KAUNAS FULL OF CULTURE FEBRUARY 2019

KAUNAS FULL OF CULTURE

Monomuseum

Illustration by Monika PernovaitÄ—

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Illustration by Monika PernovaitÄ—

You need to arrange in advance and don’t sit here, don’t touch that and stay silent. That’s the sort of stereotype one gets upon hearing the phrase ‘memorial museum.’ It is likely that many readers of these lines would also add school excursion ending in fast food restaurant that stuck in their memories better than the memorial museum. Wait, who’s apartment was that?

Come in!

What an unforgivable injustice – mostly to oneself – is to think like that – confirms the choir of Kaunas Full of Culture staff, who, in preparing the February issue, visited a wide range of memorial apartments, houses and other objects in Kaunas. We visited priests and (or) writers and different kinds of artists (looking for their traces), the bohemians of Kaunas; went to the yard of people who were kicked out of it due to historical circumstances and glanced over the fence of those who designed houses for other Kaunas residents.

All the rooms are different just like the stories, even if museums belong to one more extensive network. If not for the modern details, such as yesterday’s newspaper or smoke detector, one might never wake up from a historical trance. Imagine, in Juozas Gruodis’ garden, just like that sleeping beauty, you can pick fruit from the apple trees planted by the composer himself.

Also important is the question of future – or so far non-existent – memorial apartments or houses. For example, Emma Goldman, to whom Polish artist Karolina Freino dedicated a buoy during Kaunas biennial

in Nemunas and Neris confluence in 2017. There is not much information about the life of a future anarchist in Kaunas, because she left to the US at a very young age. So maybe the social centre bearing her name that operates in A. Mickevčius Street and aims at translating her ideas into the language of the 21st century is actually the best memorial one could think of? Or George Mačiūnas. Yes, we know he grew up at the beginning of Parodos Street but knowing the artist (or pretending to do so) it would probably seem obscene to cram his memory into a flat. He is already hanging in the air between Fluxus cabinet and a square created by Naglis Baltušnikas.

And if we had given Mačiūnas’ name to Kaunas Cultural Center, we would have created a sort of metaphysical museum in the shape of a triangle.

And how will we immortalise those who have reached their creative peak today? Maybe it is already worth investing in one block of flats somewhere in Eiguliai or Šilainiai and later set up a memorial corner for a writer, a poet, a photographer, a dancer or a scientist in each flat? On the other hand, will there be a need to work this hard – meet the interested visitors and wipe the dust every day?

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Eventually, this home became a central modernist cultural spot that brought Kaunas intellectuals for discussion and gave rise to the Lithuanian Language Society. In her home, Sofija organised a unique phenomenon for that time – the language Saturdays – which gave birth to the magazine about language called Mother Tongue. Its publishing started in 1933. Sofija worked in this house until the last days of her life.

At Sofija’s

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At the end of 1932, three women – Sofija Kymantaitė-Čiurlionienė, the widow of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, her only daughter Danutė and mother Elžbieta – settled in the house of minimalist, strict forms designed by architect Vytautas Landsbergis-Žemkalnis.

Text and photos by Lukas Mykolaitis

The memorial exhibition hasn’t changed since it was opened in the writer’s office in 1971. This apartment is still home to the granddaughter of Sofija Kymantaitė-Čiurlionienė, sculptor Dalia Palukaitienė, who together with her son Džiugas maintains the memorial exhibition. The tradition of dedication extends from generation to generation and Sofija’s devotion to Čiurlionis that was felt throughout their life has a continuity, only now it is her name that is being upheld.

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This is my dedication to them. Interpretation through images noticed while spending two afternoons in the house listening to stories and browsing through artefacts and the digital archive of Palukaičiai. It is a small journey through an abundance of objects, each of which tells a larger story that touches upon language development, the cultural life of Kaunas, the political climate prevailing in Lithuania, and the history of this family.

The house at Žemaičių g. 10.

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Dalia Zubovaitė-Palukaitienė.

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Model of sculpture “Youth”, Dalia Zubovaitė-Palukaitienė. 1973.

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The house book that was kept between 1933 and 1940.

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Sofija talking to Zigmantas Skirgaila in her room. 1956.

The house book that was kept between 1933 and 1940.

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The bed of Sofija Kymantaitė-Čiurlionienė.

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One of the exhibits of the memorial room is a stone from ÄŒiurlionis peak in the Pamir mountains, brought to Kaunas by Kastytis Zubovas in 1970.

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The ÄŒiurlionis peak.

Picture hanging in the living room.

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Still frames from the material shot while guests were arriving at one of the famous Saturdays hosted by Sofija.

Priest Vaitkus, Korsakas and ÄŒiurlionytÄ— (2) and Sofija herself are visible. 1940.

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Sofija Kymantaitė-Čiurlionienė writing. 1958 (one of her last pictures).

The first publication of Mother Tongue. 1933.

Sofija’s desk.

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The opening of the memorial plaque. 1974.

Vladys Zubovas and Danutė ČiurlionytėZubovienė in Sofija’s memorial room, holding a book by Čiurlionis published in 1910.

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The first inscriptions of the visitors' book. It’s still being kept today.

The title page of the visitors' book. It was started in 1971 when the memorial room was opened.

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Liudas Truikys and Marijona Rakauskaitė Memorial Museum (a subdivision of the M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art) was opened for visitors in 1994. The interwar period theatre legends today are represented by another duo – young museum employees, sisters Rasa and Dalia Bieliūnaitės who tell visitors not only about the two artists but also about the unique museum. If you haven’t visited it yet, no need to worry, according to Liudas Truikys, your time hasn’t come yet.

A cloud of incense and sounds of music Julija Račiūnaitė Photos by Dainius Ščiuka

Tell us about Marijona Rakauskaitė and Liudas Truikys – people who inspired the birth of the museum.

Marijona Rakauskaitė was an opera singer (dramatic soprano). Her father was a book smuggler in Lithuania.

He emigrated to the US when he was only 16 and later on invited his fiancé to come. Marijona was born in Chicago in 1892.

When the State Theater was built in Kaunas in 1923, there was a search for good singers in Lithuania and abroad because there was a lack of them.

At that time, Marijona had already

started her career in, but the major solo roles were secured for her when she moved to Kaunas. She was also raised in a very patriotic family and was really eager to come back here. So, she arrives in Kaunas when she’s 31.

Her sister Ana Marija also came back to Lithuania in 1920 only under different circumstances. She was one of the first five nuns of St. Casimir’s order who came to Lithuania and revived the run-down Pažaislis monastery. We can see a photograph in which they are posing together.

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Many of the photographs in this museum depict Marijona in different roles. She was very theatrical on the stage because when in the States she not only studied singing but had also graduated from Shakespeare drama studio. Marijona had said that if your voice is unable to produce a particular note, you shouldn’t trouble yourself.

Your face should be emitting love, and not struggle.

So, she settled in Kaunas.

Yes. And she had plenty of admirers here, including Kipras Petrauskas, Faustas Kirša, Juozapas Albinas Herbačiauskas. For the first 14 years, Marijona lived in the Metropolis Hotel, in the same room that was full of things she bought on her way to Lithuania. She travelled from the US on a ship that would make stops in the major European cities. Many of those things are now part of the museum exposition.

The artist brought new fashion to Kaunas. Marijona said that Lithuanian women were extremely beautiful, but their clothing was characterless. The singer herself would dress more extravagantly. For example, she would colour her hair purple and wear a purple suit or wear a neon green suit and add a couple of green locks to her hair. Also, Marijona performed in Carmen with her hand and toenails painted red. At the time, nail polish was not popular neither in Lithuania nor Europe. Because of that ‘blandness’ of the Lithuanian style, Marijona had her dress for the opera Carmen made in Spain. Her items used for the stage include blue and green false eyelashes, a lot of cosmetics and stage make-up.

How did Marijona meet Liudas?

According to this one story, Marijona saw him very upset in the theatre and approached him. At first, Truikys did

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not want to talk because he thought that Marijona will not understand him, but eventually, he told her he’s terrible with deadlines. According to him, creative work is like prayer. He had learned from Vydūnas that in creation process each step should be made with great responsibility. Sometimes, when working on a new scenography, he would not draw a single line on paper and would only listen to music. He tried to do his job as well as possible – if the scenography was not able to complement the music in the right way, it meant it was worthless.

So, if Truikys couldn’t reach the desired effect, he would simply be late.

