of the work of “Design Forum” is the search and encouragement of young talents, as well as the organization and support of educational programs. This forum supports students looking for studying opportunities, and also organizes design competitions and awards.

Furniture competition Neformate has already presented many young designers to the general public and helped them to forge ties with businesses. They have also provided opportunities to them to display their work at exhibitions and in the press. As Nauris Kalinauskas, one of the organizers of these competitions, says that “one of the goals of the competition is to attract the attention of furniture manufacturers to the significance of design and to the fact that Lithuanian designers have huge creative potential and are characterized by good quality”.

Paulius Vitkauskas “Ku-dir-ka”

66 www.dizainoforumas.lt otel of Things (Daiktų viešbutis) is not only a shop, but also a place to socialize. It hosts various events and presentations that foster the culture of design and show the work of young designers. Hotel of Things promotes Lithuanian design and organizes market, fairs, and fashion nights. It is clear that it is not only commercial design that is important for this shop, but also its integration into society, plus the growth of a design market that is educated H and has a more developed taste. It is a place where the work of young and perspective Lithuanian designers are presented together with world known brands.

Aistė Nesterovaitė is a young Lithuanian designer and one of the managers of Hotel of Things. Her works in Hotel of Things include pencil boxes and bags made from seat belts and unisex aprons that expound on gender issues that are decorated with collars of shirts for men. She does not limit herself to design – she also organizes various design and promotional events as well as exhibitions.

Design market is the joint project of Aistė Nesterovaitė and Dalia Mauricaitė. Customers can buy things directly from designers in this market, thereby also presenting the designers to the public. As the creators of the project say, people buy not only things, but also emotions and their history, thereby getting to know the author better.

Aistė Nesterovaitė A special exposition dedicated to Nike sports shoes that “Unisex Aprons ” was organized by the Hotel of Things team received a lot of attention. During the Third Design Weekend, the team assembled a team of famous Lithuanian designers to express their interpretation of a sport shoe that is tied to Lithuania and basketball.

Design market Nike Sports Shoes

www.daiktuviesbutis.lt National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 67 National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania ithuanian literature has flourished there are still a lot of books published new emigrants. Also, the traditional since the country regained that preserve the high status of countering of the countryside and the independence. Over the last 20 years, poetry. In today’s poetry collections city has disappeared in prose, which it has achieved a variety previously we find what prose is lacking, which was highlighted during the Soviet unknown, and has transformed both is a more professional level of culture, era. We have now essentially bid in quantity and form. It has been a a concentration of the word. There farewell to this rural culture, because period of breakthroughs and dynamic is an interesting trend whereby a new generation has grown up with change that has been called many poets are turning en-masse to prose completely different way of life and L things, including revival literature, narration, to the essay, while poetry an urban mentality. post-Soviet, post-colonial, post- itself becomes more like prose. There censorship freedom, the end of is a search for new mediating forms, Thus there are new environments tradition, a new cycle of literature, a generation of what could be called for literature and new writers that and the fall of canons among others. “colloquial”, i.e. a generation of non- do not tie themselves down to The two ten-year periods it includes poetic poetry. tradition either through emotions or differ considerably. The first decade through values. Literature is being (1989-1999) should be thought of as a The novel infused with a journalistic influenced by new mechanisms, breakthrough that had been maturing style has been the most popular especially public relations, IT, and for a long time. It was a decade of type of novel in Lithuania over media networks that are giving birth the elimination of what could be the last decade. It is a new genre to a new phenomenon – relatively called a “filling in of spaces” as well that emerged due to the creation qualitative and tasteful popular as the introduction of innovations. of a consumer and media society. literature that serves commercial The following decade (2000-2010) Autobiographical aspects have interests. This literature, which has stands out for its exceptional variety grown in strength in literature, had an impact on readers, and has of literature, growth of popular the expression of one’s ego, while figured out how to successfully create literature and emergence of new the identities of the author and and sell cultural images, also has genres. In Soviet times, people did the main character have become ambitions to become the primary not know what the essay genre was – open to change. At the same time, mover in literature. This shows that now it is a new and free way of the intertextuality of literature has there certainly are signs of life in expressing oneself, which generally increased and possesses more bodily Lithuanian literature. If we have a brings together and condenses down priorities and erotic elements. There look at Lithuanian publications, we the signs of the time. This flexible is a clear desacralization of many would come across scores of new genre that has become popular in basic values, which is quite painful names just in poetry alone. More than weekly cultural publications has for older generations. Women writers 1,000 books of fiction are published pushed out the typically well-liked have been thriving, and feminist every year in Lithuania. Over half of Lithuanian short story. views of life in literature have grown them are books written in Lithuanian– in strength. The last few years have such an enormous and impressive The Lithuanians have always been seen a wave of emigration literature, amount of titles for such a small considered a nation of poets, and which is a literature being written by country. here are two international poetry festivals in Lithuania, Poetry Spring (since 1965) and Druskininkai Poetic Fall (since 1990), which are the focus of much cultural energy. Poetry Spring lasts for 2 weeks and includes more than 100 events. It is also exceptionally democratic, as poets travel to different parts of the country, including small towns and schools, and give informal readings. A number of prizes are awarded, and the winner is adorned with T a garland of oak leaves. Druskininkai Poetic Fall lasts 2 to 3 days, with about 120 writers from Lithuania and abroad taking part. The main award is the Jotvingiai Prize, which is awarded by a committee, the members of which are winners of the previous poetic falls. The primary assets of both festivals is the free communication between writers, open discussions, and poetry readings that combine academic and more bohemian views, as well as various competitions. There are also Poetry Spring and Druskininkai Poetic Fall almanacs that are published every year.

Poet Rimvydas Stankevičius (1973), who was selected as the poet laureate of the 45th Poetry Spring for his collection entitled “Breaking the Seal”, has said that “poetry has goals we are not even aware of…It is something between a prayer and a shamanic dance”. Stankevičius, who is a poet and essayist, made his debut in 1996 and has published seven books. Ordinary image that appear even boring sound surprising in his works, acquiring new colors, which makes Stankevičius an innovative successor that searches for tradition. Traditionalism in this case is an easily gliding and orderly rhyme and rhythm in many of his poems; the innovativeness is the wide, endless horizons of meanings of words, a unique poetical vision and language. There is a wandering, an “in-betweenness” that is encoded in the title: the “seal” is something that is present and unchanging, something that is traditional and cannot be questioned, while “breaking” is destruction, revolt, a constant analysis and search.

Poetry Spring

70 he Book of the Year Competition has been organized by the Association of Reading and Cultural Literacy annually since 2005. The idea behind this event is to present the best books of Lithuanian prose from the last year by selecting five books from each of the three categories – children’s literature, young adult literature and literature. Then readers get the chance to choose the final three Books of the Year, with the authors receiving an award during the Vilnius Book Fair. Its goal is to encourage Lithuanian T readers to take an interest in contemporary Lithuanian literature and raise the prestige of reading.

The novel “Sade Syndrome” (2010) by Jolita Skablauskaitė (1950) is the most exotic of the top-five works. She has been dubbed a literary sorceress, because her novels are very unusual, while the characters do a balancing act between holiness and madness. An unlimited fantasy, eroticness and dark sides of nature are the cornerstones of her six novels. Paranormal activity, a hallucinating consciousness, orgies, incest and necrophilia are part of the everyday life of her novels, with a lot of chthonic imagination and Gothic aesthetic. Her characters become half-man, half-beast in their love nest, with love stories ending tragically, instincts triumphing, and the tie between eros and thanatos fully exploited.

Skablauskaitė illustrates her own books, which are teeming with hard-to-identify anthropomorphic creatures. The writer likes Goth fashion and dresses in black. She has said that “the reality is so complicated and depressing, that you need to rise above it using your imagination”. Her stories take place in mysterious gardens, mansions, and slums in the Old Town. Her characters work in the circus, slaughter-houses, and crematoriums; they skin dogs or simply live the life of vagabonds. One can enter invisible cities under the roots of trees; while luxurious mansions loom in the outskirts of a village, possessing antique furniture, expensive wines, taffeta dresses, and velvet curtains. The mansion also contains magical places and locked rooms. There is an evident contrast between unspeakable luxury and utter poverty. Black goats, cursed gold, skulls, amulets, totem poles, the taboos of primitive cultures and belief in curses have strong influence. The moonlight, flickering of candles, frankincense, and curved mirrors help one to delve into mythical states, while the protagonist loses his or her perception of reality, with fear constantly in pursuit. Jolita Skablauskaitė. Illustrations With its extreme sadistic and masochistic sexual acts, Skablauskaitė’s last novels remind one of Franz Kafka, Edgar Alan Po novels and Lars von Trier’s “Antichrist” as well as the issues that Tim Burton deals with in his movies.

National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 71 olita Varanavičienė, who is the president of Lithuanian Publishers’ Association, said that “something positive that the Soviet period gave us was a love for books”. The market for books is viable, with the Vilnius Book Fair the biggest and also the main book fair in the Baltic, as well as one of the most important cultural events in Lithuania. It is organized by the Litexpo exhibition and conference center, Lithuanian Publishers’ Association, the International Cultural Programme Centre, with the cultural program of events supported L by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania. The fair is visited by about 60,000 visitors and over 100 participants from abroad. Since 1999 the Book Fair has been offering an extensive cultural program with more than 200 events, including meetings with the best authors from Lithuania and abroad, as well as book signings with new authors and the newest information on publishing. In 2011 the slogan of the Book Fair was “For the Right to Read!”, which meant that publishers wanted that ordinary people could afford to buy a book and not have to choose between dinner or a book (at present there is a 9% VAT tax on books).

An eagerly awaited guest of the 2011 Book Fair was Kristina Sabaliauskaitė (1974), who is a journalist and London correspondent for Lithuania’s largest daily and a writer who also has a Ph.D. in art research. Her debut novel “Silva Rerum” (2008) was reprinted five times, and was the number one novel for more than six months. It was a sensation after being translated in Latvia, while there were not enough copies of “Silva Rerum II” to satisfy demand at the Book Fair. “Silva Rerum” was awarded the Jurga Ivanauskaitė Award, while readers also selected it as Book of the Year in 2009.

