KAUNAS FULL OF CULTURE / AUGUST 2020

KAUNAS FULL OF CULTURE

Wallographers

2020 AUGUST Illustration by Karolis Grubis

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Lesikas, one of the characters of this issue, a member of the KWTM clan, failed to record many of his drawings but he did transfer one on his shin forever. Photo by Arvydas ÄŒiukĹĄys 2

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Just like in the world basketball or cold beet soup, everyone has an opinion on street art. “Residents hate vandals,” a more scandalous magazine would write. There is some truth in that – remember the chase of the anonymous Solomon led by a public figure Algis Ramanauskas? It happened in Vilnius and went viral.

Street art. To or by everyone?

However, many of those who only cared about tagging, have already grown up, realized the value of the city created by the environment and the heritage, and directed their youthful energy towards more creative ways. And the passers-by also travelled a bit, checked the internet, and realized that a mottled wall could be worth their attention, a smile, or even an investment. It can become more interesting, tempting you to stop, think, delve into the history of the building or place, or perhaps just make a good background for a selfie.

Kaunas, as a municipal entity, has already understood that. Kaunas Highlights program, which has been taking place for several years, helped many local artists to “get legal” and train their muscles (there were some comical events too, for example, when municipality workers, thinking they were covering some vandal’s work, painted over a mural commissioned by the city and after that got street art guides as presents). Kaunas City Municipality’s representatives tell more about this program and its younger sibling Living Walls project.

They believe that culture should be pulled out of a drawer where it barely fits with education, sports, and other important, albeit completely different matters. They believe that mottled walls can become the city’s visiting card. And they already have: the well-known anonymous kitten can be found on street art maps, you can pin it, and people even tattoo it. It is hard to say whether the artist who created it is pleased, but when you don’t sign the work,

you sort of give it to the world. The little kitten is a part of the Kaunas identity. Not as big as Žalgiris, but, of course, it is also much younger.

Thus, the August issue of Kaunas Full of Culture is about graffiti, wall art, drawings, or murals – there are many terms and their interpretations.

And a wallographer, by the way, can mean both an artist or an admirer. Inside the issue, you’ll meet everyone from the first tagger of Kaunas, who hasn’t been doing it for thirty years, to the legal wall that was opened at the end of July, this year. And when you no longer fit on the wall, you go to the yard. Fluxus courtyard. We are also visiting, of course, virtually, neighbouring Belarus – we talked to a director, who expresses the absurdity of his country through a painter wandering the streets in a documentary. The elections are just around the corner.

Does institutionalization kill creativity?

When does art become a project? These are important questions when increasing the number of colours and objects in Kaunas.

If you have an opinion, speak up - there are plenty of platforms. The truth is, rumours about the death of street art are greatly exaggerated, although this is what a tag series death, which keeps appearing in the Old Town, is thought to be stressing.

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Plūgas is often mentioned when talking about the genesis of street art in Kaunas. Our editorial staff knows him well and loves him, so, after deciding to explore this subculture in more detail, he was the first we called. And then he told us to ring Ričardas Jankevičius. This Kaunas resident is best known today as the founder of the Facebook group for adequate fishermen Žvejo kelias (Fisherman’s road) and as a fishing professional with a business in this field. But his heart still pumps to the beat of Run DMC and Onyx; thus we invited Ričardas to sit down near one of the legal murals of Kaunas and questioned him about what it meant to be a graffiti writer during the Soviet occupation.

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The first graffiti writer of Kaunas Kotryna Lingienė and Kęstutis Lingys Photos by Teodoras Biliūnas

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How old are isn’t a secret.

you?

If

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(Asks his wife) Vilma, how old am I? I was born in 1972; let’s count. Already 48? Wow. I am not counting...

Plūgas and I drew together in childhood, in my youth. We were both born and raised in the same district of Dainava. I lived near the former furniture warehouse at the Partizanų intersection (at the time J. Banaičio). Now it is Birželio 23-iosios Street. There were all kinds of construction sites closer to me, later on, the orthopaedic centre appeared. Intense construction work took place there, and in front of it, so there were many different walls. It was all around 1986 -87’, but I started drawing earlier, around 1984.

And where did it all come from?

From breakdancing! a break-dancer.

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How did you meet Plūgas? He told us to be sure to find you.

Did you go to Trestas (we wrote more about the phenomenon of Trestas in April 2019 issue)?

Oh, that was the main place, and also Laumė. We would hang near Laumė, next to the Kaunas Artists’ House. And we danced at the Vezo club. We started to skip about at school, learned the moves. At that time, there was a viral American film called Breakdance. And videotapes were still somewhat secret; no one had any players.

We would sit at night, having rented the videocassette player for 12 hours, and watch.

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What music did you dance to?

The music was brought on vinyl records by sailors, or someone else. But it was all by sea. I had no direct contact, but those records, which cost 200 rubles each (when you could eat for a ruble), were rewritten hundreds of times, from cassette to cassette. The quality had to do – there wasn’t much one

could do about it. I never moved to DJing myself. It was an expensive business; you had to buy all the equipment. By the way, I received a lot of music from Plūgas – his father was making record copies.

So, then what – from dancer to graffiti artist?

Breakdancing culture is closely related to graffiti, so I started

drawing. The biggest problems, of course, was to get the paint.