At first with the sketches and afterwards, if there was a lack of his preferred materials, with the originals.

Sometimes, because of that, the premiere had to be delayed for a year. Directors, undoubtedly, were extremely dissatisfied and sometimes would fire Truikys to hire another scenographer who would finish the task in a few months.

Marijona caught Liudas in that exact situation. In turn, she told Truikys about having a sister who was a nun and a brother who was a priest. She had realised that her own prayer is singing and being on the stage.

Now a little bit about Truikys. The famous scenographer comes from a very interesting family from Žemaitija. His father was a god carver and a great farmer. In their homestead surrounded by forests, the family had a piano.

Once a week a music teacher was coming to teach all the five kids of Truikiai to play the piano. It was him who noticed that Truikys had a perfect pitch and advised his parents to not send him to the divinity school to become a priest. Thus, his parents sent him to study in Telšiai where Truikys met Vydūnas. He admired Vydūnas and even took over some of his habits, such

as vegetarianism and waking up early in the morning (at 4 am!).

Later, Liudas asked his parents to allow him to study ecclesiastical art at Kaunas Art School. After coming to Kaunas, he got acquainted with artist Stasys Ušinskas. Later on, they will become the sole creators of art deco scenography in Lithuania.

Stasys Ušinskas criticised the art school program as obsolete, seeking to change the direction of the school from classical, academic to modern, and also had initiated a student strike. The management of Kaunas Art School viewed it strictly, and the whole course, along with Truikys, was thrown out of school. Then Truikys went to study at the Julian Academy in Paris, where he enrolled as an auditor. However, he did not like the quality of studies there, and he wrote to his friend Antanas Jonynas that the level of Kaunas Art School was much higher. Thus, the artist began to actively engage in self-education: visiting museums, performances, concerts, and admiring Gothic churches. He became fond of opera, notably Verdi’s music. He said that during the opera he would close his eyes and marvel at the divine impression and harmony provided by the music. But when he would open his eyes, poor scenography and costumes would hurt his

eyes as if someone was poking them with two rusty nails. It was then that he set a goal for himself to create scenography that would complement the music instead of muting and ruining it. After returning from Paris to Lithuania, he worked at the Šiauliai Drama Theater and later received a dream job at the State Theater in Kaunas.

It was crucial for Truikys to combine music and fine art when creating scenography for opera. He would even say that he and Marijona Rakauskaitė are being reborn together for centuries to implement the synthesis of arts idea in the world.

By the way, the couple met when Marijona was 42 years old (she was 12 years older than Truikys). They were debating together if it’s worth creating an earthly family, have children. In the end, they decided not to and when asked about it would answer that the aim of their family is creative work. Nor were they married, at least there is no document proving it. They would call each other friends (Truikys would refer to Marijona as his ‘life partner’), lived in separate rooms and when they wanted to

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visit each other, they always knocked.

Both were very respectful of each other’s privacy. People would see them walking down Laisvės alėja, a little behind each other, rarely talking.

However, Rasa Ruibienė, the employee of M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art told about the memory of one Liudas and Marijona’s friends about returning home with them after one premiere. According to him, when they were climbing the stairs uphill, with each step, Truikys would pick up Marijona’s foot, kiss it and put it on the next step. Surely such ceremonial journey home took a long time. By the way, artists’ deaths were separated by 12 years, but they both died at 83.

How did their lives change during the Soviet period?

It was difficult for both of them.

Truikys was fired from his lecturer’s position because during class he taught students to focus on the art of old civilisations, for example, ancient Egypt, instead of socialist realism.

The commission urged him to change his approach, but after he failed to do so, they kicked him out from Kaunas Art School, Artists’ Union, and State Theatre. Marijona Rakauskaitė, in turn, refused to change her American passport into the Soviet one and was forced to enter early retirement.

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They both had to survive on a small Marijona’s pension and the US relatives’ support. Also, during those hard times, they started to sell their collection. Unfortunately, there is no list that would indicate artworks they had and sold back then, but the collection decreased dramatically, especially books. Talking about the books in his room, Truikys would say that he would rather die hungry on them instead of selling them.

The carpets had a similar status. He would refuse to tell the collectors about them. Truikys once said referring to his silk carpet that there are only ten of them in the world because the silkworm species producing such silk threads got extinct.

What other exciting things can you show?

Many. For example, this garb of Chinese nobleman that both artists liked to wear. They wore it when welcoming their guests to their themed evenings. Music was always selected for the theme of the evening, and it would play so loud on these speakers that the guests who would be half a kilometre away would hear it welcoming them. It is said that during the Soviet period, one officer’s family resisted being settled there because they did not want to live in the cloud

Do you also show the other parts of the apartment to the visitors, for example, bathroom, kitchen?

Most definitely. The kitchen is also our office. And it remained almost the same. The things it lacked in Truikys’ times were computer and radiators.

He disliked them, found them dreadful, so his friends rebuilt the old stove heaters and connected gas pipes to them. Such an engineering solution is found in many old houses. Here are their dishes and as you see, there are not many of them.

How would they cook?

They wouldn’t. They ate a light breakfast. Liudas would bring a few eggs from the market for Marijona, and they would go have lunch and dinner to Tulpė or Konradas cafes. As you see, they did not have many cabinets or wardrobes. Truikys used to say that the soul needs space.

He seems to have had an answer for each question.

Exactly. If someone were unable to locate their house, Truikys would calmly answer that it probably wasn’t the time yet.

Sisters, tell us more about your work in this museum.

We arranged the wardrobes in this apartment, especially Marijona’s.

So now you can see her clothes, a collection of dresses, jewellery, and cosmetics. We are also waiting for renovation to take place, during which the original wall colours will be restored.

Because when the museum took over his apartment, everything was grey from all the juniper and amber that he used to burn. We use different incense to not turn the walls grey. His friends would tell that he used to greet them in the cloud of smoke, so we do try to maintain that authentic atmosphere.

We also collect information from Marijona and Liudas’ closest environment. The memories of the people who knew them have a specific, significant value and is a very significant part of the museum.

What services do you provide?

First of all, the museum recently started working from Tuesday to Sunday, before it was open to visitors only with pre-booking. We are also developing and testing new educational programs related to the story of Truikys and Marijona and their creative principles. Due to the lack of space and the fragility of the exhibits, we can only take up to 10 people at once, so these activities are quite unique.

We tend to work with families or art clubs because we are simply unable to fit a whole class of schoolchildren. In this case, the principle of registering in advance works very well. Then, the educational group consists of several families, couples or individual visitors. We have Marijona’s piano, so classical music and other concerts take place here.

We can add that this apartment is located in a lovely place in Kaunas.

Visitors from other cities notice that people in this part of town greet them, talk to them and tell them about Žaliakalnis. And this house is surrounded by oaks from every corner. According to Truikys, they were protecting him. The trees are full of squirrels. There are quite a few people who say they want to come back here and spend the whole day.

One woman even offered to wash the windows of the apartment, so that she could stay longer in “Tarkovsky’s film” as she put it.

Work here really provides you with the sense of meaning. After all, you introduce people to the lives of two spectacular personalities, their stories, and wisdom.

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of incense with constantly played loud music.

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Or maybe ‘closer to God’? How do priests live? Perhaps someone who has been close to church since childhood would write a very different article on the topic. My interest in how the three clergymen lived close to Town Hall Square in different periods is based more on curiosity than a spiritual quest. Of course, spending three good hours at the homes of cardinal Vincentas Sladkevičius (1920–2000), canon Juozas TumasVaižgantas (1869–1933) and prelate Jonas Mačiulis-Maironis’ (1862–1932) does clear your mind. Moreover, I am a hundred per cent sure that the memory of these three personalities lies in the best of hands.

With God Kotryna Lingienė Photos by Donatas Stankevičius

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Bedroom of Maironis

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So, let’s start with the custodians of memory. Me and photographer Donatas Stankevičius were greeted at the apartment of cardinal Sladkevičius (M. Valančiaus g. 6) by Irena Petraitienė.