These books are historical novels about the life of noblemen and townspeople in the 17th and 18th centuries, a reconstruction of the Baroque period, a look back at history with a contemporary sense. The novel contains an informative and unique description of the fate of a noble family, as well as the life of Vilnius University and monks. The writer was born in Vilnius, with many generations of her family having lived there. Her work pays much attention to the city and its multicultural history. A clearly visible indication characterizing the period is death and the plague, which acts as a counterbalance to the luxury that was enjoyed at that time. Love, the traditional escort of death, also blossoms in the novel. The aim that beckons to the author is to talk about serious things with a light and elegant form of language, thus a multi-layered text hides underneath a very gripping story. The author says she wanted to make “Silva Rerum” a Rubik’s Kristina Sabaliauskaitė Cube so that every reader could turn it however they want according to knowledge and experience – and she succeeded. You can find her Photo by Paulius Gasiūnas website at www.sabaliauskaite.lt. The Vilnius Tourism Information Centre organizes excursions according to the route described in her novel “Silva Rerum”.

72 www.sabaliauskaite.lt ithuania has successfully represented itself at international book fairs (with its participation organized by the Lithuanian Publishers’ Association and Books from Lithuania, and supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania) since the country regained its independence. Lithuania took part at the Göteborg Book Fair in Sweden for the first time in 2003, which is the biggest literary event in Scandinavia. In 2005 Lithuania was Guest of Honor at the fair L (with seven books by Lithuanian authors published in Swedish for the event). The Swedish public was introduced to Lithuania, its life and rich past (especially the experiences of the Soviet occupation), as well as Lithuanian literature, publishing, and book art.

Writer Sigitas Parulskis (born in 1965) said at Göteborg that “the word “fair” itself says that it is a market, where everybody is trying to sell oneself or at least exhibit oneself as merchandise. It is not really that important whether someone will buy it or not. And we don’t need to have illusions, we are a small nation and will not conquer Scandinavia or any other country, however it is important that a mutual understanding is developing”.

A poet, playwright, and essayist, Parulskis is a writer often called the leader in today’s literature. His novel “Three Seconds of Heaven” (2002) tells the experience of a young paratrooper in a Soviet regiment stationed in Eastern Germany. This novel is the most translated Lithuanian novel, having been translated into seven languages. His newest novel “Murmuring Wall” (2008) is the long story of one family that continues up to the present. Parulskis chose a strategy that is typical of epic storytelling, turning away from the ego and toward a more historical dimension. The one hundred years of history (the action begins in 1908) brings the reader closer to the common things such as family, kin, and the nation, therefore the novel achieves a community feeling: the relatively stylized fates of different people are a summary of the historical breaking points of the nation. Just like Lithuania’s history in the 20th century, the life of this family is interlinked with the two World Wars, Fascism, the genocide of the Jews, Communist rule and Lithuanian partisans. Here you will find love, and God, and art, and a mid-life crisis, and the modeling of a mentality and identity (such as relations with the Poles, Russians and Jews). Sigitas Parulskis All these topics are woven together. The murmuring wall is a wall that separates us, but is also quite possibly the only thing Photo by Vladas Braziūnas that we can lean on. This is the novel at its best, with a good structure, novel-like way of thinking, characters that differ from one another, along with a mature style.

National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 73 ithuania can certainly be proud of its children’s books and illustrations. Today children’s books are experiencing a renaissance. Lithuania was the guest of honor at the 2011 Bologna Children’s Book Fair, and had an opportunity to present Lithuanian children’s literature publishing as well as a cultural program. Lithuania was represented by more than 50 illustrators, with the International Cultural Programme Centre and Lithuanian Publishers’ Association L presenting 9 publishing companies and displaying more than 150 book titles for children. Animation films and exhibitions such as “Lithuanian Culture in Photography”, “Illustrarium: Illustrations of Young Lithuanian Artists”, and “Illustrarium: Illustrations of Children’s Books in Soviet Lithuania” were shown in various parts of the city.

Well-known illustrator Kęstutis Kasparavičius (1954) has illustrated more than 60 books by various authors. He has also written ten books and illustrated them using pencil and watercolors. There were a total of 11 exhibitions of his illustrations at the Bologna Book Fair.

The “You Can Create a Book” creative laboratory was also organized at the 2011 Bologna Book Fair. This event has its origins in the 2001 Vilnius Book Fair, when artist Sigutė Chlebinskaitė created a unique space for children’s thoughts and activities. Its mission was to encourage the educational expression of children, by learning skills like making paper, binding books, and illustration. They created books in this workshop: the longest leporello book was created (which is a book with an accordion-like shape) and included in the Lithuanian Book of Records. There were also books made from wooden blocks as well as clay tablets that featured Sumerian-like cuneiform shapes.

Vytautas V. Landsbergis (1962) is a film director and productive children’s author who has also released a number of CDs where he not only tells children’s stories, but also sings. He often retells stories and classic plots and puts his own twist on them by thinking up totally new characters for them. Landsbergis’ book “Love of the Horse Dominykas” was voted best children’s book for 2004. The Aurelija Čeredaitė “La strega pigrona e altre fiabe” writer does not limit himself only to writing books, but also ilustrato da Kęstutis Kasparavičius records them together with friends who are actors, writes Livorno: Books & Company. 2007 plays and travels around Lithuania to meet his young readers.

74 he “Live Poetry” series was the idea of the Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore as a way to provide collections of poems that have been chosen by professional critics in both a print and audio CD format, with living authors reading their own work and classic poems read by professional actors (for example works by Antanas Baranauskas, a 19th century linguist; the works of contemporary poet Vladas Braziūnas, who also is from T the same area as Baranauskas, were read by friends and colleagues; the works of poet Vladas Šimkus, who was against the regime and thus disregarded by the Soviet government, are read by famous Lithuanian actor Rolandas Kazlas; one gets to hear the voice of exile poet Jonas Aistis, who reads his own work, with the CD including excerpts of recordings done by him in 1967).

The fifth and most recent book of the series is a selection of poems by renowned poet, translator, and Yale University professor Tomas Venclova (1937) entitled “All the Poems”. This book contains poems that were written between 1956 and 2010. Almost every poem is accompanied by comments from the author. The author explains in the foreword that “there is an old stereotype that prevails when talking about my poetry – it’s called “intellectual poetry”. Such a definition is senseless to me. Perhaps it would be better to attribute them to poiesis docta – “taught poetry” /…/ I have always tried to avoid clichés of thought and emotion, empty “philosophizing”, exaggerated sensitiveness, spontaneous eruptions, and shocking vulgarity, which recently in Lithuania - and not only there - has been becoming more popular”. Venclova’s book, which includes almost 200 poems, comes together with a CD “(Not) All the Poems” which features recordings of him reading 33 of his poems. During his life the poet has written only about 200 poems, as he writes only a few each year.

The intersection of three cultures and countries (Lithuania, Poland and Russia) is discussed in this collection. In Poland he has received “The Borderlander” award. The pulsing of a modern world can be easily sensed in his poetry: the warring Balkans, a young person “created”, a future Tomas Venclova terrorist, life in an interrogation chamber, the entirely of the “dreck of history”. The poet’s glance is concerned and Photo by Vladas Braziūnas critical. His poetry is non-traditional, and not based on a romantic or impressionistic understanding of poetry, but on a linguistic understanding.

National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 75 ecently Lithuanian writers have begun using interpretations of geographical and metaphysical peripheries, with different genres and ideas interacting in their works. Rolandas Rastauskas (1954) is most likely the first Lithuanian writer that has demonstrated the broader possibilities that multimedia and the essay provide. RoRa has always been someone from “another world”, surprising everyone with his attention-getting R image and his poise as he searched for untraditional ways of expressing himself both on stage and in his books. When he was asked once what writing meant to him, he replied that it is an adventure happening on the page, whereas reading is an interpretation every single time. Rastauskas is famous for his interdisciplinary performances and original poetry readings in public spaces. He published a collection of poetry entitled “Throw” (2006) together with a CD that features recordings of him reading his poems accompanied by percussionist Arkady Gotesman. RoRa is always energetically charged with culture, elegant and intertextual, having been dubbed a “word fencer”.

In 2003 he took part in the “21 days in Berlin” cultural exchange program. At the beginning, photographer Remigijus Treigys spent three weeks in Berlin documenting the metropolis with his photos. A year later Rastauskas looked for these “footprints” in Berlin where he had to describe places that Treigys had seen. These trips were documented in a unique photo essay book, which intrigues on with its synthesis of two art forms (photography and literature). The two authors of “Berlinalias” are tramps that are “drifting” through the new Berlin. Being outsiders, they see more than those living there. They can be in different times at the same time, see various historical stages of the city, or visualize it timeless as a prop that is left on the stage after a magnificent performance. It is a search for identity of oneself and Berlin as a symbol of the city. It is yet another version of the city that experienced various upheavals, and yet another of its faces.

Rolandas Rastauskas

Photo by Raimonda Kolupailaitė

76 ithuanian-French semiotician Algirdas Julius Greimas once said that “it seems that only Zingeris feels and understands the importance of such a problem: how to be a Jew and person, or, in his case, a Jew and a Lithuanian, all while denying such an incompatibility”. Zingeris himself calls this feeling a moral debt because of the cruel injustice that people came up against, who were absolutely dehumanized and found themselves in the meat grinder of history. These L people who breathed art were left outside of the pages of encyclopedias, becoming the dust of history, thus the goal of his novels is to revive them, publish the painful and shameful episodes of Lithuanian history and to banish this feeling by giving sense to it on paper.

Structurally the novels are mostly family sagas about journeys and traditions, with the characters having Jewish roots and the stories scattered across Europe in places like Ukraine, Russia, Germany and Lithuania, but who having preserved their inner dependency on Jewishness as an inextinguishable and integrating substance of being.