There were no decent options in Lithuania. We would get this pentaphthalic spray paint which would take ages to dry... it would run and drip. Terrible. The clothes were ruined, covered in paint.

There was practically no choice of colours. Obtaining a black colour was equal to America. I had gone to Germany, still under the

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occupation, and my horizons on what it is and how things can be done, have significantly expanded.

And what did you draw?

These were mostly writings, for example, band names. We were rap fans; Run DMC was my favourite.

Also, Salt-N-Pepa, Public Enemy, Onyx – we tried rapping ourselves, but it did not develop further.

Did you wear Run DMC?

Adidas

like

No. Torn jeans, which people didn’t like very much in those days. I would receive offers from thug-like guys, “Would you like us to dress you?” I remember buying my first jeans in a Polish pioneer camp.

And how big was your team of graffiti artists?

There was one friend from my Vezo club dancers, breakers – Tomelis.

He tried doing it, but as they say, in passing.

I don’t think so. Perhaps on the house on Birželio 23-iosios Street, number 14, I have recently seen some faded outlines.

Did the band names develop into more tangible drawings or motifs?

It all moved to the street culture of the time. I would draw rappers with hairstyles popular at the time. We’d write English word combinations. I remember Plūgas had written Kiss 4 U. Anyway; we never did anything impressive, it was all connected to breaking.

There was one huge drawing in Banaičio Street throughout the whole end of a garage; it said Breakin.

I support all of it morally.

Wait, what is this Vezo club?

It was in Vilijampolė, at the Veterinary Academy of the time.

A student club, where DJ’s played, and discotheques took place. There were even travelling parties; we would go to Vaidilutė in Palanga.

We would dance there and get free accommodation in the dorm.

There were a good couple of summers there – 5.5 Rubles for one dance. You do two dances and get 11 Rubles – perfect for one day.

Enough to eat, drink, and buy paint. We had drawn some crap in Palanga as well.

Are there any drawings of yours?

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surviving

Were there any attempts to fight the Soviet system, the censorship, with your drawings?

We were not involved in politics.

Sure, young people would complain once in a while back then, but we didn’t express that on the walls. At one time, nationalistic signs had emerged.

Some badmouthed Stalin, but it wasn’t in the form of graffiti, far from it.

Did you draw in the city?

In Laisvės Avenue, in front of Laumė, there was this gateway towards Kaunas Artists’ House.

There was a freshly built building, a perfect wall, so bright ... I wrote LL COOL J there – copied it from the record cover.

Did you have any issues with the police?

Yes... In fact, once in Panevėžys, we participated with local breakers. I don’t remember how, but we ended up in a hotel Nevėžis. A vast, awful building, maybe 14 floors! We went out to the balcony to smoke, and there was a big, beautiful wall. I made a drawing all over it. In the end, a woman appeared, called the police, who took me away and locked me up. The team was friendly – they found a plasterer because it was not enough to paint: those disgusting pentaphthalic paints.

He replastered and repainted the whole wall, a dozen square meters, and I spent three days in jail while they fixed everything. Later, I had to go to court here in Kaunas, but I no longer remember how big was the fine that I had received.

Another fun moment with the officers. We were drawing with my neighbour on the same Banaičio street. It was night already and baaam! Someone lights up the wall. I turn around and see a cop car is standing. My buddy ran but I had nowhere to run. They looked at what we were drawing, what’s what. They were very normal. Well, they said, your drawing is fine, no swearwords, nothing. But I was not feeling too great about them, only a few months had passed since Panevėžys, where I spent three whole days with criminals. So, I told the officers, who allowed me to

finish my drawing, “Guys, could you stay here a bit more, the lighting is just perfect.” Then they told me off seriously, and the lighting drove away.

Did the parents know about your activities?

Of course, they did. You get home all dirty with several spray paint cans in your backpack. I lived with my mother and a brother who was a dozen years older than me.

They were tolerant. My brother was selling stuff, which was quite illegal at the time, so he would get more fashionable clothes and other things. This is how I visited Germany too, with the help of my brother and I returned looking real trendy!

And did you continue your career after the restoration of Independence?

No. It all ended there and then, just died out, I moved on to business.

Different mindset. Later, I spent many years in England, where I saw big, beautiful drawings. I would take photos and upload them to Facebook. And, of course, I support all of it morally. I check online what the crew is up to, feel happy and glad. I don’t follow closely; I couldn’t name favourites. I see that people are improving – the drawings are technically impressive; we did not have the means to create like that.

Some say that graffiti is evil and pollutes cities. What do you think about that?

Nonsense, I say. I totally disagree with that. There could be even more coloured walls. After all, this is how youth express themselves.

Let them draw, do things instead of hacking around and robbing people. It’s all good!

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Kaunas writers’ team, or KWTM, consist of Plūgas, Dūmas, Lekz, Creo, Žuvis (Ryba), Lesikas, Nesk1, Key1 Nrk1 Skl1. No, they have not published a single novel, and none of their more significant works can still be found on the walls of Kaunas.

Only sketches remained as well as friendshipinspired rap beats, not enough photos and dozens of stories that, paradoxically, could really be turned into a book.