Before I could figure out how to begin the conversation, she melted the real and imaginary ice by saying, “I am a journalist too.” Irena told us that she came to this apartment that was once inhabited by bishop Motiejus Valančius under the invitation of the cardinal Sladkevičius himself. This makes the flat kind of ‘memorial squared’, just like the apartment of Vaižgantas that was also home for the priest of the tragic fate – Ričardas Mikutavičius (1935–1998). Since she had written a lot about topics related to the church, Vincentas, as Irena gently refers to the cardinal, entrusted her with his memories. She also was next to him during his last days when he was very sick. Lying in that modest little bed that you can see upon visiting the apartment, he asked Irena not to neglect his home. What can you do in this situation? And thus, a former journalist (though perhaps the word ‘former’ is incorrect since she continues to publish books) has been spending her days for almost twenty years in M. Valančius Street.

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Shaking our cold hands and putting on the kettle for coffee, Alfas Pakėnas tells us that he ‘moved to the apartment of Vaižgantas (Aleksoto g. 4) from another department of the Maironis Lithuanian Literature Museum. He has been working here for 13 years, “Just as many years as Vaižgantas lived in the apartment”. No coincidence – he also writes and not only about Vaižgantas. Alfas Pakėnas is a poet and the author of Žaliakalnis neighbourhood almanac Fountain, which is a great read. I didn’t ask how many texts are born in this flat, but I want to believe that the colourful walls definitely inspire.

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Regina Mažukėlienė, who led us through the corridors of Maironis’ apartment (Rotušės a. 13), has been working at the literary museum bearing the poet’s name since 1980.

I am sure now that if I ever want to know some biographical fact of one of our writers or need to clarify something, I will call Regina. “Continue asking,” she kept encouraging us while we were timidly creaking the newly painted wooden floors. Regina got slightly surprised upon hearing the question why she personally holds Maironis dear. But, let’s face it, the ones who turned the main characters of the museum into heroes are as interesting. Her answer was very personal and touching.

Maironis was well-off, it is evident from the size of the museum building. He bought a wholly neglected building encouraged by the clergy because such a mess next to the archdiocese seemed improper. However, walking around the recently restored apartment, it does not look like Maironis lived luxuriously or had more than he should have. Perhaps only one hall reminds of his years spent in St. Petersburg with its decor. Other rooms are spacious, bright, but not posh. And the salon set up by artist Tadas Daugirdas could easily serve as a perfect example of a moderately luxurious national style interior. Interesting fact – Maironis’ apartment was renovated with the help of his sister's daughter Danutė Lipčiūtė-Augienė who is currently over a hundred years old – who remembered how she played in the living room and what items belonged were in the house. The bedroom, meanwhile, is much more modest than the rest of the apartment and the most unexpected detail is two little holes in the door separating the library and the corridor. Through them, the priest would observe the

One very simple but cosy detail unites all the three clergymen.

guests who came to visit. And there were many visitors, which is obvious from all the business cards in a vase.

Among them, many – hundreds! – invitations to various events in Kaunas.

It is clear who were the real 'influencers' in the interwar period.

Ant talking about the light – it shows the luxury of the eight-room apartment. Windows open up to all directions which means that you can write in the morning while looking at the rising sun and in the evening work while bathing in the rays of the setting sun. Some of the windows open to the garden that Maironis crossed every day when returning from the seminary. The garden is still luscious, hosting poetry readings and other events (of course, not during winter time). I asked Regina whether

Maironis would have liked that his home now contains not only his heritage but Lithuanian literature in general. Even the contemporary one.

After all, he wrote, “All my furniture, books, paintings and anything with some sort of historical value should be transferred to the museum of my name.” Soon we all decided that the answer would probably be yes.

Vaižgantas, as he himself put, “could have been wealthy” but he was more kind-hearted than frugal. He lived comfortably and wasn’t dreaming about eight rooms. 70-square-meter corner flat that he was renting was enough for him. Although he was making a fair salary at the university and was also getting the priest stipend (it was paid in Lithuania until 1926 before Smetona cancelled it), Vaižgantas never invested into his own real estate.

He only contributed to the building of his son-in-law Petras Klimas’ house. It was there, in Žaliakalnis, that he lived until his death.

Interestingly, Vaižgantas’ personal items, furniture, and documents first went to the memorial museum established at the Vytautas Magnus University building on K. Donelaičio Street (today, the building belongs to KTU). During the occupation, the German government closed the museum, and Vaižgantas’ things were moved to Vilnius, and, step by step, finally returned to Aleksoto Street.

His desk that is currently being restored will return to his memorial apartment later this year.

No matter how many authentic objects are present, they don’t necessarily guarantee vitality in a memorial museum. There’s no such problem at the apartment of Vaižgantas, though.

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Living room of VaiĹžgantas

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Bedroom of Sladkevičius

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Here, the guests are greeted by two yellow canaries, just like the ones that the writer kept. Their names are Severiutė and Mykoliukas in the honour of main characters from his book Uncles and Aunts. I asked whether they thought of holding a dachshund named Kaukas, just like Vaižgantas had. It appears that one of his fans has one and even brings it to the events. By the way, this year a sculpture depicting Vaižgantas and Kaukas will be erected nearby, next to Vytautas Church. After all, it has been 150 years since his birth, and 2019 was announced as the year of Vaižgantas by the parliament. Alfas is pleased that his ‘employee’ has been getting more attention recently, but at the same time notices that it is often based on project writing skills. However, in December, a documentary called Tumas’ Codex was released, his letters will be published, and a conference will be held in autumn at the Kaunas State Drama

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Theatre. There will be more events, of course. But I agree with Alfas that the quantity of events is not what's really important. The writer is only relevant when she OR he is read, and this particular one is relevant despite being active a hundred years ago.

When asked whether neighbours Vaižgantas and Maironis were good friends, Alfas answers with a conspiratorial smile, “They were most definitely not soulmates.” Looking at the photographs of two priests in the attic of Maironis house, the different worldviews are clearly reflected on their faces. Vaižgantas is relaxed, earthly and Maironis is much more austere. Although there are photographs where he is smiling.

That is the purpose of memorial museums – to present personalities in all possible angles that are often invisible to many. For example, it was big news to me that the poet knew sign language. Family circumstances,

Now let’s go back to Vincentas. The apartment is very spacious, overlooking the Cathedral. It is cold in here, but the eyes of the modestly smiling cardinal (and that is one step to the pope) looking at us from the painting, warm us up. Also warm is the knitted portrait of John Paul II, a woollen scarf sent to the cardinal’s mother from abroad and the gloves knitted to him.

These are his personal things, pretty much all of them. A couple of chairs and a little table, many books. Also, some documents and a diplomatic passport together with the facsimiles of two Papal bulls – the March 11 Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania was safely hidden between them in rough times. There are many historical photographs on the walls, both regarding age and content. You can see political leaders, important meetings and a now-demolished house where Sladkevičius, unable to work in big cities (political and ideological reasons – it was during the Soviet occupation), stayed. It might be astonishing to us, the peace generation, that he studied at Kaunas Seminary during WW2. Religious studies at this time? We also talked to Irena about the fact that Catholicism suppressed by the Soviet government seemed to be more important to people during the years of occupation.

But, the head of the museum is confident, it is never too late to turn to God.

One very simple but cosy detail unites all the three clergymen whose doors, just like back in the day, are open to anyone willing to drop by. I am talking about coats. Two very modest overgarments of the cardinal are hanging in his room. Above them two simple hats. The racoon dog fur coat bought for Vaižgantas by Petras Klimas in Paris is hanging in the vestry. However, it is time for its restoration, as moths appear to have a good sense of style. Maironis’ coat with a button-on fur collar is in the attic of the house.

By the way, the museum retrieved it quite recently. It had to be exchanged into another exhibit needed by another museum that had the coat. We had written once about ‘Čiurlionis code’, and now I believe that there is also code or Maironis, and the codex of Vaižgantas, undoubtedly.

Chronicle of the Catholic Church in Lithuania, an underground publication launched in 1972 is a separate topic. It was Sladkevičius who gave the name to the chronicle that informed the western world about the situation in

You know, none of my interviewees seemed bored or complained about the lack of visitors, despite what some Kaunas residents who don't like visiting museums might think.

The museums attract individual enthusiasts, school pupils or groups of friends, even foreigners who are interested in spiritual things or striking interiors. By the way, both Alfas and Irena told us that museums also travel – stories about the cardinal, for example – to the nursing home and about Vaižgantas to the gymnasium of his name. Of course, additional funding is essential for all museums and their subdivisions, but the warmth that I’ve mentioned while talking about Sladkevičius’ apartment is impossible to incorporate into a touchscreen.