Markas Zingeris (1947) has been managing the Vilna Gaon Jewish State Museum for 5 years (in his novel “Conversation Between Autumn and Spring” he refers to it as “the nation’s house of letters and destinies”), so his works often employ rare documentary material, with his prototypes able to be found in historical archives, the memories of witnesses of the Holocaust and their diaries. He hits upon the living roots of the past with the painful plough of memory: the genocide of the Jewish nation, the horrors of the ghetto, broken destinies, the interwar period, the war years in Kaunas, and today’s politics. The pulse of the time is captured in his novels. Zingeris could be called a writer that has a cyclical structure to his stories, because all four of his works focus on similar matters of identity, family ties, and historical traumas. In terms of building a plot, Zingeris excels where many Lithuanian authors fail due to their lack of professionalism or the slow-paced narration of stories that appear more unstructured which Lithuanians tend to favor.

Markas Zingeris

Photo by Vladas Braziūnas

National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 77 ne of the biggest changes of the last decade is the nomadic mentality that has taken root. Now there are Lithuanians with a different sense of the world, a person that is mobile, “in transit”, who changes where he lives, with the growing feeling that he is a wanderer, homeless. Together with an ever increasing rate of emigration, the literature of emigration is also growing, however most of these works are still on the level of magazine articles and leisure reading. Dalia O Staponkutė, who lives in Cyprus, reveals this experience as an emigrant best in her book “Rain Versus Sun” (2007). She overcomes the destiny of being a slave of love by creating an image of the modern intellectual wanderer. There is also a group of authors is made up young female authors who are citizens of the world from Eastern Europe and who have moved to the new Babylons of the world that are soaked with freedom and variety (Aleksandra Fomina’s “Yesterday We Were on the Island”, Gabija Grušaitė’s “Unfulfilment”). These novels are called epics of the lost generation of the 21st century, manifestos of the disappointed generation “N”. The intentions of the novels of Valdas Papievis (1962) are different – he does not wish to write a manifesto, but looks at his experience of life in France by exploring his deeper feelings for it.

Papievis has been living in France since 1992. In his third novel “To Go” (2010) he contemplates things like loneliness, fragility of being, friendship, art, death and metaphysics. The Eastern spiritualness and musicality of this novel is created with the help of the music of Hong Kong director Wong Kar-Way and the drawings of a Lithuanian artist living in Provence.

The author did not name the character that arrives to Provence; this is done on purpose - that person can be any of us. To feel like a wanderer, to simply go, “just be and that’s it”, is a luxury today. The person who wanders does not drive a car; he simply takes a few things in his backpack. Running and competing are some of the diseases of this century, and our character’s “impatience to arrive becomes a pleasure not to arrive”. Those that have examined what journeys and travelers are have divided the travelers into three types: the knight, the pilgrim, and the wanderer (or Valdas Papievis. “To Go” tramp). Papievis’ protagonist has something of all of these, Artist Romas Orantas but what is dominant is the existential wanderer that raises his Drawing by Pranas Gailius longing to another dimension - it is not anymore a longing for a certain place, but a transcendental longing in the “home of the world”.

78 aura Sintija Černiauskaitė (1976) is considered to be one of the most promising authors of the new generation. The focus of her attention is rather unexpected: in her books she creates a world of teenagers, children, and women, revealing a unique type of sensitivity. In 2009 she was awarded the European Union Prize for Literature for her first novel “Breathing into Marble” (2006). Černiauskaitė always likes diving in every nook and cranny of her characters’ L psychology and coming upon fascinating discoveries. For her, the imagination is like an inner repository: the more spacious it is the bigger variety of characters she lets in. Černiauskaitė is concerned with relationships between the sexes – attraction and fighting, as well as the special aspects of the psychological life of a girl/woman/mother, and the parallels of eros and death. The pages are saturated with erotica, incest motifs, heterosexual partners, visions, mysticism, dreams and other fashionable aspects that guarantee her her novels and other works a degree of popularity.

The sensitiveness in her texts does not gravitate toward lust, but purity. The novel “Breathing into Marble” was written from the point of view of a child, who is like a litmus paper in the mad chemistry between man and woman (in one interview the author said that when she hears the crying of a child, she becomes that child). There is a family with a number of ghosts in the central part of the book – loss, death, betrayal, where the woman no longer has a spark in her eyes, and the man ignites nothing but a cigarette. It is a novel about the variation of human relations, about the forming of these relationships, how they crack at the seams, how they are consciously dissolved. Existence in her works is not limited to just a down-to-earth reality – in this case the marble not only reflects the cold other-sideness, but bears witness to the existence of the fragile miracle of life on this side, when a stone is warmed with a person’s breathe.

According to one Lithuanian critic, Černiauskaitė reminds one of Francoise Sagan but still has something that is melancholic, but in a Lithuanian way. Her sentences are easy, elegant, with a barely detectable sense of slight sadness, Laura Sintija Černiauskaitė polished to the bone, and pulsating with the author’s energy.

Photo by Regimantas Tamošaitis

National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 79 80 National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania he first public performance of a The Lithuanian theatre-going public period were amazed at the enormous Lithuanian play took place on wanted to and did love their theatre. interest of the audience in the Lithuanian soil in 1899. Even though At times they gave it heroic status. theatre, which in their opinion was the play “America in the Bathhouse” Oftentimes it was simply of vital meant for the elite almost without was performed on the initiative importance. There are a number of exception. of Lithuanian patriots and the moving stories about box offices intelligentsia and received permission overrun with theatre-goers, and It is a paradox, but even though the from Tsarist Russian officials, it was night shifts at the theatre where you language of the theatre was clearly T done in almost secret conditions in a could see bonfires lit near the theatre geared toward the elite, it did not storehouse that was owned by Count entrance with staff providing tea, cause it to lose its relevance for Tyszkiewicz in Palanga. all to the sound of people playing the average person. The figurative guitars. All those stories (from language did not put people off: in It took more than twenty years before the golden era of the 1970s and fact this language showed an ability the first professional Lithuanian 1980s) bear witness to the fact that to take facts from real life and turn theatre opened in 1920. Another Lithuanian theatre was a place where them into summed-up metaphorical twenty years passed before a new the deepest, most secret, and most images, which seemed to be detached drama theatre opened its door in tender expectations of the audience from reality, but which still reflected Panevėžys in 1940. Theatre head could come true, a place where the it in one way or another. Juozas Miltinis, together with his aesthetic, psychological, social and young troupe, turned Lithuania into a political aspirations of society gained Contemporary Lithuanian theatre destination for theatre lovers from all shape over and over again, thus seems to still be living off the over the Soviet Union, with theatre becoming a form of hope. reputation it earned during the last excursions pouring into Panevėžys few decades of last century. Theatre from neighboring countries in the Thus at its peak, Lithuanian theatre professionals that came into their 1960s. was not only a theatre by and for own during that period are still its its peers, but a theatre that even driving force. Its artistic hallmark is Time passed. In 1984, Lithuanian became international. This happened still guaranteed by the continuation theatre participated at the Belgrade in response to the demands that of the traditions of metaphorical International Theatre Festival with political censorship imposed on theatre that were formed at the time the play “Pirosmani, Pirosmani” Lithuania, with the theatre showing and the new interpretations of these directed by Eimuntas Nekrošius and solidarity with its audience not by traditions today. competed as equals with leading following the guidelines of official theatres from across the globe. ideologies, but following the basic However Lithuanian theatre is and true feelings of its audience. It undergoing a transformation. It The world had discovered Lithuanian showed solidarity, thus becoming has opened itself to the winds of theatre. It seemed that Lithuanian a kind of zone of freedom in an change and is not afraid to face new theatre had no complexes whatsoever imprisoned society. challenges. It is searching for and because of its tender age, and started testing new ways of entrenching both what could be called its international The rare theatre people and troupes its artistic and institutional existence, career which has lasted up to the from the West that found themselves i.e. broadening its palette of practical present-day. in Lithuania during the Soviet and artistic forms of existence.

National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 81 aving just recently celebrated its hundredth anniversary, Lithuanian theatre has become an important, acclaimed and appreciated part of the world stage. This is first and foremost a result of the work of what is known as the “Big Six” – theatre directors Eimuntas Nekrošius, Rimas Tuminas, Jonas Vaitkus, Oskaras Koršunovas, Gintaras Varnas and Cezaris Graužinis.

Thanks to them, the routes of Lithuanian theatre tours have crisscrossed the map of Europe and been on every continent. They are invited time H and time again on tour and regularly included in the programs of the best international theatre festivals, and not only in neighboring Russian and Poland, and not only in Western Europe where Lithuanian theatre appeared long ago, but also farther afield in places like China, Japan, Singapore, Australia, Columbia, Chile, and Argentina.

With a great interest in Lithuanian theatre, foreign theatres have gladly opened their doors to Lithuanian directors and signed them up to creative cooperation agreements. For example, Italy is in love with Eimuntas Nekrošius, where he has put on a number of plays. Rimas Tuminas was particularly popular at the Icelandic National Theatre in the 1990s, and now he is in Russia. Jonas Vaitkus presented a joint Japanese-Lithuanian project called Sakura in the Wind (2004) at the Dora Theatre in Tokyo. Along with a number of one-off performances abroad, Oskaras Koršunovas began cooperating with the National Oslo Theatre on a regular basis starting in 2001. Gintaras Varnas is well- known in both Latvia and also Slovakia, where he has achieved success in working with the Adrej Bagar Theatre in Nitra. Cezaris Graužinis is also well-known by theatre goers in Finland and Greece (he received the Karolos Koun Award for Best Director from the Union of Greek Theatre and Music in 2007).

What could be called the culmination of cooperation between Lithuanian theatre and theatres abroad is when prestigious theatres began welcoming Lithuanian directors to put on plays. Such theatres as Comedie Francaise began welcoming directors like O. Koršunovas, who directed William Shakespeare’s comedy “The Taming of the Shrew” (2007). The famous La Scala Theatre also gave in to the temptations presented by Lithuanian directors and put on Charles Gounod’s opera “Faust” directed by E. Nekrošius (2010).

The obvious long-term success of Lithuanian directors and their recognition worldwide has contributed to Lithuanians emigrating and working at foreign theatres. One example is Cezaris Graužinis, who Moliere. “Tartuffe” by the Aarhus Drama Theatre (Denmark) worked as the artistic director of Viirus Theatre in Helsinki from 2007 to Directed by Oskaras Koršunovas. 2011 2009, and is now directing in various Greek theatres. Another example Photo by Rasmus Baaner. From the OKT Theatre archives is Rimas Tuminas, who began work as artistic director of the Yevgeny Vakhtangov Theatre in Moscow in 2007, and has directed a number of plays that have caused quite a stir across Russia.