Adrenaline routes Kotryna Lingienė and Kęstutis Lingys Photos by Arvydas Čiukšys and from personal archives

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At the end of the 20th century, like-minded people united by their love for rhythmic music and the smell of paint eventually grew into a team of ten people – KWTM. 2005 can be considered the peak year of the collective, when, with a certain maturity, some turned to the West and others to studies, music, other arts, and business. Yet for others, wall art, graffiti, or however you name it, has become work. We sat down in the tropics of Kaunas centre with two KWTM members - Lesikas, who had a lot to say and NRK1, who continued to add to his friend’s story. Their lightly cacophonous memories of colourful Kaunas were supplemented by Plūgas and Giega via the Internet and telephone.

The legend says that Lesikas met Dūmas at InfoBalt exhibition and thus got immersed in the world of colourful drawings. He would frequent Kaunas County Public Library, where he flipped and flipped through the same several magazines, which later mysteriously disappeared. But he had managed to copy the memorable examples.

More magazines appeared later when Lesikas, while travelling through Europe, met a translator, who started shipping him treasures from abroad. But these were only inspirations, Kaunas residents didn’t copy foreign works.

Plūgas, who befriended Dūmas because of music and the aforementioned drawings, remembers that he was already studying architecture in Vilnius back then and whenever he returned home, he observed with jealousy how many things his friends had managed to do. After three years of studying, he returned to Kaunas and started to draw intensively, “It was a matter of honour to blend in although I had a unique style and attitude; I was al-

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ready interested in 3D lettering and the like.” Plūgas, who is still making large-format drawings – as he, himself calls them neo-frescoes – says that things are no longer extreme.

“Then we protested against boredom, or God knows what,” NRK1 laughs remembering the meaningless tag Protest that was once trending on the streets. No ideology, no politics – just a desire to go and mark yourself, your crew, your hobbies. Initially, on absolutely any vertical surface. Until they realized that some buildings are more valuable than others, “We read in the newspaper that we can get a fine of 20,000 Litas (approx. 6,000 Eur) for our drawing, and then we started differently at the heritage and appreciating it.” Well, education can take on this form too if it reaches the goal. And KWTM members are sceptical of the contemporary city artists, who draw on the newly restored buildings. But generally speaking, some of the pioneers of this subculture in Kaunas find the technique chosen by the contemporary artists, and eventually the legality, funny. You get free paint, make a beautiful drawing that everyone likes and then what?

A Like.

At this point, Plūgas adds that turning into a trend from the underground is a completely normal transformation, which in London took place two decades ago, “When I first visited London, my eyes popped out when I saw that such graffiti legends like Futura 2000, Delta, Mode 2 were working with such giants as Calvin Klein.” And of course, for the city, lively walls are a great part of its image and more. “Imagine, you draw all over Šilainiai, people start going there to see it, a bar opens up to feed them, maybe a hostel – beneficial for everyone.”

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Paint is a separate story. A good stroll that sometimes took more than one night required lots of spray paint cans. The cost of one was six to seven Litas (approx. two Eur).

Each gets several, and there’s almost a hundred and fifty Litas worth of stuff in the backpacks. You can draw a stretch of more than a kilometre with that much. KWTM walked on foot after dark – from some concert in Kaunas centre back to the residential district and not even home to sleep, but to a “perch” they built in the staircase. That is where you sketch during the day and when the city quiets down, back to the streets.

Meanwhile, you tell your parents that you’re visiting your friend at his homestead.

As for the quiet of the city, it is important to mention the New Year.

It turns out that it is the most convenient time to go bombing in the streets because everyone is celebrating or sleeping. The graffiti artists of different generations, discovering this method in their own time, laughed when they met. And when one of the friends was celebrating a birthday, they would draw a bottle of champagne. One just like that was carved for a house and later techno DJ along with his ini-

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tials L.V. in the outskirts of Kaunas, next to Atskalūnas bar. When there were no Facebook walls full of banal greetings on birthdays, there was more creativity.

Each member of KWTM had their own prehistory and a style inspired by it. Such diversity created a slightly messy, bold, colourful fabric of the first decade of the 21st century Kaunas that masked abandoned, dilapidated buildings. Some liked, and others hated that fabric and those dozens, maybe even hundreds of drawings, writings and tags influenced the colours, shapes, means of expression, and even messages dominating in Kaunas now.

It’s hard to talk about direct influences, but anyone who is currently drawing or wishing to start, know what KWTM stands for. And perhaps we wouldn’t be so proud of the Star Seeder, The Wise Old Man, Pink Elephant and other fully officially recognized, tourist-photographed street art examples that are part of the tourist routes, if not a group of teens, just having a good time instead of being bored. Frankly, the project of saying farewell to the old trolleybuses of Kaunas, during which the street artists painted around fifty vehicles that were later

NRK1 remembers that Lesikas taught others to do proper lettering – not drawing each letter individually, but an easily flowing tag at first, which you make thicker as you go. Often everyone sketched together, and Lesikas jokingly marked the drawings with the Toy tag that meant someone was a newbie and had plenty of room for improvement. Toy also marked the disliked drawings made by others in the city. However, that stage was pretty hazy; thus, sometimes, it was difficult to determine whether or not you were trying to make fun of your own drawing. There were several writers in Vilnius at once, but they all used several tags each, and it seemed that there existed the whole army! And certainly not just for marketing purposes.