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Lithuania and the crimes committed by the Soviet authorities. There is an exhibition at his home that presents the peculiarities of publishing and distributing the chronicle. A breath of fresh air in the Fake news era.

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apparently. Or that he kept republishing The Voices of Spring, his signature poetry book, again and again, correcting it and adding things. But maybe I was supposed to know this from school?

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It has been unclear for a long time, which nation does Adomas Mickevičius belong to, but facts speak for themselves – he wrote his first works in Lithuanian, Polish, Belarussian (or even Jewish and Tartar) languages after coming to Kaunas where he started teaching at Kaunas county school.

Adomas Mickevičius lived in Kaunas between 1819–1824, although because of ill health he spent the high school year of 1821–1822 in Vilnius. Later in his letters, the poet would refer to the city as his home; however, his desire to leave was already known in 1823.

Adomas Mickevičius left Kaunas in 1824 and, as far as is known, never returned here.

Although he didn’t stay long, the traces of his visit remained. One of the central streets of the city, as well as a valley, bears his name, there’s a museum and so on, and so forth.

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Nik Rabinowitz, Keiptaunas, filmo stop kadras

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Real, made-up and destroyed memorialization of Mickevičius Algirdas Šapoka

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“Gdziež jestem?,” (“Where am I?”) – asked Konrad Valenrod in a poem by Mickevčius. “Our Mickiewicz is a 20th-century neon invasion into the 21st century Kaunas. Does he know where he is? You are here,” – stated Jonas Oškinis and Raimundas Krukonis, the authors of a neon sign in Mickevičiaus street that was part of the Kaunas Biennial in 2017. The sign was put in the approximate location of the so-called poet’s house. Sadly, it has been recently removed. Well, at least we’ve got pictures… By Svetlana Batura.

Where is that Memorial Room and Museum?

After graduating from university, Adomas Mickevičius was obliged to work in Kaunas for six years (however, he managed to do less) because of a 150 silver-rouble yearly stipend that he received while studying in Vilnius. The fact of which he was well aware before leaving, did not make him happy. In the summer, before his first school year in Kaunas, he told his Philomath friends in Vilnius that “probably the muse will have its last yawn today. Unfortunately, I have to go live drearily in Kaunas by the river Nemunas.”

Upon his arrival in the city that had only 4000 inhabitants at the time, the poet started working at a Kaunas county school, which now houses a Jesuit gymnasium. The school, by the way, bore his name until 1991. The new teacher of Latin, Greek, rhetoric, Polish literature, history, law, and political economy settled down on the second floor, in a monastery cell (however, at first, he lived in Stanislovas Dobrovolskas’ Kartofiliškės folwark, currently Adomas Mickevičius Street).

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In 1956, a memorial room-museum was established in the place where the poet had lived. Now it’s a classroom bearing Adomas Mickevičius’ name and the headmaster’s office. There are barely any original elements left and the access to the room is limited. Some of the remaining exhibits have been moved to the exposition in the corridor. It is a shame, but not having found a place in Kaunas, many poet’s personal items were transferred to Vilnius. They are being stored at a hundred-year-old Adomas Mickevičius’ memorial museum on Bernardinų Street.

Nevertheless, Adomas Mickevičius Memorial Museum was opened in Kaunas in 1998 in a famous monument of Lithuanian Gothic architecture – Perkūnas house – belonging to the Jesuit gymnasium. It claims to be presenting the exhibition of Adomas Mickevičius’ life and work. The poet’s connection to the building is questionable, although it is likely that he had taught lessons here. The room dedicated to A. Mickevičius was once the bedroom of the merchant, owner of Perkūnas house.

In addition to examples of Adomas Mickevičius’ literary works from various epochs, the exhibition features two plaster busts of the poet and sculpture found in Panevėžys with some private persons. However, doubts about the status of the memorial museum are caused by the non-original place, the interior that is not authentic to the period, and a poor exhibition lacking in authentic poet’s things. The museum is also poorly advertised and presented only as part of Perkūnas house.

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It is only natural that over six centuries Kaunas has absorbed more than one bigger or smaller manor house. A quarter in Kaunas that is now associated probably with the word ‘downtown’

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was once called Kartofiliškės’ folwark.

The property of Adomas Mickevičius’ friend Stanislovas Dobrovolskis covered the area from the foot of Parodos Hill to Vienybės Square. The Kaunas county school prefect’s folwark quickly became one of the key points in city’s development.

The street was given the name of Adomas Mickevičius during the tsarist occupation in 1905. S. Dobrovolskis’ house stood somewhere around where currently the building bearing number 30 is located in A. Mickevičius Street. People began referring to it as Adomas Mickevičius’ house when the owner of the house was still alive and even though the author had lived there only for a few days, and then continued to visit the place as a guest.

However, in 1925 writer Juozapas Albinas Herbačiauskas doubted whether A. Mickevičius had ever lived there at all.

In the same year, Lietuvos žinios published the first article discussing whether it would be worthwhile to establish a memorial museum in that house. Later there were talks about buying out the house and developing this idea, but nothing happened. The reason behind it was the nationalist discourse of independent (at the time) Lithuania. Back then, A. Mickevičius was seen more like a Polish writer, and also the fight for independence against Poles had ended only recently.

Although the building received a lot of attention from the Lithuanian and Polish press, its condition was steadily deteriorating, and no action was taken. Part of the house was demolished already in 1929. At that time, Lithuania aimed to separate itself from the Polish history’s contribution to Lithuanian culture, trying to erase even the literary traces. The house that was already in a tragic state was demolished in 1940 and part of the lot

was used to widen the street. You can see how A. Mickevičius’ house looked like in the old postcards of Kaunas.

more than once his grim everyday life in Kaunas, so this valley had become a pleasant and relaxing refuge for him.

The only remaining evidence is the name of the street that withstood the tsarist occupation, the first republic of Lithuania and the Soviet occupation. To this day it reminds us of the poet’s short stay in this part of the city. Although in the last century the press tried to prove that the poet may not have lived there and only visited the place as a guest, it still remains a beautiful part of the city’s history honouring one of the most famous authors of Lithuanian origin. And the fact that the street has not been renamed even under four different political regimes proves the tenacity of his surname.

Regarding infrastructure, the valley is not yet ready for tourism or even recreation in the city. It is challenging to get here: you either reach it by travelling the dangerous and winding part of Radvilėnų Road without a sidewalk or walking down the small paths made by locals from Rimšė or Žuvinto streets located in remote residential districts. There is no lighting or trash cans in the valley and only a few places to sit. Nevertheless, it is one of the most beautiful and unique places in Kaunas if you want to escape people and the bustle of the city.

The most beautiful place in the world Forget the people from other cities – most Kaunas residents are not aware of the existence of this place. In addition to that, when visiting the site, you will probably meet either some lost Polish tourists or a young couple looking for privacy. Adomas Mickevičius had written it would be impossible to find a more beautiful place than the green valley next to Ąžuolynas and the Zoo. It is said that the poet often went there to look for inspiration and sit on his favourite stone.

Legend has it that when the poet was leaving Kaunas, it was the place where his friends and students met to see him off. During the festivity, his initials and the date were engraved on his favourite stone (another version indicates that the initials were engraved only in 1918 when the stone was re–discovered after the flood). It can be said that this is one of the most interesting remaining original artefacts of the poet’s life in Kaunas. In addition to that, this place carries a moral value. In his letters, the poet mentioned

When you first visit the valley, you might become speechless: how did such a spectacular place manage to hide so close to the city centre? The poet’s refuge wedged between Radvilėnų Road and Tunelio Street is surrounded by hills; Girstutis River flows right through it. The area is full of centuries-old oaks and other deciduous trees, you can also find a few old and tired benches. Currently, the valley is being maintained, it does not produce Sosnowsky’s hogweed, the grass is cut regularly, and trash is collected.

After leaving the city, Adomas Mickevičius often remembered Kaunas in his works or letters. The city that he initially disliked and looked down upon was later praised in the writer’s works. For example, in Konrad Wallenrod, the author uses Kaunas almost as a metaphor to describe the whole of Lithuanian homeland. It shows that in the long run, the poet’s opinion about this cultural centre of Lithuania at the time had changed and he gave sense to it as best as he could – via his literary talent. Now, the creative work is left to all of us, i.e. to Kaunas.

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Someone once said that the biggest fans of art are artists themselves. Still, many forms of applied art bump into constraints dictated by function or client’s guidelines.