82 imuntas Nekrošius (1952) is a director who has brought Lithuanian theatre to the world stage with his work and shown an undisputed uniqueness. His achievements have been awarded with a number of national prizes as well as prestigious international theatre awards, including the 1994 Europe Theatre Prize for New Theatrical Realities Award and the 2001 International Stanislavsky Award for his contribution to the development of theatre worldwide.

E E. Nekrošius’ work could very well sum up the phenomenal character of all of Lithuanian theatre, which is a synthesis of what is called its “rural” and “nature” roots and the universalness of artistic thought.

Born and raised in a remote village with just a few houses (in the village of Pažobris in the Raseinių District) and indelibly impacted by the atmosphere of the village (once saying that “it all formed there, in the village”), Nekrošius got the attention of the theatre community in Lithuania already with his first productions. Soon after, in the 1980s he garnered international recognition.

It seems that his plays use signs, actions and things that are entirely out of everyday life, such as sugar cubes (“Quadrant”, 1980), a saw (“Hamlet”, 1997), flower pots (“Othello”, 2000), a wooden board (“Faust”, 2006), children’s beds (“The Idiot”, 2009). However Nekrošius plays with the complicated shapes of being and loads them up with a surprising potent energy. Nekrošius’ plays are long and slow, but intense and addictive, reminding one of an alchemic séance. For a number of years, theatre critics from around the world talk about the “magic of Nekrošius’ theatre”.

Since 1998, Nekrošius has led Meno Fortas, which is a theatre studio that he established in Vilnius. He continues to expand his method of theatrical magic in the plays he puts on there, while at the same time giving himself harder and harder challenges: he looks for literature that is as difficult as possible to put on as a play and as hard as possible to imagine in the theatre (“Song of Songs”, which is based on poems from the Old Testament, 2004), and also works with non-professional actors or young actors that are inexperienced and are just starting their professional career (Kristijonas Donelaitis’ “The Seasons. Spring Joys”, 2003; “The Seasons. Autumn Boons”, 2003; Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s “The Idiot”, 2009). Johann Wolfgang Goethe. “Faust”. Directed by Eimuntas Nekrošius. 2006 In the center – Faust (Vladas Bagdonas) All of Nekrošius’ plays made at Meno Fortas are internationally Photo by Dmitrijus Matvejevas. From the Meno Fortas Theatre archives co-produced. The list of co-producers is comprised of various foreign theatres, theatre biennials, international theatre foundations and festivals.

www.menofortas.lt National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 83 skaras Koršunovas (1969) is a leader among an active already well-established generation of theatre directors in today’s theatre scene both in Lithuania and abroad. He has garnered a host of national awards, the 2001 Europe Theatre Prize for New Theatrical Realities, and is a Knight of the Order of the Arts and Letters of France.

Koršunovas has been vibrant and original from the very start of his theatrical career – while still a student he staged a performance called “Here to Be There” O (1990) based on the prose of Russian avant-garde writer Daniil Kharms, which simply won over the theatre community in Lithuania due to the power of its directoral creativity, was promptly included in the repertoire of the National Drama Theatre and successfully participated at international theatre festivals.

Having started with great success with the 20th century OBERIU writers, Koršunovas gradually began to expand his theatrical palette of genres and themes. He was the first to embroil the Lithuanian stage with scandalous interpretations of new dramas (Bernard-Marie Koltes’ “Roberto Zucco”, 1998; Mark Ravenhill’s “Shopping and Fucking”, 1999). He was one of a group of people who courageously inscribed his own contemporary interpretation of a world classic into history (William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, 1999).

In 1999 Koršunovas began work with his own theatre, the Oskaras Koršunovas Theatre (the OKT/Vilnius City Theatre since 2004).

Koršunovas’ productions, which include Mikhail Bulgakov’s “Master and Margerita” (2000), Sophocles’ “Oedipus Rex” (2002), Shakespeare’s “The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet” (2003), which have and are still have broad national and international resonance, are all different. However they all reflect his primary theatrical theme, which is to examine the paradoxical nature and tragedy of the being of modern man from various perspectives.

Of particular interest are the most recent works of Koršunovas and his OKT Theatre, which joins Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” (2008) and Maksim Gorky’s play “The Lower Depths” (2010) into an unexpected dialogue with one another. They are tied to one another through the theme of theatre. Koršunovas creates a tragedy of a modern world that is obsessed with theatre, while later taking this obsession away and opening up a gaping emptiness under its theatrical layer – an actor from “Hamlet” is put at a table from “The Lower Depths” that is full of vodka bottles and chips, forced to yell at people, drink and get the audience drunk, i.e. theatrical matter turns into a “post-theatre” apathy, tiredness, William Shakespeare. “Hamlet”. 2008. Directed by Oskaras Koršunovas depression, which gives new meaning to “to be or not to be” which one hears. In the center – Ophelia (Rasa Samuolytė)

Photo by Dmitrijus Matvejevas. From the OKT Theatre archives The actors and actresses in OKT performances change, however the core – Dainius Gavenonis, Rasa Samuolytė and Darius Gumauskas – has remained the same throughout.

84 www.okt.lt he first international theatre festival in Lithuania, LIFE, began in 1991, and was an annual event until 2001. It was a powerful force that broke through the barrier of the Iron Curtain that stood for years between Lithuanian theatre and world theatre, and greatly contributed to the development of contact between various theatres.

The success of LIFE inspired a number of international theatre festivals that are organized today in Lithuania, which have set different goals for themselves and created different themes, however they all foster and stimulate the system of T exchanging ideas of contemporary theatre internationally. The Vilnius International Theatre Festival Sirens and the New Drama Action, the most important and largest of the international theatre festivals that are organized in Lithuania today, are two events that have become an inseparable part of the culture landscape in Lithuania.

The Sirens Festival, which was established by the OKT Theatre and the Vilnius city municipality in 2004, attracts a great number of people who want to see European theatre, and offers a program divided into two parts: a Lithuanian program that serves as an introduction to the newest in Lithuanian theatre explorations and discoveries, as well as a program of theatres from abroad that show famous troupes from contemporary European theatre, including the troupes of Rimini Protokoll, Luk Perceval, Romeo Castellucci, Tadashi Suzuki, Jan Fabre, Krzysztof Warlikowski, Arpad Schilling, and Alvis Hermanis among others. There are also various meetings and discussions with authors and directors that are organized in addition to the performances.

The Sirens Festival is complemented well by the New Drama Action, which is an international theatre festival the Theatre and Cinema Information and Education Centre has organized each spring since 1998. It creates its program by choosing among the newest and most innovative contemporary theatre and drama happening in both Lithuania and abroad. In addition, they also try out various ways show the intense processes going on in new theatre by organizing readings of the newest plays that often later on develop into performances and offer themes and ideas that later are turned into performances (such as Gintaras Varnas and his troupe Dekalogas, 2008), as well as organize workshops and seminars (such as the 10-day seminar entitled “Vilnius Meeting” that featured Hungarian director Arpad Schilling, his theatre troupe Kretakor, and famous Lithuanian actors, 2006).

New Baltic Dance is another important cultural event in Lithuania. It is an international contemporary dance festival which has been organized by the Lithuanian Dance Information Centre and public enterprise Vilniaus Festivaliai since 1997. Each year it provides an overview of new trends in Lithuanian dance as well as world dance. A World-famous star at the Sirens Festival – Italian director Romeo Castellucci (first from left) number of famous troupes have visited Lithuania thanks to this festival, including La meets with Lithuanian theatre fans (second from the left – director Oskaras Koršunovas). 2007 La La Human Steps (Canada), Cullbergballet (Sweden), Aterballetto (Italy), Kibbutz Photo by Dmitrijus Matvejevas. From the Sirens Festival archives (Israel), Russell Maliphanto and his troupe (U.K.) among others. Thanks to this festival, a number of contemporary Lithuanian dance artists have also performed in its impressive program, including Vytis Jankauskas, Loreta Juodkaitė, and Agnija Šeiko among others. www.okt.lt/lt/sirenos/html

www.theatre.lt National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 85 he 2010 International Theatre Festival New Drama Action, which was organized by the Theatre and Cinema Information and Education Centre, spearheaded a unique cultural project, which was an international theatre performance of “The Cherry Orchard” based on Anton Chechov’s classic play.

This performance of “The Cherry Orchard” led to the gathering together of a special creative team. Its head was well-known theatre director Kristian Smeds, who gathered together not only a group of Lithuanian actors currently active T onstage, but also invited veteran actors that had not appeared on stage for some time, such as Virginija Kelmelytė, who resides in France (Ranevskaya) as well as actor Juozas Budraitis, the Lithuanian cultural attaché to the Russian Federation (Gayev). He also added two Lithuanian directors to the solid team of actors – Jonas Vaitkus (Lopakhin) and Gytis Padegimas (Pishchik), as well as avant-garde performance actor Benas Šarka (Charlotta). All of the actors lived in a summer house with an orchard in a suburb of Vilnius for a few weeks, which is where they had rehearsals and also had the performance.

The Cherry Orchard actors settled themselves into the summer house. This gradually evolved into an intimate meeting of close friends. The actors read Chechov’s text sitting in the comfortable confines of the summer house, markedly touched by the text if they found something in it that reminded them of something in their life, laughed and offered cherries dipped in alcohol to the audience as if they were visitors who had dropped by. Afterwards they all went outside where they saw an impressive fire and light fiesta, the proverbial icing on the cake for the Ranevskaya estate, the Cherry Orchard team and this idea of a cultural community, which was finished off with an afterparty that included both the actors and the audience.

Thoughts were shared on the beauty a creative community can have and the utopia it represents in today’s world. In the words of Smeds, it was “the place and time for creative work, joy, and anarchy, when people can feel, fantasize and live before the doom”.

“The Cherry Orchard” was broadcast live through LRT television, and also had a live streaming of the performance for viewers at the Theatre der Welt Festival, which is the largest theatre biennial in Germany.