Police. How can you avoid it?

They had to run and were caught.

One twice, another four times.

There was one funny experience when the fine never came for one drawing. But then one artist was riding a trolleybus without a ticket, and he received two fines simultaneously – one of them managed to grow to 890 Litas in a few years, “And I had just started working, they froze my account.”

However, there were no bigger problems, even when drawing in such jungle as Šilainiai of that time, “A thug comes and asks what we’re doing, so we tell him that we can write his name too. Ok, go on then, work,” NRK1 says.

Giega intervenes live from London, agreeing with NRK1. He tells of an adventure that took place in 2006 when on a late but warm spring

evening he was walking home from a basketball training (with new sneakers in the bag). “I see that I will have to pass the group of thugs, who are standing in a circle, all restless.

No more sneakers, I thought, they’ll beat me up... When I get closer, I see that they are not planning anything dodgy; on the contrary, they are beatboxing in a circle.” One of them recognized Giega and invited him to join. He did and put 170 bpm (beats per minute) jungle-style beat.

Half collapsed to the ground from pleasure. That’s how it was – in small blocks, different worldviews were still united by rap, graffiti, and other elements of hip-hop.

Giega also has another horribly funny fluorescent story. He and another KWTM member Nesk1 met at NRK1’s place, prepared some sketches, and went out to the neighbourhood – the owner stayed at home. Nesk1 was wearing a brand-new fluorescent football shirt. The drawings were born in a blink of an eye, even a Fuji was taken out to snap a picture, but then the Plein air was disturbed by the officers. Giega ran as fast as he could, then he turned his head and saw his friend and motioned for him to catch up but the officers happened to wear fluorescent vests.

A little later, the story, like many others, ended well in the staircase.

There were no major graffiti wars in Kaunas at all. Although, of course, there were other younger groups of wall conquerors, for example, NKW (which translates into Nėra ką Veikti – there is nothing to do).

Generally speaking, KWTM is an open clan that has never officially ended its activities. On Facebook, you can check the walls that were photographed by someone (although there is little evidence – after all, phones once were just phones) and also learn when they were painted.

facebook.com/kwtmas

sold or taken to the scrapyard, was preceded by KWTM by over a decade.

But the train and bus tagging is definitely not a Lithuanian invention. Let’s get back to Kaunas.

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As wall painting increasingly appears in a public eye and becomes a peculiar object of admiration or criticism, questions like what street art is needed, who should create it, where should the works appear and what is their purpose, become more and more relevant. An original answer to these questions is offered by Murals for Communities project of international program Creative Europe. The initiative seeks to link the ideas and experiences of street art and artists of Kaunas, Waterford (Ireland), and Herleen (the Netherlands). An important role here is also played by the communities involved in the process of generating the concepts of the artworks. They also share their stories about the place of residence and thoughts on what kind of art they would like to see there.

Vitalija Norvilienė and Saulė Juzelėnienė, Murals for Communities coordinators, told us about the progress of the project, the work that has already been done, this year’s unique situation and future ambitions.

Murals for Communities Justė Vyšniauskaitė

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The initiative seeks to link the ideas and experiences of street art and artists of Kaunas, Waterford (Ireland), and Herleen (the Netherlands). An important role here is also played by the communities involved in the process of generating the concepts of the artworks. Vitalija Norvilienė and Saulė Juzelėnienė, local coordinators of the programme, told us about the progress of the project, the work that has already been done, this year’s unique situation and future ambitions.

The women responsible for the implementation of the project in Lithuania became interested in street art unexpectedly. In V. Norvilienė’s family, wall painting brought not only inspiration or joy but also a lot of stress, because her son, the well-known representative of this genre Timotiejus Norvila-Morfai, would find himself in a series of dangerous situations during the first years of his work. “We didn’t know if the child would return home alive after drawing in abandoned hotels Britanika and Respublika. We only knew that he was doing what was very important to him,” the woman remembers. And today, Vitalija herself is actively involved in the creation of street art. Her company Innovative Creative Projects is preparing and implementing initiatives, thanks to which there are more and more mottled walls in Kaunas.

Professor S. Juzelėnienė of the Kaunas University of Technology made close contact with street art only recently. Her interest was fueled by chance – the project coordinator and her family bought an apartment on E. Ožeškienės Street, where Vytenis Jakas has founded the Yard Gallery, which is making Kaunas famous around the world. The artist’s ideas of neighbourhood, community, and site-specific art charmed Saulė, and soon she became involved in the activity. Both women agree that without V. Jakas, who is actively participating in the project 1 8

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as a mentor for artists, Murals for Communities would probably not have taken place in Kaunas. However, today the project coordinators no longer feel newcomers to street art; they have discovered the dynamics of their cooperation, the results of which Kaunas residents can see in various districts of the city.

Last year, thanks to the initiative, Šančiai, Žaliakalnis, and Kalniečiai gained more murals; Waterford and Heerlen received three murals each as well. Three artists left one piece of street art in each city: Kaunas in the project was represented

by Morfai, Waterford was represented by Polish-born Irish artist Magda Karol and Heerlen was represented by Wesley van Haughten-Dazetwo. The project coordinators said that each drawing took ten days to complete, the first three of which were for getting to know the local communities, two more for creating a sketch, and five to transfer it and finish it on the walls.