Regarding architecture, it is always interesting to look at the architectural environment in which the creators live and work, especially when they had designed it themselves. Such buildings tend to best reflect personal tastes and principles.

So, this time, let’s take a look at the architects’ private abodes. Behind what walls the phenomenon of Kaunas modernist architecture was born?

Where did the architects of Kaunas live?

Paulius Tautvydas Laurinaitis

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House of Antanas Novickis

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different from the style expressed in commercial orders, as illustrated by the fact that after a decade, the second villa – ‘the red castle’ – designed for his family, appeared near Kaunas County Public library where it stands to this day.

Still, the story goes much deeper, and the street bears his name for a reason. The architects’ father (also an architect) owned a manor next to where Stumbras factory is currently located. The buildings of the estate extended all the way to the top of the hill and the young Frykas settled in one of them. Many neighbours and young colleagues started complaining when he (by the way, a former chief engineer of the city) started disorderly dividing and selling his estate.

And yet, it marked the beginning of the so-called Radio District. Many of the houses in it were designed by the former owner of the estate. The private stairs, also designed by E. Frykas, led up the hill. To this day, at the foot of it, you can find gates with a small house.

The future chief construction inspector Antanas Novickis designed a house for himself in 1928 (P. Vaičaičio g. 4) that was similar to Songailos’ residence, only wooden. It displays simple yet aesthetical forms of a suburban house. A bit more experimental is the house of Antanas Jokimas located nearby (Vydūno al. 17). Although the engineer later developed many encyclopedic examples of Kaunas modernism (as, for example, the current J. Jablonskis’ gymnasium), as Vaidas Petrulis’ observed, the baroque motifs of the building should be attributed to the search for the ‘national style’ that was happening at the time.

Songaila’s family house (Planetų g. 6) built in 1930 was different from these ideals. It reflected the tendency to return to more traditional forms of residential architecture as a response to the search for pure modernism in Europe at that time. Yet it was expressed by modern means: in the context of Lithuania, it can be attributed to the fact that it was a brick building.

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Kaunas of the 1920s was created by a relatively small team of architects: Mykolas Songaila, Vladimiras Dubeneckis, Edmundas A. Frykas, and Feliksas Vizbaras. It was they who received the orders for the most important public buildings because there were just not enough experienced engineers and architects. They all worked in quite different environments. For example, the architect of Kaunas War Museum, V. Dubeneckis, lived in an undistinguished house in the Old Town until his death.

The House of Justice and the city’s firehouse sketches were made by E. Frykas also at his ordinary wooden home on Fryko Street.

E. Vizbaras started his career in Kaunas by building himself a ‘white castle’ that later had become one of Žaliakalnis’ symbols. Its classical forms were in contrast with buildings like the Central Post Office or Lapėnas’ house that were designed by the architect in the 1930s and inspired Kaunas modernism. The architect’s personal taste was somewhat

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The young generation of architects – many of whom built their own houses – soon managed to leave their mark too. Vytautas Landsbergis-Žemkalnis’ house (K. Donelaičio g. 38) built in 1933 is characterised by somewhat more refined modernism than many other individual houses designed by the architect at a similar time, but the details still reflect the integrity of his style. Stasys Kudokas, an architect who studied in Italy, has also built a villa characteristic to his work. It was designed according to his favourite

House of Vytautas Landsbergis-Žemkalnis

Vladas Švipas, who is remembered mostly by architects and historians was the only Lithuanian to have studied at Bauhaus school. His sinking into oblivion was because the architect was more of a theoretician and there are only a few of his designs.

He promoted the spread of modernist ideas in his books, for example, Urban Residential Houses, and this was reflected in his personal house (Nevėžio str. 9). Like in his books, the architect used functionally rational elements that made sense in our climate, for example, gable roof.

However, the layout and rejection of unnecessary elements displayed the most modern trends in architecture theory of the time. The building which was built together with an identical adjacent house, among other things, is one of the first precast houses in the city. Similar principles can be seen in another house built in the 1920s, in the former Frykas’ estate (E. Fryko g. 40) – architect Algirdas Šalkauskis’ house, who was a graduate of German architecture schools.

After the war, the appearance of the building had changed a little – it had lost one of the strongest elements of

its facade – the shutters – therefore, it no longer reflects the original idea of the architect. By the way, the house of the most productive school architect of the interwar period, Feliksas Bielinskas, was built in the same district (Vaižganto g. 37) after the war.

It is also interesting that many interwar period architects lived in the buildings that did not belong to them but were designed by them. When residing in Kaunas, Karolis Reisonas lived and worked in Lietūkas administrative building (Vytauto pr. 43), and Arnas Funkas stayed at Vailokaičiai house at Vienybės Square. It was probably one of the most luxurious buildings in the city that was destroyed during the WW2. Grigorijus Gumeniukas was a different case. Although the architect had built several houses in his lots in the city centre, he lived in the house that belonged to another person but was designed by him (K. Donelaičio g. 26).

Not all architects were able or perhaps wanted, to design their own homes.

Maybe the best example of this was one of the most exceptional architects of the time – Bronius Elsbergas whose life and work unfolded in one of the buildings in Laisvės Avenue that was completely unrelated to his architectural practice.

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modernised model of Italian villas by using elements of decor that are characteristic of the architect’s personal style.

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The treasury of community stories

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The wish to establish Yard Gallery located in E. Ožeškienės Street courtyard – theoretically open 24/7 – was inspired by the desire to solve the problem of alienation and noncommunion between people. The first artwork that appeared on the wall was a cat observing the residents and visitors encouraging to maintain order in the yard. Later the yard was supplemented by a few portraits of former inhabitants of the buildings. Now, Yard Gallery calls to reflect on Lithuanian and Jewish heritage immortalised by contemporary means. By the way, Bella Shirin, the ambassador of Kaunas 2022, oozing positivity, lives here, too. Kaunas Full of Culture had interviewed her a few years ago. This time we talked about giving sense to the lives of ordinary people through art with an artist and founder of Yard Gallery Vytenis Jakas.

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Justė Vyšniauskaitė Photos by Teodoras Biliūnas

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Could you briefly tell us about the yard’s past?

Our yard is about a hundred and thirty years old. During the interwar period, this house was occupied by a Jewish community which had its own traditions. A yard accommodated a large table around which they celebrated and played together; there was a fountain in the middle of the place. During the WW2, the yard was invaded by German soldiers with dogs and a horde of Lithuanians wearing white ribbons.

In a few hours, they cleared the yard from its inhabitants.

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After that, the empty apartments were filled with new young families, and the yard entered the second stage of its history. At the time, the yard still contained a common table, trees offering shade, and only one car. Neighbours were warm and open to each other. When there was a wedding, it would take place in the yard, if someone held a funeral – all the neighbours brought flowers and mourned together. The yard community was like one big organism.

Immediate communication between people is a value that was very strong back in those days, but when I moved into this house twelve years ago, I noticed the lack of it.

When people bought more cars, the fountain and table were dismantled, trees cut and everything was covered in asphalt. It’s like the third stage of the yard.

How did the relationship between neighbours change since you started creating the Yard Gallery?

I started the Yard gallery because I wanted to revive the immediate communication between neighbours which existed before. The artworks on the walls have become a sort of pretext to start a conver-

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sation with the neighbours, get to know them and start communicating. One of the first neo-frescos that was made on top of the 21A building’s wall was the Trinity. When I painted it, I invited my neighbours to take out their tables and some snacks to the yard so we could get acquainted, talk and celebrate the appearance of the artwork. The evening was a success. We started a warm communication and celebrated until five in the morning. We have continued the tradition since, and the festivities are growing – we started bringing in the inhabitants of the surrounding yards.

What is your personal relationship with this yard?

First and foremost, this yard is my home. Everything that surrounds me here, be it bad or good, inspires to create. An object that irritates someone allows me to generate ideas. For example, discarded items in this yard are often resurrected for a new life, and they become part of an artwork. Everyday life in the yard inspires the topics behind my creative work, makes it possible to find solutions on how to present the works interestingly to myself and to others. For this reason, I would call the Yard Gallery an artistic activity based on life. I used to take a lot from life, and now I entered the stage where I mostly give back.

From the creative side, the yard to me is like a theatre with its scenography. The set designer has to take many factors into account: costumes, lighting, acting, decorations and many other elements that create the spectacle. It seems to me that this yard also has similar features, and I, as a scenographer, observe them from a distance trying to combine all into one whole.