It was also performed at Wiener Festwochen on 28 May, 2011. The cast lived in famous emigrant neighborhood of Macondo in Vienna, which is where the play was also performed.

International project “The Cherry Orchard”. Directed by Kristian Smeds. 2010 An audiovisual installation Living of Cherry Orchard was created using Photo by Dmitrijus Matvejevas fragments from the rehearsals and interviews of the actors. It premiered at the From the Theatre and Cinema Information and Education Centre archives Vilnius International Theatre Sirens Festival in 2010. Afterwards it was shown at the New European Theatre festival in Moscow.

www.theatre.lt

86 www.menufaktura.lt group of actors that studied under actor Vladas Bagdonas and director Cezaris Graužinis at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre and graduated from MA studies in acting in 2003 made a decision to stick together. The core of the group are five young actors – Brigita Arsobaitė, Paulius Čižinauskas, Vytautas Kontrimas, Vilma Raubaitė, and Julius Žalakevičius – created their own theatre led by Graužinis and called Cezaris Group. The forming of this group brought a new fashion to Lithuanian theatre, whereby almost each graduating class has A formed their own theatre troupe upon graduation. Cezaris Group began their creative career with interpretations of contemporary Western European plays. As a result of these performances, the troupe is known for their unique vision of theatre. What has come out of these performances is what has been called the hallmark of Cezaris Group, which is exploration of the possibilities of a concept known as “imagination theatre”.

Soon afterwards the work of the Cezaris Group began to acquire a more socially passionate position as it aimed the poetics of imagination theatre at analyzing the problematic issues surrounding Lithuanian identity and the well-being of Lithuanians both at home and abroad. Cezaris Group began to create performances according to material gathered from their own experiences. By molding and working with the material himself, Cezaris Graužinis began his career as a playwright. The performances of his and his students became not only a place for theatre, but also a place where young people could express their views on society.

Cezaris Group has continued to develop its theatrical and civic discoveries. More recently they have attempted to use these discoveries as a way to “strike up a conversation” with Lithuanian classics, such as an innovative reading of the work of poet Paulius Širvys, and staging a play based on Lithuanian mythology, among other projects.

Cezaris Group travels a lot to stages all over Lithuania, as well as represents Lithuanian theatre in the world theatre arena with great success – they do tours at theatres abroad and participate at various international theatre festivals (such as the Baltoscandal international theatre festival in Estonia in 2006, and the NB Festival in Estonia in 2011).

Cezaris Group repertoire: Roland Schimmelphenig. “Arabian Nights” (2003) Roland Schimmelphenig. “For a Better World” (2004) Martin Crimp. “Attempts on Her Life” (2005) “Distant Horizons”. Directed by Cezaris Graužinis. 2010 Cezaris Graužinis. “Day of Lithuania, or Courageous Country”. A performance/ Photo by Kamilė Žičkytė. From the Cezaris Group archives antidepressant about Lithuanian identity (2007) Cezaris Graužinis. “All or Nothing” (2009) “Distant Horizons”. Based on the poetry of Paulius Širvys (2010)

www.cezariogrupe.lt National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 87 ew Lithuanian drama is developing, quickly absorbing the principles of intercultural mobility. Playwrights are participating at a number of international seminars, workshops and laboratories, and are becoming more noticed participants in the processes happening in contemporary pan-European drama.

The most striking example of the movement of contemporary Lithuanian drama is the work of Marius Ivaškevičius (1973). His plays have been part of the N international theatre market for a number of years already. They are translated into other languages and are produced at theatres abroad. The Lithuanian versions of his performances have successfully represented Lithuanian theatre in the world arena. The premieres of the performances have taken place abroad. The world premiere of his play “Close City” directed by Marius Ivaškevičius took place in Stockholm and Podgorica as part of the SEAS program.

The play “Madagascar” (2004) has brought with it the greatest amount of national and international fame for Ivaškevičius. The play was commissioned by director Rimas Tuminas and premiered at the Vilnius Small Theatre, which Tuminas also heads. This sharp-witted story about a Lithuanian utopia, which is based on real facts from Lithuanian history and culture, caused a great furor in Lithuania. It was also successfully toured in Poland, Latvia, Russia, Finland, Belgium, Austria and Serbia, even causing a stir in some countries.

The culmination of the impressive success of Madagascar was the Italian version of the play put on by the Gli Incanti, a young theatre troupe from Bologna. This theatrical study was called “Toward Madagascar: an Imprudent Theatrical Study of Marius Ivaškevičius’ Play” (2011), which was dedicated to the commemoration of the 150th year anniversary of the unification of Italy. Director Stefano Moretti looked for parallels between the historical situations that Lithuania and Italy have found themselves in within the play.

Marius Ivaškevičius participated in an international dramaturgy residency at the Royal Court Theatre in London, which is famous for helping to develop great playwrighting. He introduced his latest play entitled “Banishment” about the life of Lithuanian emigrants. It was the result of the project Lithuanian Drama in London, which was created by the Theatre and Cinema Information and Education Centre.

The most important of Marius Ivaškevičius’ plays: “Neighbor” (1998) “8-230, It’s Me” (2001) Marius Ivaškevičius. “Madagascar”. Directed by Rimas Tuminas “Malysh” (“Sweet Kid”, 2001) State Vilnius Small Theatre. 2004. Onstage – Sale (Gintarė Latvėnaitė) “Madagascar” (2004) “Close City” (2005) Photo by Dmitrijus Matvejevas. From the State Small Theatre of Vilnius archives “Mistras” (2010) “Banishment” (2011)

88 www.theatre.lt he center of the Lithuanian school of scenography and the hearth of its skilled craftsmen and women is the Vilnius Academy of Arts (for a long time this hearth was kept lit by the Department of Painting until 1989, when the Department of Monumental Arts and Scenography).

What could be called an unofficial branch of this department, which holds much meaning and importance as the department itself, are the Lithuanian theatre director workshops which occasionally surpass the strong and long-standing and T almost inseparable creative tandems of scenographers and directors. Three generations of people working actively in the field of scenography in today’s theatre represent the continuation of the ideas of the Lithuanian school of scenography and the regular changing of these ideas.

The most well-known figure of the older generation of scenography is Professor Adomas Jacovskis (1948) of the Vilnius Academy of Arts. His creative journey began in working with various directors, having been a contributor to the fame of Eimuntas Nekrošius and his plays. Since 1994 he is an inseparable part of both the Lithuanian and foreign productions directed by Rimas Tuminas. The older generation of Lithuanian theatre is also well-represented by Nedežda Gultiajeva (1949), who is a faithful collaborator of Eimuntas Nekrošius, plus Virginija Idzelytė (1949), who has helped to shape a number of Lithuanian musicals, as well as Aušra Bagočiūnaitė-Paukštienė (1955) and director Rimas Driežis (1959), who specialize in puppet theatre.

The most important figure of Lithuanian scenography of the middle generation is Jūratė Paulėkaitė (1962), who has worked with director Oskaras Koršunovas since 1998 and is a shining example of Lithuanian stage art in Koršunovas’ productions in both Lithuania and abroad. Other figures in Lithuanian scenography that belong to this middle generation are Ramunė Skrebūnaitė (1963), who specializes in children’s theatre art, as well as Gintaras Makarevičius (1965) and Marijus Jacovskis (1972), who work at various Lithuanian theatres and with a number of theatre directors.

The brightest personality of Lithuania scenography’s new generation is Vilnius Academy of Arts lecturer and puppet theatre art expert Julija Skuratova (1974). She has created a number of sets for puppet theatre performances in Lithuania and abroad, and has also tried her hand at directing puppet theatre. Her biggest success was in creating the puppets and set for the production of Claudio Monteverdi’s opera “The Combat of Tancredi and Clorinda” and “Dance of the Thankless” (2008) directed by Gintaras Varnas.

Other figures of the new generation of those working in Lithuanian scenography, Claudio Monteverdi. “The Combat of Tancredi and Clorinda”. “Dance of the Thankless” including Marius Nekrošius (1976), who has worked with Eimuntas Nekrošius Directed by Gintaras Varnas. Set and puppets by Julija Skuratova. 2008 in both Lithuania and abroad, Marta Vosyliūtė (1976), who works with Gintaras Photo by Dmitrijus Matvejevas. From the Utopija Theatre archives Varnas as well as other Lithuanian theatre directors, and Laura Luišaitytė (1977) and Kotryna Daujotaitė (1981), who work with young directors.

www.menufaktura.lt National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 89 Contemporary dance theatre is the newest and freshest genre in Lithuanian theatre. Despite the fact it is new, it is constantly developing its creativeness and actively fighting for its rights.

The brightest star in contemporary dance in Lithuania is the Aura dance theatre, which was founded in 1980 by dancer, choreographer and dance teacher Birutė Letukaitė and who still leads the group today. T Aura is not only added to and expanding its audience of dance lovers in Lithuania, but has had success at various international events and festivals. They have taken to the stage at such prestigious places as the Dansens Hus in Stockholm (2001). They have been invited to be the final performances at the final ceremonies of the second European Culture Forum: Rediscovering Europe that took place in Luxembourg in 2005. They have participated in such events as the Vancouver International Dance Festival (2007) and the Huesca International Dance and Theatre Festival Fair and Mercartes Trade Show (2010), among others. Aura has appeared in 26 countries and almost 180 festivals, with their work having been awarded with 49 city, national and international prizes. Aura has also promoted international cooperation for a number of years – choreographers from 15 countries have worked with the theatre. They are also open to interdisciplinary art challenges: they have done joint projects with artists and performers that work in the fields of sound, visual art and other contemporary art fields.

Aura’s repertoire is comprised of 23 contemporary art performances. The most successful of these are the following: “Extremum Mobile” (choreographer B. Letukaitė, 2001) “Aseptic Zone, or Lithuanian Songs” (choreographer B. Letukaitė, 2004) “Time Line” (choreographers Yossi Berg, Oded Graf (Israel), B. Letukaitė, 2006) “Tabula Rasa” (choreographer Barbara Bourget (Canada), 2007) “Interiors” (choreographer Karel Vanek (the Czech Republic), 2008) “Panorama of Open Eyes” (anonymous choreographer, 2010)

One of the most fascinating personalities in Lithuanian contemporary dance is dancer and choreographer Loreta Juodkaitė. She debuted with her performances “Here and Now” and “Salamandra’s Dream. A Picture” (directed by Valentinas Masalskis) in 2006. She quickly garnered accolades from both the public and critics alike as a dancer that is a special phenomenon, with a “shaman-like empathy” and choreographer with hypnotic powers.