Touched by the warmth and hospitality of Šančiai residents, M. Karol painted a mural titled Sharing is Caring that speaks of immediate connection between the neighbours of the area. The artist from the Netherlands worked in Žaliakalnis where he created a mural Communication is Sacred, depicting a male and a female crow. According to the artist, these birds are especially social; therefore he chose to immortalize the openness and strength of the community of Žaliakalnis residents with this image, which at the same time becomes a reference to the Lithuanian fairy tale “The Twelve Brothers”. Morfai in Kalniečiai decided to give a visual form to the memories of the older generation when cows were still grazing, and tractors were riding in the currently highly urbanized district. The interviewees said that even before the artwork titled Village had acquired the full shape, the residents of the area had already planned to put

benches and plant flowers nearby. “It is interesting how artwork can start changing communication between people, bring them closer by creating a unique space, which can become a meeting place and an object of pride,” S. Juzelėnienė shared her thoughts.

This year, due to coronavirus, the project went a bit differently. A virtual space helped to overcome the difficulties – most of the planning and meetings with artists, other coordinators, and even communities had moved online. This time the project moved to the city centre (Yard Gallery), Dainava and Panemunė districts. It features an illustrator and animator Martynas Auž, Dutch artist nicknamed Burpk, and an Irish artist named Aches. For security reasons, artists from Ireland and the Netherlands did not come to Kaunas. After the virtual meetings, they created their sketches at home, and in Kaunas, they were implemented by Lithuanians Ieva Olimpija Voroneckytė and Ramūnas ON. In the same way, Martynas Auž’s works will be implemented in Heerlen and Waterford.

The coordinators of Murals for Communities told us that in terms of the project, not only the implemented works were important but also the experience they were able to gather from the towns in Ireland and the

Netherlands. Both of them have only recently gone through a difficult period. Waterford had a hard time fighting the mass emigration. With the cessation of coal mining in a Dutch town and the establishment of rehabilitation spaces for American troops nearby, Heerlen not only lost a large part of its population but also had to actively combat the sensitive issues of drug addiction and prostitution. The stories of the cities involved in the project are similar in that both Heerlen and Waterford used street art to revitalize desolate neighbourhoods. Murals allowed to highlight the uniqueness of the places, to attract tourists and settlers; such spaces encouraged people to maintain cleanliness and to build business nearby.

Today, both cities host popular street art festivals, supported by both local communities, businesses, and state cultural institutions. Such a strategy could be applied in Kaunas as well.

This would not only enliven urban spaces but also help artists find funding, establish a useful link between creators, business representatives, and the municipality. The coordinators of the project dream for the project to eventually grow into an art festival based on community values because the site-specific wall painting has the power to bring even the most abandoned spaces to new life.

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S. Juzelėnienė and V. Norvilienė. Photo from the personal archive.

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Kaunas Highlights is a program that has been financed by the city municipality for several years, which fills public spaces with... highlights. From formerly illegal murals that gained some status recently to a bronze hare that brings luck or a human-pine cone. A swimming pool turned into a trampoline, a boatman hanging over LaivsÄ—s Avenue, rusty horses running in a Lituanica roundabout, and even the Freedom Warrior. The selection, which used to take place in stages, now takes place every month. The commission meets and decides what new object should be set in Kaunas. About forty ideas have already been implemented. About 1.5 million euros were spent, a third of which went to the Freedom Warrior, which caused a lot of discussion before its emergence, but now, standing next to Kaunas Castle it looks like it has been here for decades.

Highlighting Kaunas Kotryna LingienÄ—

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“Take a walk in Teofilius Matulionis shoes”, S. Kairys suggests. Photo by Mantas Zenkevičius

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Simonas Kairys, Deputy Mayor of Kaunas, who took part in the recent discussion “What kind of art does Kaunas need?”, said that Kaunas Highlights is probably the most open program in the whole of Lithuania.

You can submit anything you have in mind, and that is evaluated by a commission of professionals from different fields. On the one hand, it’s a strength – you don’t limit the artists and don’t define formats.

On the other hand, we constantly hear people say, “Those highlights have no direction.

Someone needs to come up with a concept, distinguish themes and periods.”

Such cases exist in Lithuania. For example, Telšiai is full of cultural highlights, but they are all focused on Samogitian identity: battle anniversaries, bears – the topic is clear.

S. Kairys, who received me and Aušrinė Vaščėgaitė, a representative of the public relations team of Kaunas City Municipality in his office, refers to this program as a sort of accelerator for cultural start-ups.

The highlight is all about teamwork.

The idea may arise for an artist, or even for a citizen who is closely observing Kaunas. Many vectors can intersect – a historical place (for example, the traces of the telegraph, radio history in Kaunas), a character, a creative solution. Such as Lukas Šiupinskas’ sculpture for St Bernard named Bitė, which was actually commissioned by her owner. Or Jurgis Mačiūnas Square next to the former home of the father of Fluxus, “Strong communication messages are encoded in such highlights born in a group. And they are much stronger than those submitted ideas that – as it is said – were born after “clearing all the mess in one’s head.”