What are the main topics behind the works of Yard Gallery and how were they created?

When I started painting the first artwork in the yard, neighbours became interested in my work.

That’s how we started communicating, and they told me about the former residents of this house.

I got really interested in the stories I heard from them. I collected many photographs and accounts from my neighbours that inspired my further work. Since then, the stories of the residents gradually appear on the walls in various shapes – from small portraits to full-size images. It is a group of works depicting specific people who

are somehow related to this yard.

Now the yard contains portraits of Zupavičiai family who were closely linked to Vilijampolė ghetto. I have also painted a full-size woman with roses. She immortalises Dapkevičiai sisters who lived there after the war and grew flowers in the yard. One of the walls is decorated with the image of a woman who used to sweep Laisvės alėja. She had a very long work record and many commendable Lenin’s notes for a job well done.

This was a woman who did a lot to make Kaunas clean. Therefore, I have no doubt she deserves to be remembered in our yard.

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In filing the Yard Gallery with art, I decided that the space needed works that spoke of spiritual values. One such is the Trinity mentioned above.

This neo-fresco has the inscription “My Father’s house has many rooms.” It refers to the apartments that surround the yard and also suggests reflecting on human values. A portrait of a boy in the staircase, our Little Prince, appeared with similar intent. This work is an interpretation of Rembrandt’s The Return of the Prodigal Son. It is not a copy, but Rembrandt’s painting has become a starting point working on a topic about returning to home. I suggested an idea that, to return, you first need to remember where you come from. The yard also contains a stork painted by Tadas Vincaitis-Plūgas that is a reference to the time when our yard had many children.

Children really encourage communication and can reconcile people who had stopped talking to each other. Now there are no children in

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our yard, many of them went to live abroad. So, the stork touches on both topics: emigration and childhood.

And how are the current inhabitants immortalised in the yard?

There is a wardrobe with a wedding dress and a suit painted in the yard. This work reveals the story of the current residents, which is also linked to the past when weddings would take place in the yard.

The son of one of the residents in the building got married recently, and his parents saw him off to his bride next to this mural. They contributed to the creative process by paint-spraying their portrait on the wall, and also by put shoes at the bottom of the mural. Also, recently, a picture of brothers appeared in the yard. I made it at the request of one neighbour, from a blurry photograph. He told me that to this day they are best friends with his brother, so this artwork symbolises friendship.

A large part of Kaunas reminds us of famous Lithuanian people through sculptures, museums, drawings or other artworks. Why did you decide to commemorate ordinary people? Why are their stories also important?

I think that ordinary people are as interesting as the famous ones. It just so happened that they did not become famous, but I think it is just as important to commemorate them, and more so – in their own yard. If you talked to each resident, you would see that all of them have a story worthy of a book or at least a portrait on a wall. I don’t believe that one person is more deserving to be commemorated than other.

From the spiritual point of view, we are all equal.

The Yard Gallery creation is a process that has been going on for years. Have you accumulated a lot of stories that are still waiting for their turn to be immortalised?

Yes, many stories about neighbours are still waiting for their visualisation. Currently, I have received a scholarship from the Lithuanian council for culture for the creation of the neighbours’ portraits’ gallery.

It will be a very diligent and interesting project. When preparing the portrait, I always talk to the person,

I want to learn his story and get to know him or her better. This helps create more expressive and sincere works. I plan to divide the western wall of the house 21C into rooms and fill them with neighbours’ portraits that will tell their stories.

Bella Shirin, who is currently doing an essential job in reconciling Lithuanian and Jewish nations, will be painted on the ground floor. I will put the image of the Jewish painter Arbit Blat next to her. On the same wall, next to the Venus de Milo, one current neighbour will appear. Every day she takes care of her disabled husband, brings him food, looks after him. She will be put close to the goddess of beauty to suggest an idea that caring for others is the real beauty.

The Yard Gallery is a memorial of a unique place with a history, its people and events. What other areas in Kaunas deserve to be commemorated?

I believe there are many places like that in Kaunas. For example, a community in Šilainiai apartment buildings really has many things to say. You only need active people who would want to work together with the neighbours. If there were a lot of people with initiative, I think, the Yard Gallery would be only one among many that tell their stories. I am convinced that every community has an abundant number of stories and cultural heritage. I believe that connecting with members of various communities and involving them in creative activities, we would discover many phenomena of cultural heritage that we previously knew nothing about. I want to believe that when Kaunas becomes the European Capital of Culture in 2022, this process will accelerate and the whole city will be revived.

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I rarely work alone and as often as possible try to involve neighbours to make everyone feel part of the project. For example, I needed a lot of help when lifting the bathtub to the balcony. Also, there is a colourful bench in the yard. We decorated it together with temporary residents of the house who rent apartments here. By participating in this community art project, the present population visually commemorates itself in this yard.

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Calendar THEATRE Wednesday, 02 06, 7 pm

Dance evening “3 in 1”

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Kaunas City Chamber Theatre, Kęstučio g. 74A

“Somaholidays is a form of a trip, it’s ugly and beautiful at the same time, something like contemporary baroque – you know, an army of lice hiding under a powdered wig. The physical expression and unstoppable motion of dancers allow them to switch off the rational mind and just be in the eyes of the spectators,” – wrote Silvija Čižaitė-Rudokienė last year. Created and performed by Vilma Pitrinaitė, Mantas Stabačinskas and Darius Algis Stankevičius. Idea by Vilma Pitrinaitė.

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Performance “Ghetto” Three performances, three duos, one evening, one stage. Make some noise for audiovisual performance “Tvenkti”, the premiere of dance performance “Nailed it” and excerpt from dance performance “X and future X”.

Thursday, 02 07, 7 pm Dance performance “Somaholidays” Kaunas City Chamber Theatre, Kęstučio g. 74A

Pet-friendly places

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National Kaunas Drama Theatre, Laisvės al. 71 The premiere of Nathan the Wise was the highlight of the previous season at the National Kaunas Drama Theatre.

This year, the spotlight’s on Ghetto, a performance directed by Gintaras Varnas and based on a play by Joshua Sobol. The play focuses on the experiences of the Jews of the Vilna Ghetto during Nazi occupation in World War II, as well as the story of the Jewish theatre inside the ghetto. The theatre became the source of strength and resistance. It’s a story about a collective fight for survival, both physical and spiritual. Varnas added a lot of documentary material to the work of Sobol. Subtitled in English.

February Thursday, 02 14, 7 pm

Dance performance by “Aura” Kaunas City Chamber Theatre, Kęstučio g. 74A

“Bad Weather” is a performative sound art event centred around baroque theatre noise machines that have interested Arturas Bumšteinas, the author of the idea of the work, since 2012. Together with a professional theatre carpenter, for the “Bad Weather” project he has re-created wind, rain, sea and thunder imitation devices, identical to the ones whose canon settled in European theatres over the 17th century.

MUSIC The Kaunas dance theatre “Aura” is home to a multinational team of skilled dancers. Led by Birutė Letukaitė, they’re ready to show you something spicy. You know what the date is.

Sunday, 02 03, 7 pm

"GM Gyvai": "Gurdjieff Ensemble"

Kaunas Cultural Centre, Kęstučio g. 1

Saturday, 03 02, 6 pm

Baroque theatre noise machines performance “Bad Weather” Kaunas City Chamber Theatre, Kęstučio g. 74A

The ensemble consists of more than 10 musicians. They all play authentic and ancient instruments – the unforgettably sounding duduk and many more which are not so well known, including blul, saz, tare, kamanca, udas, kanun, santur, dap, tembouk, dhol, pku, zurna, kshots, burvar.

More events pilnas.kaunas.lt

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Calendar 02 07 – 02 10

Friday, 02 08, 9 pm

Various locations

Club “Lemmy”, Girstupio g. 1

Sacred music festival “Kaunas Musica Religiosa”

Thursday, 02 07, 6 pm

Birthday of Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra Kaunas State Philharmonic, L. Sapiegos g. 5

The veterans of Lithuanian improvisational rock are coming over to Kaunas. It’s highly recommended to see them live, partly because it would take longer to describe their music than the gig itself.

Friday, 02 08, 11 pm

Clubnight: “Four years of Lizdas” Club “Lizdas”, Nepriklausomybės a. 12

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Open for amateur choirs, the festival encourages both a capella performances and those accompanied with instrumental music. The concerts of the ninth edition of the festival will take place at the Church of St. Francis Xavier, the Church of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin Mary and the VMU Aula Magna.