At the moment Juodkaitė is working as an independent dancer and choreographer. She already has 10 dance performances to her credit (among them Loreta Juodkaitė in her dance performance “Prayer in the Sand”. 2009 “Trimatrix. Three Motions”, 2007; “Disobey”, 2008; “Disappear”, 2008; “Sibyl”, 2008), which have been shown not only in Lithuania, but also in Russia, Armenia, Photo by Dmitrijus Matvejevas. From the Arts Printing House archives Ukraine, the U.K., France and Israel. She has also had roles in international dance projects (“To Do This, Don’t Do That”, directed by Thomas Lebrun (France), Lithuanian Dance Information Centre, Cie Illico (France), 2009).

www.dance.lt 90 www.aura.lt he primary ballet school in Lithuania is the Ballet Department of the National M. K. Čiurlionis School of Art (at the beginning it was the Choreography Department under the Vilnius Ten-Year Music School, and later the Vilnius Ballet School), which has been training ballet dancers for professional theatres like the Lithuanian Opera and Ballet Theatre and state musical theatres of Kaunas and T Klaipėda since 1952. One can see the rise of private ballet schools that have been established for dance enthusiasts recently in Lithuania, both for children and adults. They are become more popular and expanding, which bears witness to the democratization of the very idea of ballet, which is the idea of flexibility and an ever broader access to ballet.

Two ballet schools in Lithuania occupy the first two spots on this list of new schools – the Eglė Špokaitė Ballet School, that started in 2009, and the Nerijus Juška Ballet and Dance School, which was established in 2010.

They bear the names of the most famous Lithuanian ballet dancers today: Eglė Špokaitė (1971) and Nerijus Juška (1976), who are graduates of the National M. K. Čiurlionis School of Art, and stars of the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre and laureates of a number of national and international awards, have started their teaching careers at these schools.

The schools are committed to not only introduce students to ballet techniques, but also to the idea that you can use and fully utilize ballet as a tool for the control of a flexible body, creativity and education in creative cooperation.

These schools are also in a way providing a foundation for the rediscovery of the art of ballet. They are not just a good tool to raise and expand the circle of ballet lovers, but also a way to turn ballet into something that is not for a select few, but for everyone.

Primabalerina Eglė Špokaitė, and her schoolgirls. 2011

From the Eglė Špokaitė Ballet School archives

www.baletas.com www.baletomokykla.com National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 91 National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania rofessional Lithuanian art began century led to the forgetting of this Mindaugas Navakas and others) to comparatively late – it was only in the embryonic art market. All avant- understand the rules of the game, second half of the eighteenth century garde creative initiatives were done and they caught people’s attention. that a number of artists who were behind closed doors in the homes of Upon their arrival to art schools, the born in Lithuania began to work and artists, writers, composers, while the teaching of technology and ideology teach in Lithuania after educating rare cases of collection of artworks in education achieved a balance in the themselves in major cultural centres was considered illegal. There was an curriculum. of Europe. The year 1907 is considered immense desire to gain information P to be the birth of Lithuanian modern about new developments on the Thus the world finds Lithuanian art when the first exhibition of other side of the Iron Curtain as well artists fascinating in their depiction Lithuanian art was held in Vilnius. as a great ambition to exhibit their of a post-Soviet mood, and their Similarly, other communities in works, and they did this using both demonstration of a fresh attitude, Vilnius, such as the Poles, Jews and possible and impossible ways, often unrestrained by canons and Russians, introduced their art. by accident. traditions, towards contemporary art problems, along with their unique The goal to organize a world of art It is only in the last twenty years that technological skills. The absence in Lithuania was achieved only after the art market has developed, which of a contemporary art tradition and declaring independence in 1918. means that connections have been and strong art market creates a particular Independent Lithuania established are still being established between kind of art context, where the goal institutions to promote art education, artists and galleries, galleries and and value of modern art has yet to training in art, and its fostering and purchasers, auctions and collectors. be discovered. Sometimes efforts to conservation. It was only in 1932 the However while this market continues do it are based on an old-fashioned first private art gallery was set up in to develop, artists and galleries mentality, sometimes on the eagerness Independence Square in Kaunas (the are searching for their position in to restore that feeling of community interwar capital) due to the endeavors European and international networks. that was ruined during Soviet of artist Neemija Arbitblatas (who After regaining independence the times, and at other times on the lived in Paris at the time). Exhibitions relatively good academic preparation understanding of the possibilities where held both for young and and technological skills of artists and limitations of various art medias. unknown artists as well as more faced an issue that is a necessary part Both artists and the public equally established Lithuanian, Jewish and of modern Western art, which is the want artistic explorations which are foreign artists, and that added greatly problem of the conceptualisation and as consistent and deep as possible, to modernizing understanding of determinant of a work of art. At the which is why the primary goal of the art in independent Lithuania. This time, graduates in art had to learn Lithuanian art world at the moment is gallery made the first step in forming how to justify their creative work, organizing separate creative pursuits a market for art. however the immense interest in into a profitable structure for the their art on the other side of the Iron artists themselves so that they could Unfortunately, the socialist regime Curtain forced Lithuanian artists live from art and develop brilliant that began after World War II and (such as Eglė Rakauskaitė, Deimantas ideas. This section sheds light on the continued in Lithuania for half a Narkevičius, Artūras Raila, attempts to do precisely this. he Venice Bienniale is the most prestigious art event in the world. Lithuania has been participating at the Venice Biennale since 1999. That year Eglė Rakauskaitė represented Lithuania with her video installation “In the Fat” and Mindaugas Navakas with his installation “Shelter”. The curator was the Soros Contemporary Art Centre. Beginning in 2000, the Ministry of Culture began organizing competitions for projects which are designed to represent Lithuania at the Venice Biennale. Art institutions could also participate. In 2001 the winner was Deimantas Narkevičius with his films “A Legend Come True” and “Lithuanian Energy”, and an installation entitled “Celebration - Disaster”. The project was T submitted by the Contemporary Art Centre in Vilnius. Narkevičius’ films caught people’s eye, which was proven by the fact that two years later Francesco Bonami invited him to take part in an exhibition he was curating at the Venice Biennale. In addition, Narkevičius is the only Lithuanian artist who has received the prestigious Vincent Award established by the Stedeljik Museum in Amsterdam, which is awarded once every two years to the most distinguished European artist.

In 2003, Venice Biennale Lithuania was represented by Paulius and Svajonė Stanikas. The project was also submitted by the Contemporary Art Centre, and the Stanikases invited their acquaintance an influential gallerist Christian Caujolle of Paris to be the commissioner of the pavilion (they had exhibited in Paris since 2001). The overall task of the commissioner was to make the pavilion as eye-catching as possible, and he was successful in doing this.

In 2005 Lithuania was represented by Jonas Mekas with his project “Celebrations of Small and Personal in the Times of Bigness” (video installations and film reviews, Contemporary Art Information Centre).

In 2007 the project Villa Lituania by Gediminas and Nomeda Urbonas was featured at the biennale. The project was submitted by the Contemporary Art Centre. It was hoped that this project would bring attention to the story of Villa Lituania in Roma, which housed the embassy of the First Republic of Lithuania during the interwar period. It was then taken by the Soviets, and later became the property of Russia. They not only used the exposition at the pavilion and art actions, but also smart marketing. Lithuania won the Golden Lion in the category of best national pavilion.

In 2009, Žilvinas Kempinas represented Lithuania with his installation “Tube” (submitted by Vartai Gallery). The installation, which was made out of magnetic tape, drew the attention of foreign mass media and art lovers. After the biennale, he was given a proposal to be represented by the prestigious Yvon Lambert Gallery which has branches in Paris and New York, and in 2010 Kempinas’ artwork was included in the exhibition “On Line: Drawing Through the Twentieth Century” at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York.

In 2011 the Contemporary Art Centre decided to propose a project by Darius Mikšys entitled “Behind the White Curtain”. The artist aimed to reveal the drawbacks of the The first international pigeon race to win the Villa Lituania Cup, financing of culture in Lithuania during the last twenty years of independence. The project done in 10 hours and 15 min, 9 June, 2007 received a Special Jury Mention for its conceptually elegant and productively ambiguous Photo by Urbonas Studio framing of his nation’s art history. The pavilion at the Venice biennale uses the attention of the world in full, and adding the right marketing to an interesting work of art almost guarantees a career push for an artist.

94 elt earrings, beads or brooches often enrich Lithuanian women’s wardrobe and become a frequent souvenir from Lithuania thanks to a group of artists called the White Moths, a six-person team consisting of textile artists Austė Jurgelionytė, Karolina Kunčinaitė, Miglė Lebednykaitė, Rasa Leonavičiūtė, Laura Pavilonytė, and Julija Vosyliūtė who have been working together since 1998. They took in interest in felt while studying at the Vilnius Academy of Arts. In F 1998, together with their professor Eglė Ganda Bogdanienė, they organized the first international felt symposium in Anykščiai, Lithuania. Its purpose was to gather information about this ancient material from the most real and authentic of resources, which led to felt artists from Scandinavia, Finland, the Baltic, Poland and Kazakhstan coming and participating in the symposium.

Having learned much about the methods of felt making, the White Moths not only create traditional flat rugs and pictures, but they have adapted their techniques for creating 3-D objects. Their works often include large, sculpture-like works, as well as installations made up of felt 3-D details that are displayed both indoors or in open spaces. They also experiment with painting wool. They paint the wool as one traditionally painted cotton and silk, and in this way put their own spin on traditional color combinations for felt rugs. Their major projects, such as “Mandala”, “The Feast”, “Sheep Droppings of Wool”, “To The Forest” have been shown in a number of places, including Edinburgh, Glasgow, Moscow, Shanghai, Paris, Kyoto, Tokyo, Buenos Aires, Düsseldorf and Warsaw. They are often asked to organize seminars and workshops. In cooperation with designer Ramunė Strazdaitė, the White Moths participated at the Fashion Infection fashion show in 2005 and 2006.