According to S. Kairys, the discussion is a trait of a free society,

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“In a normal democratic country, it is impossible to build even a tiniest monument or sculpture without discussion.” So, it is OK that not all the highlights “blessed” and funded by the program catch on or are loved by the townspeople. After all, they are not eternal; the city itself is changing. Others, even small ones, are becoming new points of attraction, forming unexpected routes – this is what happened with the bronze shoes of the blessed Teofilius Matulionis, which anyone can try on, that appeared on the stairs near the fence of Kaunas Benedictine Monastery.

Pilgrims – and not only – do exactly that. And J. Mačiūnas Square, which you cannot enter logically and legally, is invisible, doesn’t disturb anyone but looks great when Kaunas is being photographed from above, and also it is where the Fluxus festival starts every year.

Such highlights do not require much discussion.

He sees the strength of Kaunas Highlights in unexpected places – not only in central avenues but also in micro districts near residential buildings. At this point, our conversation naturally turns to a different, related project Living Walls – a Tinder of sorts for wall owners or resident communities and artists, where an empty wall or an idea can be registered. Some look at spaces, others at galleries, and then dream and plan. Although it was hoped that there would be more artists than spaces, currently, the situation is different – as many as 140 walls are waiting for their turn in the line of ideas!

“We are starting to discover fun and meaningful things in the array of grey buildings that create the local atmosphere. It is important to mention that not only artists’

A fisherman hanging above Laisvės alėja is among A. Vaščėgaitė’s favourite highlights.

Photo by Mantas Zenkevičius

ideas are welcome – wall owners or residents are also invited to share their visions and stories,” S. Kairys adds.

It is interesting to ask the people who work in the municipality, and welcome many guests and broadcast messages to the world, what image of Kaunas in the world is shaped by its new colours and forms? In other words, what makes Kaunas different and why is it worth visiting?

Smiling, S. Kairys remembers the prehistory of Kaunas Highlights. He had openly said that people have nowhere to snap selfies here. But now things have changed – just enter #kaunastic or #streetsofkaunas on Instagram, and you will find yourself

in a colourful stream of drawings or sculptures. It is important that many highlights reflect different stages or personalities of Kaunas history and not just imitate something or seem out of place. They encourage you to stop, maybe even sit down.

“We have a really interesting city with countless layers – the Middle Ages, the fortress, the temporary capital – all that inspires artists,” S. Kairys sees the harmony between history and contemporary means of expression. And it is true – Kaunas modernist architecture has even inspired nesting-boxes (a project

by Morfai).

History as a source of inspiration is a very good thing. But maybe it is only tailored for the local artists? Does

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Aušrinė also votes for the Star seeder. Photo by Tomas Preikša

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During the exchange of views on Kaunas Highlights, objects, drawings, themes, we also discussed why these two interviewees – the deputy mayor and the representative of the municipal public relations team – supervise the open playground of Kaunas. S. Kairys reveals that he has always been more “into sports”, but after getting elected into the city council, he realized that there are a lot of empty talks and that 99 per cent of ideas die in discussions. So, he wanted to simplify the processes and also give more weight to the culture so that it wouldn’t be just a clog somewhere between health care and education. After getting interested in international relations, tourism, and heritage, the politician realized that culture, its organizations, must be here, in this briefcase, which opens up many opportunities and contributes to the overall communication of the city, strengthening its identity, rather than just implementing annual plans and waiting for the budget. A. Vaščėgaitė agrees that it takes courage. Her first task in the municipality was the aforementioned “issue” of trolleybuses. After solving it, the young professional didn’t even notice how she started to delve deeper into this field, “Now my Instagram feed is dominated by street artists, and the interest is only growing.”

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As for this issue of the magazine, we talked to a number of retired street artists, whose activities have already passed the moral statute of limitations and there are relatively not many illegal tags or drawings left in the city, I wonder – is this precisely the purpose of these urban projects? For everyone to coordinate, communicate, and draw in daylight as well as sign their work? The interviewees correctly say that dialogue is truly the most important thing, and no one really wants the destruction of someone else’s property, especially if it is new and recently maintained. But if no one needs a wall, a smiling cat can’t do much damage. On the contrary – it encourages discussion, and that is how the legal walls – that we tell about in the next article – provided for city’s artists appear. It is important to educate, and not only the townspeople but

also the ones who maintain the order in the city. After all, when the object is implemented or given a legal status, it becomes a part of the city register, everyone must know how to handle it; whether it should be cleaned regularly or, on the contrary refrain from painting over it.

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a foreign celebrity devote enough time to deepen their knowledge of the place? So far, Kaunas Highlights and Living Walls are dominated by Kaunas residents, but contact with other cities and countries exists.

For example, the colourful farewell to the old trolleybuses, when the rusty vehicles covered in drawings became famous and artists from Vilnius offered to come and paint the trolleybuses themselves. Of course, in terms of longer-lasting, larger-scale highlights, the fees of foreign artists are higher... But if there is a connection, then there is also interest, consultations, and meetings with local communities.

Finally, there is a network of city partners. However, S. Kairys notes that there could be more artistic synergies between Kaunas and its brothers, not only the socalled “champagne tourism” that begins and ends with the visits of delegations.