Live: “Ir Visa Tai Kas Yra Gražu Yra Gražu”

Conducted by Constantine Orbelian, the orchestra will perform a programme full of opera arias and overtures. George Gagnidze (baritone, Georgia) will be the guest soloist of the birthday concert.

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Four years is a significant achievement for an underground music venue in current times. Give a round of applause for “Lizdas” and come over to check out a techno trio from Berlin called ItaloJohnson.

Wednesday, 02 13, 7 pm

Live: Earl Okin

Kaunas State Philharmonic, L. Sapiegos g. 5

February Wednesday, 02 20, 7 pm

“Improdimensija” night “Jazz Academy”, Baltų pr. 34

Arnas Mikalkėnas, Kęstutis Sova and Tadas Petkevičius-Grajauskas, also known as FFS trio, will be holding a 100% impro night on the smallest stage in the city. Check out our November issue if you’d like to find out more about the unique venue.

Friday, 02 22, 8 pm

DJ night: “Juoduomenė” Considered one of the best performers of Bossanova outside Brazil, the British musician also holds a subtle sense of humour. He also loves jazz, samba and good pop music, and likes to share it all while on stage.

Bar “Godo”, Laisvės al. 89

Saturday, 02 16, 8 pm

Live: Placido Domingo “Žalgirio” arena, Karaliaus Mindaugo pr. 50

The legendary Spanish tenor will be visiting our country on the Day of Restoration of Lithuania’s Independence.

We can’t call this a club night because the artsy bar only stays open until 1 am. Nevertheless, the content of the USB sticks of Clicklounge and Tadas Quazar, both residents of Lithuania’s finest club Opium, is well worth a visit, even if just for a couple of hours.

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Calendar Friday, 02 22, 9 pm

Birthday night

The Belgian black/speed/thrash metal cult classics called Slaughter Messias is just one of a few accents of the birthday party of Lemmy, the dark music sanctuary of Kaunas.

“Music for brass and beyond”

Kaunas State Philharmonic Hall, L. Sapiegos g. 5

Organised for the fourth time, the concert aims to connect the Kaunas brass orchestra “Ąžuolynas“ and talented soloists of all kinds. Imagine brass and violin, brass and piano, brass and voice – and beyond! All-time classics and popular music pieces will be performed.

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Club “Lemmy”, Girstupio g. 1

Saturday, 02 23, 5 pm

Friday, 02 22, 11 pm

Clubnight: “Draugystė: Jasna 1“ Club “Lizdas“, Npriklausomybės a. 12

“Jasna 1” is one of the places to be in Warsaw after dark. No wonder “Lizdas”, the most significant electronic music venue in Kaunas, has decided to invite their Polish friends over for a joint night. It’s not the first time “Lizdas” does that – last year, Kaunas witnessed a visit from “Bassiani”, Georgia’s nightlife miracle.

More events pilnas.kaunas.lt

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Saturday, 02 23, 7 pm

Live: Jazzu

“Žalgirio” arena, Karaliaus Mindaugo pr. 50 Recently awarded as the best female singer in Lithuania (again), Jazzu has shaved her head, shot a music video in a desert and finally stepped out of her melodramatic image and is ready to rock the biggest stage in the country.

Tuesday, 02 26, 5 pm

Concert “Songs high as the sky” Maironis Lithuanian Literature Museum, Rotušės a. 13

February The event is an outstanding chance to discover not one but three prominent Lithuanian composers in one night.

Juozas Naujalis was born 150 years ago, Eduardas Balsys – 100 years ago, and Giedrius Kuprevičius is turning 75 later this year. The concert was his idea!

EXHIBITIONS Until 12 31

“The Great Gift to Lithuania”

Historical Presidential Palace of the Republic of Lithuania, Vilniaus g. 33 To mention the 125th anniversary of Aleksandras Mykolas Račkus as well as with due regard to the resolution of the Seimas of Lithuania to announce the year 2019 the Year of the World Lithuanians, the M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art which houses these significant collections opened the exhibition “The Great Gift to Lithuania”. Two collections will be shown. One of them will represent the numismatic valuables collected

by A. M. Račkus – among the most exciting exhibits: rare coins of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and other nations of the world, valuable medals, exotic items and rare Lithuanian and numismatic books. In the second part of the exhibition, due to unique exhibits representing Lithuania visitors will have the opportunity to get acquainted with the social life of the American Lithuanians of the 1860s – 1930s and their contribution to the restoration and consolidation of the state of Lithuania.

11 29 – 03 03

“Pranas Gailius’ (1928–2015) Life Scenes” M. Žilinskas Art Gallery, Nepriklausomybės a. 12

The name of Pranas Gailius (Pranas Gailius, coll. Pranas) entered the world of art as far back as 1955. The artist’s first personal exhibition in Paris, “Galerie du Haut Pavé”, was met with favourable press reviews and TV reports that had paved the way to recognition. Since then followed the exhibitions in Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart, Tokyo, Geneva, Luxemburg, Chicago, and Gothenburg.

Pranas Gailius is one of the most world famous Lithuanian artists.

However, in his homeland, his creation has been discovered quite late.

Osvaldas Daugelis, director of the M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art, met the artist in Paris shortly after the year 2000 when he had already become famous as an artist of many churches in Paris. By order of Cardinal and Archbishop of Paris, Jean-Marie Lustiger, Gailius decorated churches of St. Sulpicius, St. Roch, Saint-Germaindes-Prés with paintings, texts and religious symbols.

Since 2004, the exhibitions of Gailius’ art have witnessed different creative stages. The presented retrospection discloses all of them. Among the exhibits there are wooden and metal sculptures that have never been shown before. The artist created them from various household implements, broken details, stumps. By joining them into a solid object, the painter created certain colourful spots.

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Calendar 01 19 – 02 24

“Best Artwork of 2018” Kaunas Picture Gallery, K. Donelaičio g. 16

02 07 – 03 03

Žmuidzinavičius Museum, V. Putvinskio g. 64

01 24 – 03 03

The purpose of the exhibition is to prompt more intensive cooperation between two countries, to share experience and ideas. The idea of the collaborative exhibition came up while looking at the historical achievements of Estonia and Lithuania, as well as Tartu and Kaunas. Six Estonian students and alumni of Pallas University of Applied Sciences, as well as six students and alumni of Vilnius Art Academy, Kaunas Faculty will present their recent work.

M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum, V. Putvinskio g. 55

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10 04 – 04 01

“The Legacy of M. Levi and S. Bajer”

Town Hall Department of Kaunas City Museum, Rotušės a.15

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Jewish photographers Mauša Levi and Simon Bajer were among the busy camera owners of the interwar in Lithuania. The pictures in the exhibition present the period of 1918-1940.

“Tartu 6+6 Kaunas”

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Every year, the most democratic exhibition of all invites all professional artists of Kaunas to present their best pieces of art – and exhibit them in the main hall of the picture gallery. The visitors are encouraged to pick their favourite, which is awarded together with those selected by a jury. The award ceremony will take place at 4 pm, February 16.

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"Hommage à Čiurlionis"

Stasys Eidrigevičius – painter, graphic artist, film director – has retained since his early school years creative experiences influenced by M. K. Čiurlionis – an icon of Lithuanian art. Both artists have much in common: the same techniques – pastel, tempera, watercolours, pencil; symbolic treatment of birds, animals, things and space; love for a letter, writing. “While looking at Čiurlionis' painting Sea, I caught sight of a combination of three letters on a rising

February wave – MKČ. In between 2000 and 2001, I decided to make sense of those three letters – Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis – in my own interpretation which concluded in the idea to draw a cycle of his portraits, with his face hidden behind a three-letter mask,” – said the author of the exhibition. With the exhibition “Hommage à Čiurlionis” the artist expresses respect to the prominent Lithuanian painter, speaks about the immortalisation of his talent.

02 07 – 03 03

“Sub-themes” Kaunas Gallery, Vilniaus g. 2

Giedrius Liagas (b. 1967) started his path in photography when he was just 17 years old. His personality was shaping in ambience full of creative freedom at the time when avant-garde ideas were as much about content as about composition and technique. His works quite often resemble paintings.

“Sub-themes” is an exposition focusing on his pieces created in the 1980s and 1990s.