The White Moths are helping to create the image of the innovative and interdisciplinary Lithuanian textile scene for a worldwide audience together with Kaunas Textile Biennale, the biggest international modern arts festival in Lithuania, which in 2011 was the most important event in Europe introducing modern textile in the interdisciplinary context. The White Moths. “The Feast”. 2008

Photo by Modestas Ežerskis

National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 95 ulips & Roses is a contemporary art gallery that was established on Gaono Street in Vilnius’ Old Town in 2008. An influential gallery that could have an impact on the Lithuanian art market is a welcomed addition. Brothers Darius Žakaitis, a businessman and Jonas Žakaitis, a philosopher, together with Aurimė Aleksandravičiūtė worked on the conception of the gallery for a long time T before the gallery opened its doors. This gallery exhibits post-conceptual art. In order to truly enjoy it, one should have a developed and refined taste. The gallery founders envisaged that the Lithuanian artists represented by the gallery would be interesting to conceptual art lovers from abroad. Thus a conscious decision was made right at the very start to interact closely with foreign art fairs, galleries and collectors, but at the same time slowly nurture the artistic tastes of the Lithuanian public.

In the spring of 2009 the gallery participated in Liste, which is a section dedicated to young art that is part of ArtBasel, one of the leading art fairs in the world. The gallery has also participated at Viennafair, and in the 7mal2 project for young galleries during the Berlin Gallery Weekend. The gallery’s stand at art fairs is eye-catching because of its purity and minimalism, which has attracted art experts oversaturated by images. In the autumn the gallery participated in the Frame project, which introduced young galleries and which was part of the Frieze Art Fair in London. In addition, the gallery has participated at the Artissima Internation Art Fair in Turin and the Focus section of Art Forum Berlin.

The gallery has continued its successful run at art fairs – in 2010 and 2011 they participated in ArtBasel, Liste and Viennafair, and in 2011 took part in Art Brussels and the Independent Art Fair in New York. In 2010 the gallery was one of three organizers of the Sunday Art Fair in London.

In 2010 the gallery moved to Brussels, which doesn’t have so many galleries in comparison with other European capitals, but which does have a good number of art collectors. Currently the gallery represents such artists as Jesse Ash, Stormumriken. 2009. By Juozas Laivys Liudvikas Buklys, Gintaras Didžiapetris, Martijn in’t Veld, Collapse, Collide, Combine Juozas Laivys, and Rosalind Nashashibi. An Exhibition of Small Transitions, Tulips & Roses. Vilnius. August, 2009

© Gintautas Trimakas, property of Gintautas Trimakas and Tulips & Roses, Brussels 96 www.tulipsandroses.lt he network of exhibition spaces in Lithuania consists of different parts, just like elsewhere around the world. The first branch includes state institutions that hold collections of artworks. Another branch, which is a feature unique to post-Soviet countries, are galleries belonging to that particular country’s artists’ union that are split up according to the type of art they display (i.e. paintings, graphic art, sculpture, etc.). Yet another branch represents galleries that T operate under educational institutions. The fourth branch is private galleries, which possess an influential voice in fully-developed art markets. They are important because they form a selected body of art works for state and private museums. It is these state and private museums that then determine what will or not be recorded in art history.

Since its foundation in 1991, Gallery Vartai has participated in numerous art fairs around the world, including Liverpool, Madrid, Vienna, and Cologne. In 2009 the gallery won the right to represent Lithuania at the Lithuanian Pavilion at the 53rd Venice Biennale featuring the installation “Tube” by Žilvinas Kempinas, and no one can deny that this is a significant achievement for a private gallery.

The gallery launched a successful project called Artscape in 2009 on the occasion of Vilnius becoming the European Capital of Culture 2009. Artscape features joint exhibitions that show works by one Lithuanian artist and one foreign artist. The best and brightest contemporary artists from each country are a part of this project as a result of the ties the gallery it has built up over many years. In this way the work of local artists can be put side by side with those of important foreign artists and displayed in a local environment. In addition, the Lithuanian public can get acquainted with relevant developments in art abroad, while Lithuanian artists have the chance to develop contacts with successful foreign artists and find out the secret of their success.

Since 2010 Gallery Vartai has been holding contemporary art auctions where one can purchase contemporary works, especially those of young artists. With this auction, the Viennafair 2011. Gallery Vartai stand gallery is making efforts to educate collectors of modern Installation by Žilvinas Kempinas art and fill in the gap left by the Vilnius Auction, the main art auction of the country that concentrates primarily on Photo by Gallery Vartai classical and modernist art.

www.galerijavartai.lt National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 97 he Young Painter Prize is an annual award that was launched on the successful initiative of artist Vilmantas Marcinkevičius and art critic Julija Petkevičienė in 2009. The competition is focused on professional painters under 30 years of age. The committee consists of artists, curators, and art critics who select the works of the most promising and individual artists for the final exhibition, after which the winners of the Grand Prize and three incentive prizes T are given. The Public Prize is awarded to the artist whose work wins most votes by an online vote. It is in this way that modern painting and young artists can be made more well-known to a broader public. The organizers of the competition invite an audience that includes art critics, artists, gallerists, private art patrons and collectors from Lithuania and abroad to the project’s events (an exhibition, press conference and awards’ evening ) in order to provide young artists with the best conditions to find their niche in Lithuania and support their creative potential right in their home country.

The main prize includes prize money and an impetus to continue creating art in the form of a personal exhibition or a residency in Lithuania or abroad. The prizes are possible due to patrons Mindaugas Raila, Nicolas Ortiz, Dali Van Rooij Rakutytė and sponsors, which include the Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, Arts and Culture (BMUKK), Nida’s Art Colony, and Dailu Art Shop. The fact that the project organizers were able to persuade private individuals in Lithuania to become patrons of the arts is a considerable step towards the development of an independent art market that is not sponsored solely by the state.

Interest in the project has been increasing – 28 applications were submitted in 2009, while 2010 saw 46 artists apply for the project. In 2011 the project became international, as young artists from Latvia and Estonia were invited to join.

Andrius Zakarauskas was the winner of the competition in 2009. Jolanta Kyzikaitė was the main prize winner in 2010.

Exhibition of Andrius Zakarauskas, winner of the Young Painter Prize ’09, at Vilnius Academy of Arts’ Titanic Hall

98 www.ypp.lt he first Independent Drawings Gig was the first one-night drawings and live music event organized in the studio of artist Valdas Ozarinskas on 7 October, 2005 in Vilnius. The only rule of this event was that the drawings that were made had to closely reflect the live independent music that was being played, and each drawing should look as if it were one song on a CD. The most interesting thing in the case of this event is that branches of art that spring up T only out of an inner motivation are juxtaposed together. Composers of indie music play for their own pleasure, and do not search for producers or publishers. Generally a drawing is the first and most enjoyable part of work for an artist, when an idea obtains a shape but the imagination is not yet constrained by the technical details.

A total of 16 artists participated in the first IDG, including Lithuanian artists residing both at home and abroad (in places like London and New York), and foreign artists from London, Skopje, and the Hague. They were drawing according to the music of the project “Seul 5 am”. In November 2006, IDG was organized in Skopje, Macedonia, in September 2007 in the Hague, the Netherlands. One year later during the fall IDG travelled the world, going from Oakland on the West Coast and New York on the East Coast across Europe (the Hague, Maastricht, Amsterdam, Vilnius, Skopje and Istanbul) to Incheon, South Korea. In the fall of 2009, IDG was arranged in Rotterdam and Vilnius, and in October 2010 was once again in Vilnius.

Unsurprisingly, news of this absolutely informal and alternative art event spread by word-of-mouth, a principle that indie music cherishes and adheres to. In its very essence, the open format of IDG turned into a desirable way for artists to cluster for a noncommittal creative event that is harder and harder to imagine in this competitive and individualistic world.

Independent Drawings Gig 6

Photo by Artnews.lt

http://indiedrawingsgig.com National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 99 rt residencies are the most convenient way to reduce the distances among creative communities living in different parts of the world. The only institution that deals with art residencies in Lithuania is the Nida Art Colony (NAC), which opened its doors after reconstruction in the spring of 2011. The Nida Art Colony is a new subdivision of the Vilnius Academy of Arts. The premises were acquired in 1999 and were previously used only for student summer practices. Its reconstruction started in 2009 based on the design by A the studio of Algimantas Kančas. The design reminds one of modern Scandinavian architecture.

The mission of NAC was to make these premises, which are located in the unique natural habitat of the pine forests of the Curonian Spit one hundred meters from the sea, accessible to foreign artists. By promoting international cooperation, it is hoped that the quality of art and design studies will be enhanced and also that innovations will be implemented in the field of art education. The renovated building (covered a total of 1,323 square meters) houses five artist residencies, a student dormitory, two multifunctional spaces used for artistic and educational activities, a roof terrace and a digital image processing laboratory.

The reconstruction of the building and opening of NAC was possible only due to the implementation of a project financed by the EEA and Norwegian Financial Mechanism Office.

The primary activities of NAC are international workshops, summer schools, exhibitions, conferences, video screenings and the artist-in- residence programme. NAC will house summer workshops of the Vilnius Academy of Arts in June, July and September. An important task of NAC is to become a part of the local cultural and social fabric.

Artists-in-residence are invited to become an integral part of the local cultural and social scene. The duration of a residency is one to six months. A residency can result in a show at NAC, Vilnius Academy of Arts, or one of its galleries.

Thus the 21st century art residency Nida Art Colony is trying to restore the creative potential of Nida that made it so important at the beginning of the twentieth century. During the first months of its existence, twelve artists from various European and American Tea ceremony by artists Gwenn Ael Lynn (US) and Natalija Borissova (Russia) cities have already resided there. In addition, a symposium entitled in a small field across from the colony. 2011 Inter-format was held that dealt with interdisciplinary art. Also it has hosted outdoor movie nights, along with the events “Migrating Photo by Vytautas Michelkevičius Art Academies and Couch Surfing” (which involved workshops and a seminar).