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Living Walls project already mentioned in this issue is a continued program that aims to connect building owners with street artists. Some of the drawings end up on the apartment blocks, others on abandoned factories, yet others on garages and fences. However, such projects require a lot of planning, coordination, compromises. Therefore…

Old walls, new colours Justė Vyšniauskaitė Photos by Kipras Štreimikis

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“We received a request from street artists to have more spaces where they could express their ideas, so we found two walls in Kaunas where artists could create legally and freely,” Aušrinė Vaščėgaitė, manager of communication projects at the Kaunas City Municipality Public Relations Department, said. One of these walls in Kalniečiai Park was decorated by a group of artists with the first drawings on July 18, during the Graffiti Jam event (another wall is waiting for everyone who wants to create or give it a try, at Europos Avenue in Aleksotas).

Participants from Kaunas, Vilnius, Klaipėda, and Druskininkai started their work on a hot Saturday morning and put the finishing touches late in the evening; therefore many Kalniečiai Park visitors were able to see the birth of murals. Looking at the space brought to life for a new purpose, positive emotions and sincere curiosity were reflected in the faces of Kaunas residents and guests of all ages.

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During the street art event, the murals were made by Trexus, Karolis Grubis-Dėžutė, Pijus Šematulskis-Duona, Vytautas Stakutis-Trafik, Artur Shirin-Ettoja, Pijus Čeikauskas-Pidžinas, Gabrielis Žvirblis-Gzparrow, Ramūnas On, Martnas Auž, Spray Way team and Povilas Kupčinskas-Povas on fire. They were accompanied by vinyl-spinning DJs, playful children, happy dogs and organizers and partners of the event who sought to ensure the smooth running of the event, including Timotiejus Norvila-Morfai who was pleased to advise the participants if necessary.

Visiting the event at different times, one could notice that there were always plenty of interested passers-by. A group of older, charmingly dressed women was happy that the drawings would bring colour to space where the children’s playground adjoins. Many interested park visitors said they would be glad to see similar works

Another artist also considered the Living Walls program to be a significant step forward in fostering Kaunas street art and urged to create more similar projects, organize artist residencies and exhibitions. Although the drawings born during the event were undoubtedly the focus, I was also fascinated by the free atmosphere of Graffiti Jam – no signs, flyers, or stands; no one solemnly proclaimed the importance of the organizers’ contribution to this project, it was dominated by relaxation and sincerity. I think that people’s appetite for free, non-binding events is only growing, so it’s always fun to participate in one.

The general Graffiti Jam theme was a park, but all participants visualized it individually, not necessarily through direct associations. “I decided to immortalize the paradox when you are in nature, but you are not enjoying being there and then and, instead, are neck-deep in social networks, trying to show what awesome time you’re having,” Martynas Auž shared his thoughts on the idea of his drawing. A subtle satire of virtual life has become one of the many motifs that have decorated the wall of the Kaunas Park building complex. From

stylized faces to flock of crows, from a grenade decorated with plantbased motifs to a thoughtful gorilla; from a car parked in the grass for too long to a fragmented break-dancer, a fun world, multicoloured clouds, moose, frog and bird, and, of course, inscriptions so characteristic of graffiti – a full page might not be enough to list all of the artworks.

However, this collage of ideas and visual signs, fascinating with its artistic individualism, is best seen live. It is hard to guess how long will these artworks remain on the wall because at any time other artists can paint over the former designs and create something new.

Albertas, who lives near Kalniečiai Park, was worried about the fate of the murals. The man who will soon be celebrating his seventieth birthday gladly shared his interpretations, admired the process and results of the artists’ work, and said that he hoped these drawings would remain here for a long time to come. However, the unrecorded temporality of the murals is also kind of interesting.

“The distinctive feature of street art is that you never know when will it’s life come to an end. I believe that in this case, the process itself and the opportunity to see the final result is important,” A. Vaščėgaitė said. Changes in the space open for murals can also reflect the flows of topics relevant to artists, their changes, and the development of technical skills. Although it is not difficult to understand the desire to preserve images we like, at the same time, it would be nice if high-quality drawings were to constantly change each other in Kalniečiai Park. In this way, this place would turn from an abandoned characterless wall into a space of constant artistic dialogue.

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on the walls of their residential buildings. The artists involved also spoke positively of the initiative.

P. Kupčinskas, who used a Fumage technique to create a drawing from the ashes, soot, and fire marks, said that he had long seen this wall as a potential space for street art. “I think that the drawings will decorate the park, and at the same time, this wall is an opportunity for young artists to improve themselves in a comfortable environment,” participant of Graffiti Jam shared his thoughts.

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A year ago, the publication of It’s Kaunastic map series titled Wallographer’s Notes fell into my hands, introducing me to the street art in Kaunas. Wandering the streets, I kept thinking about the buildings that artists use as a canvas to create open-air galleries.

Every time I was confronted with endless discussions taking place in my head – why was the longest Lithuanian word Nebeprisikiškiakopūsteliaujantiesiems (something to those who are no longer collecting enough wood sorrels for themselves) was drawn on the still-standing Britanika hotel? Or why does the Cyclist with a Rose that greets the city’s guests in the railway station area, holds a thorny rose in his hand and is wearing a variegated floral shirt? In search of answers to these unsettling questions, I contacted several Kaunas street artists – Karolis Grubis/Dėžutė, Tadas Šimkus and Žygimantas Amelynas and we talked about their street art interpretations.