CINEMA 02 01 – 02 08

Festival “Écrans d’hiver” Kauno kino centras „Romuva“, Kęstučio g. 62 "Forum Cinemas", Karaliaus Mindaugo pr. 49

The French cinema festival began in Vilnius; this year, it’ll travel to 12 cities in Lithuania. The programme of the festival includes both newest features of renowned authors, including “Gaspard va au mariage”

by Anony Cordier and “Première année” by Thomas Lilti, as well as retrospectives of Henri-Georges Clouzot and Romy Schneider.

Wednesday, 02 06, 6 pm

“Bridges of Time”

Kaunas County Public Library, Radastų g. 2 At the beginning of the 1960s, when the French pioneers of cinéma vérité set out to achieve a new realism, and when direct cinema in Québec began to vie for notice, the Baltics witnessed the birth of a generation of documentarists who favoured a more romantic view of the world around them. This meditative documentary essay – from a Latvian writer Kristīne Briede and Lithuanian director Audrius Stonys whose composed touch has long dovetailed with the stylistically diverse works of the Baltic New Wave – pushes adroitly past the limits of the common historiographic investigation to create a portrait of less-clearly remembered filmmakers. The result is a perfect poetic treatment of the ontology of documentary creation. Or a cinematic poem about cinema poets. With English subtitles.

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Calendar Sunday, 02 10, 6 pm

“In praise of action” Bar “Godo”, Laisvės al. 89

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Laurel and Hardy – the world's greatest comedy team – face an uncertain future as their golden era of Hollywood films remain long behind them.

Diminished by age, the duo set out to reconnect with their adoring fans by touring variety halls in Britain in 1953.

The shows become an instant hit, but Stan and Ollie can't quite shake the past as long-buried tension, and Hardy's failing health start to threaten their precious partnership. Directed

by Jon S. Baird.

“Without their selfless contribution to film, the movies we know and love, would not be nearly the same. It is the art of action that allows us to experience those thrilling moments. [...] “In Praise of Action” makes a statement – why are stunt professionals forgotten in the biggest film awards ceremonies? This is the right time to talk about it,” – tell us the sisters Aistė and Skaistė Jauraitės who turned their university assignment into a documentary feature.

Saturday, 02 09, 8:15 pm

“Vice”

Kaunas Cinema Centre “Romuva”, Kęstučio g. 62

Friday, 02 08, various times

“Stan & Ollie”

“Forum Cinemas”, Karaliaus Mindaugo pr. 49

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Governor George W Bush of Texas picks Dick Cheney, the CEO of Halliburton Co, to be his Republican

February running mate in the 2000 presidential election. No stranger to politics, Cheney's impressive résumé includes stints as White House chief of staff, House Minority Whip and defence secretary. When Bush wins by a narrow margin, Cheney begins to use his newfound power to help reshape the country and the world. Directed

by Adam McKay.

SPORTS Saturday, 02 09, 10 am

Military workout

Vytautas the Great War Museum, K. Donelaičio g. 64

02 27 – 03 02

Festival “Mondo Bizarro”

Kaunas Artists’ House, V. Putvinskio g. 56 M. Žilinskas Art Gallery, Nepriklausomybės a. 12 Kaunas Cinema Centre “Romuva”, Kęstučio g. 62 “Mondo Bizarro” is a cinematic event dedicated to films, genres and subgenres which could fall to paracinema term. Paracinema is a mixture of high and low art, conjoining exploitation and academia, and breathing with energy, individuality and fun. Paracinema is the cinema of parties which embraces all forms of transgressive media culture.

“Mondo Bizarro” is giving space to the ridiculous, the provocative, the thoughtful and the forgotten. Inspired by paracinematic principles emerging out of underground fan cultures, the event will invite viewers to read between the lines - holding aloft unappreciated or unusual art, and pushing at the boundaries of “acceptable” culture and will encourage not to ‘forgive’ a film’s faults, but start to love them.

“Šešios trim” (“6:30 am”), a hip community of athletes that can’t stop, are known for pop-up workouts all around Kaunas. This time, they’ll be occupying (pun intended) the war museum.

Saturday, 02 16, 10:30 am

Gediminaičiai run Gimnazijos g. 7

February 16 is the Day of Restoration of Lithuania’s Independence; there are many ways to celebrate it. Why not join a bunch of running enthusiasts marking one of our nation’s symbols on the streets of Kaunas with the help of Endomondo (any other app will do!)?

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Calendar Friday, 02 22, 19:45

Euroleague: “Žalgiris” – “Buducnost”

Buducnost, the team from the capital of Montenegro, has been proving the sceptics wrong in the past few months. Let’s see what they bring to Kaunas.

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“Žalgirio” arena, Karaliaus Mindaugo pr. 50

Saturday, 02 23, 6 pm

National Ice Hockey League: “Kaunas Hockey” – “Energija” Kaunas ice arena, Aušros g. 42C

The “Energija” team is the most awarded in the history of Lithuanian hockey – they have won all the championships so far. The Kaunas team only started last year and already have silver medals in their collection.

What’s next?

Sunday, 02 24, 6 pm

Harlem Globetrotters “Žalgirio” arena, Karaliaus Mindaugo pr. 50

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After 91 years of thrilling and exciting crowds of basketball fans all over the world, the Harlem Globetrotters are ready to take it to a new level: celebrating the unique blend of basketball and entertainment which has made the team iconic. Their gig in Žalgirio arena will showcase the high-flying, fun, and memory-making moments that the Globetrotters are known for.

A must-see for all basketball fans

OTHER EVENTS Saturday, 02 16, 12:00

Day of Restoration of Lithuania’s Independence Garden of Vytautas the Great War Museum, K. Donelaičio g. 64

February

Bells ringing, tricolours shining and music playing – in our hearts and on the streets of Kaunas, Lithuania and in Lithuanian communities of the world. This is what our Independence Day is all about. Come over to the garden of Vytautas the Great War Museum for the official celebration!

Eiguliai is one of the microdistricts of Kaunas currently involved in the “Fluxus Labas!” programme of “Kaunas 2022”. The residents are attending white clay workshops in order to create a clay mural on one of the Soviet-built apartment buildings. More information: eiguliai@fluxuslabas.eu.

Saturday, 02 16, 3 pm

Wednesday, 02 20, 19:30

Kaunas Cultural Centre, Kęstučio g. 1

KTU, Laisvės al. 13

Folk concert “Vilčių nemunai”

Traditional dance night with “Goštauta”

The local folklore ensembles “Šėltinis”, “Suktinis”, Ainiai”, “Pušinėlis” and “Kaukas” invite everyone to celebrate the Day of Restoration of Lithuania’s Independence by exploring the roots of Lithuanian culture, including music and dance.

Saturday, 02 16, 4 pm and Tuesday, 02 19, 4 pm

White clay workshop

Eiguliai library, Šiaurės pr. 95, and Park library, P. Lukšio g. 60

“Goštauta” is a Lithuanian dance ensemble that has been run by students since prehistoric times. Just kidding!

Anyhow, the ensemble happily shares its experience every third Wednesday of the month. Put on your polka shoes and join the club!

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pilnas.kaunas.lt

“People find it hard to understand we created the museum with our money.

They keep asking what the state gave us to do that. Wait a minute, I tell them, I am the state. We are. Why would one think only the talking heads are the state?”

Arūnas Sniečkus, founder of Antanas and Jonas Juškos Ethnic Culture Museum in Vilkija, Kaunas district.

Interview for 15min.lt published on December 12, 2017.

KAUNAS FULL OF CULTURE Monthly newspaper about personalities and events in Kaunas (free of charge)

Laisvės alėja 59, third floor

Editorial office:

Authors: Algirdas Šapoka, Andrejus Bykovas, Artūras Bulota, Austėja Banytė, Bernadeta Buzaitė, Dainius Ščiuka, Donatas Stankevičius, Eglė Šertvyčūtė, Emilija Visockaitė, Julija Račiūnaitė, Justė Vyšniauskaitė, Kotryna Lingienė, Kęstutis Lingys, Lukas Mykolaitis, Monika Pernovaitė, Paulius Tautvydas Laurinaitis, Teodoras Biliūnas.

Patrons:

KAUNO MIESTO SAVIVALDYBĖ

RUN 100010COPIES. TIRAŽAS 000 EGZ.

ISSN 2424-4481 2424-4465

Leidžia: Publisher

2019 2017No. Nr. 2 (42) (18)