100 www.nidacolony.lt he Department of Photography and Media Art was established at the Vilnius Academy of Arts in 1996. Despite the fact it is almost the youngest department at the academy, it currently has the most forward-looking vision of the studies it provides. Although photography was acknowledged as an independent branch of art in Lithuania already at the end of the 1960s, the photographers of the time (considered classics today) were self-educated, having graduated from journalism and lacking a background in technical T know-how. However this was not an obstacle for the Lithuanian school of humanist photography (including such figures as Antanas Sutkus, Aleksandras Macijauskas, and Algimantas Kunčius) to win fame in the former Soviet Union and even further beyond its borders. The shortage of information and equipment was compensated by a huge desire to take photos. Thus it can be said that the Lithuanian school of photography formed much earlier than it started to be taught in higher schools of education. Lithuanian independence finally brought the possibility for professional photographers to find their niche in higher education: in 1990 a photo studio was set up at the academy, and in 1994 it changed its name and became an image studio. Then the Department of Photography and Video Art was established in 1996.

The end of 2009 saw the unveiling of the newest building of the academy, which was dubbed “Titanic”, and which is home to Lithuania’s best educational institution for photography, video, audio recording, processing and editing. Photography, video art, media art, interdisciplinary art, new media art, art of sound and internet art, along with animation studies are all taught at the department.

A host of theoretical and practical issues of static and dynamic views, sound, interdisciplinary interaction are explored in Photography and Media Art studies courses. General subjects include art history and theory, visual communication, expression and technology of photography, new media (hypertext, multimedia), and specific issues pertaining to software. Graduates of this department, who are students of an excellent school of photography, and the only university-educated students in video and interdisciplinary art in Lithuania, are blending very well into the contemporary art scene in both Lithuania and Lecture in the photo studio of the Department abroad (including Andrius Rugys, Eglė Budvytytė, Ugnius of Photography and Media Art at Vilnius Academy of Arts Gelguda, Robertas Narkus, Akvilė Anglickaitė, and Rimas Sakalauskas among others). Understanding the principles of visual Photo by Andrius Surgailis communication enables them to become the most creative authors they can be in this visual world.

www.media.vda.lt National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 101 t’s only been in the last few years that the remnants of Soviet industry in Lithuanian cities as well as deserted buildings elsewhere in the country have been recognized as a potential refuge for modern arts. The greatest success story is the Ševčenka lofts that began at the beginning of the 21st century and is eagerly compared to the success story of New York’s SoHo in the 1970s. One may also remember the group Commune Art, which was a collection of artists I that occupied a derelict dairy in 2008 and is now currently located in a nearby publishing house on Saltoniškių Street in Vilnius, or Klaipėda’s Culture Factory, which will soon open its doors in a renovated tobacco factory. However the most successful transformation from an abandoned building into an art incubator was definitely the Ministry of Fluxus.

In 2010 it was established in the former building of the Ministry of Health on Gediminas Avenue, which is Vilnius’ main street. This was spurred by Vilnius’ ambitions to have a part of the collection of artist Jurgis Mačiūnas, one of the founders of the Fluxus movement, and also provide an inexpensive space for artists.

The Ministry of Fluxus can be viewed as a vivid, bustling, and relevant branch of this purchased collection that is in constant motion, where the best and brightest people in visual art, musicians, architects, and dancers regularly share ideas. During one year the five-floor (and two-floor cellar) art incubator of the Ministry of Fluxus housed more than 60 groups of artists. The Lithuanian Interdisciplinary Artists’ Association (LTMKS), which had no place of its own to call home for a long time, also found a roof there. Others come for short projects or to prepare performances. There were halls for permanent expositions of visual art and design, jazz concerts, reggae and ska shows, dance lessons, performances, and old 8mm film shows. The Ministry of Fluxus has also hosted classical music concerts by NIKO, which is perhaps the most innovative orchestra of classical music around, as well as slam poetry competitions. The artists and visitors will keep good memories about the Ministry of Fluxus.

Let There Be AFROLATIN Night! Ministry of Fluxus. 2011

Photo by Edgaras Stanišauskas

102 lt-lt.facebook.com/Fluxusministerija ack in 1996, the residents of Užupis, which was a shabby area at that time in Vilnius, plus the students of the Vilnius Academy of Arts and other young artists and entrepreneurs founded the Alternative Art Center. Užupis 2 association and Galera Art Gallery. Two years later Užupis proclaimed itself as an independent Republic.

In 2002 the AAC and Department of Culture and Art under B the Vilnius Municipality established the first art incubator in Lithuania right in Užupis, thus uniting its creative forces. Its primary goals are to provide artists (mostly painters, sculptors, photographers) with an inexpensive space for their creative work, teach them entrepreneurship and management, and also to inform, consult businessmen, investors, distributors about the activities of the residents of the incubator. To this end, a development plan for the incubator was confirmed in 2009. There are plans to open a new building in 2012 with residencies for 30-50 artists.

Today Užupis, which is now well-kept and more extravagant, still boasts a unique aura, and is famous for the AAC’s events that are organized for the community and society as a whole: there are art workshops for children and young adults such as the Coast of Arts, social creative projects for women, senior citizens, and children, the Music for Little Ones Festival, and the What Are You Doing Here Festival. You cannot miss Sculpture Alley along the Vilnelė River, which regularly features new sculptures. AAC also organizes the Užupis Painting Plein-Air project.

With its celebrations, art events, and lifestyle (to live means to create) Užupis created Vilnius’ version of Montmartre or Christiania.

2008 Monmartre convention at the Užupis Art Incubator in the Vilnius European Capital of Culture 2009 programme

Photo by Marius Abramavicius Neboisia

www.umi.lt National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 103 he Modern Art Centre is a private project launched by Viktoras and Danguolė Butkus in 2009. During the twenty years that Lithuania has been independent, the Lithuanian Art Museum and the National Art Gallery (which belongs to the Lithuanian Art Museum) lacked the finances necessary to accumulate a national collection of Lithuanian art. Thus both classical art from the Soviet period that was not allowed to be part of the national collection due to censorship, and classical art of the period after 1991 stayed T in the workshops of artists or became part of the collections of private collectors from Lithuania and abroad. Obviously the primary goal of the MAC project was to gather all these collections that were scattered and put them in one place.

A total of 10 million litas was allocated by the initiators to put together a collection of Lithuanian art works created since 1960, and today it comprises approximately 1,500 works of prominent Lithuanian artists. The construction of the museum is predicted to cost over 20 million litas and is expected to receive European Union Structural Funds. The opening of the museum is scheduled for 2015-2016.

The prime movers of the museum envisaged a site near the National Art Gallery, and thereby forming an area of museums that is popular in major European cities. The National Art Gallery and Modern Art Centre would not only compete but also cooperate in common projects, combining their finances and creative forces, thus forming a strong nucleus for art.

The appearance of a collector putting together a huge collection breathed life back into the Lithuanian art market. The Butkuses’ case is an example for other Lithuanian businessmen how to spend money in a creative way, and also how the well-done and extensive presentation of Lithuanian art can encourage the interest of foreign art lovers in the works of Lithuanian artists.

The Modern Art Centre would be the first post-independence building designed for use as a museum. All other existing museums and exhibition halls were built during the interwar period or the Soviet period, thus the contest for proposing a design for the MAC was special – it provided the architectural community with a great opportunity to escape from the mundane Modern Art Centre project designing of shopping malls and offices. In June 2011 it was announced that the contest winners were a group of architects “a01 architektai” image from the Vilnius-based A01 architects company (Živilė Putrimaitė, Dovydas Čipkus, Marekas Mickevičius, Marius Morkūnas, Darius Romanovskij). They were awarded a prize of 50 thousand litas.

104 www.mmcentras.lt rban culture did not develop until relatively late in Lithuania due to various reasons. Up until the beginning of the 20th century, manor estates were the main centers of culture in Lithuania. However during the interwar period, their importance began to decline. The policies of the Soviet period led to their demise, as manor estates were turned into collective farms, hospitals, schools, museums, and libraries. Fate was kindest to the manor estates that became museums either during the Soviet period or immediately U after it. For example, the Kretinga Museum was established in a manor estate in Kretinga, the Amber Museum in a manor estate in Palanga, and the Museum of Samogitian Art in a manor estate in Plungė. In addition, the Kelmė Regional Museum was relocated to a manor estate in Kelmė, while the Rokiškis Regional Museum was established in a manor estate in Rokiškis. Užutrakis Manor offers a wonderful program of exhibitions and chamber concerts.

By turning manor estates into history museums, regional museums or art museums, one can partially ensure the preservation of their history. However the manors’ history and traditions truly comes to life when they are host to festivals, plenaries, concerts and exhibitions, which highlights the manors’ cultural value.

“Art in Old Lithuanian Manors” is an international project that attempts to bring this culture to life. It is an initiative that was started by a group of artists in 2007. The aim of the initiators of the project is to create a network of exhibition spaces that can be found all over the country, which would allow for the regular promotion of the arts in the regions. For example, exhibitions are organized at Trakų Vokė Manor, the Raudonė Castle estate, and the Kelmė Regional Museum.

Since the end of the 20th century, the manors have increasingly been returned to their heirs or sold to private individuals. The new owners, who are investing in objects with significant historical heritage, understand their responsibility – they have the possibility to invest not only in real estate but also in the fostering of culture. There are successful examples where manors have gradually become centers of culture after undergoing a complete renovation, such as Bikuškis Manor and Skaraitiškės Manor, where the owners of the manors organize painting and sculpture plenaries. Žeimiai Manor, which is located in the Jonava District, is home to “Ars Exhibition “Beauty Came To Me...” at the Užutrakis Manor Estate. 2009 communis” and “ŽemAt” (Žeimiai College of Aesthetic Thought and Anonymity), and also hosts art events that are connected to Archives of the Trakai Historical National Park Board the manor and the town of Žeimiai. Norviliškės Castle is the host of the Be2gether Festival, the biggest international music and art festival in Lithuania which got its start in 2007.

National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries in Lithuania 105