Rescuers of the forgotten Monika Balčiauskaitė

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Morfai nuotr.

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Karolis Grubis/Dėžutė We started the conversation with Karolis by discussing the story of Nebeprisikiškiakopūsteliaujantiesiems drawing that decorates the “ghost building” of Kaunas. It turns out that the author of this work is Morfai – a very good friend of my interviewee. The building in the city centre, which is always in everyone’s faces, was chosen for a reason – to draw attention, “The drawings of other people constantly appearing on the building, motivated Morfai to think about a conceptual filling of all the long space and that is how the longest Lithuanian word appeared there.” The drawing was made twice, walking on a one-and-a-half-meter wide ledge, on which you can stand as if on a balcony without railings. At first, it was done very fast, in just a couple of nights, but then it was hardly readable, so it had to be renewed and brought to a new life. While talking about the legendary “ghost building” of Kaunas, I was struck by one of the thoughts by the artist, “I am not sure that the idea that he wished to communicate was exactly that, but I think that art is precisely the place where everyone can improvise.”

Speaking about improvisations, Karolis also shared memories of his first brush strokes in Kaunas, when he called himself Tomas Dėžutė, “I decided to draw on grey, unrenovated block apartment buildings in various districts of Kaunas.

In order to draw the attention of the residents, I tried to draw on as many buildings as I could, I hoped that people would start tidying up their yards. I was happy when I saw my drawings painted over; it was apparent that there was an active community there. And I was even happier when those apartment blocks were renovated because they gained colour.”

During Putvinskio Street Day in 2017, attention was also drawn to the abandoned wooden house that had become invisible. “We created this drawing together with Morfai. We met and decided that we wanted to immortalize our styles in one place, that is how Cabin

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appeared. He coloured the house, and I drew a little man on the side of the house. It was just an old, forgotten wooden house, which we wanted to cover with the brightest colours and resurrect it to a new life.” Žygimantas Amelynas I have a very vivid memory from around 2014. I am standing in front of the former Fluxus Ministry and analyzing every detail of the 440 square meter-sized drawing. I have been carrying the questions that arose back then to this day. One of the authors of the Wise Old Man, Žygimantas Amelynas, told me how it all started. “Fluxus Ministry was defined as an organization that brings together street artists, offers informal events and education, and is located in the former Lituanica factory. Many kept mentioning that the building falls out of the general context of the Old Town, so we had an urge to unconventionally decorate it and revive it for future plans.

Obtaining permission to draw was particularly difficult at the time, but at the same time simple – no one knew exactly when the building would be demolished and saw it as a short-term solution. Together with Tadas Šimkus, we thought about the context of the drawing and wanted to wish some wisdom for the people of Kaunas, that is how the Wise Old Man – dedicated to the father of Fluxus, Jurgis Mačiūnas – was born. The character depicted in the drawing is barefoot (there used to be a shoe factory there) and the pipe was supposed to convey peace and quiet and the processes that change around us every day. An interesting fact: there are people who think a granny is depicted there. Perhaps we missed something.” Žygimantas was glad that it was quite easy to break new ground in terms of the legal street art of this scale in Kaunas, which, in the long run, transformed people’s attitude towards this art format. So exciting! The inclusion of street art in the changes of the interwar architecture of Kaunas, which was started by chance, today allows us to enjoy large-format drawings that greet us in many city streets.

Tadas Šimkus I noticed Tadas Šimkus’ drawing Cyclist with a Rose, which decorated a rather sad-looking wooden house several years ago in the station district, M. K. Čiurlionio St. 17, a year ago. Tadas says, “The house looked poorly, there were no windows. The saddest thing was that it was a sight that welcomed people arriving in Kaunas by train. I wanted a contrast, and I had the idea to create a camouflage of the city in the street full of movement and sports. The cyclist was chosen as a traffic participant holding a rose in his hand, which he had purchased at one of the largest flower markets near the station. We wanted to add romance and softness to the drawing with the flowery clothes. We really wanted to contribute to the creation of the station district’s well-being with the mural. And today it looks like things worked out pretty well.”

Domantas Gružas The longest word is (almost) completely unused, just like the “ghost building” standing in the centre of Kaunas.

After the conversations, many thoughts fell into place. Still, I was wondering – how do passers-by interpret the drawings?

Here are some thoughts:

Tomas Gecevičius The first thing that comes to mind are memories of Fluxus Ministry and admiration for the place. I still remember the words that were said during the presentation of this mural, “The Old one always watches over creators and dancers.” That is how it became the guardian of Kaunas creators and the god of artists to me.

Nebeprisikiškiakopūsteliaujantiesiems

The Old Wise Man

Photo by Tomas Preikša

Egidijus Grygolaitis This is my favourite piece. On one of the busiest streets, each time it pleasantly reminds me of the cosiness of Kaunas.

Without any hurry, without shoes, just relaxing and smoking a pipe.

Cyclist with a Rose

Photo by Andrius Aleksandravičius

Tomas Gecevičius I am always happy when an artist uses Lithuanian words in street art. Considering that the longest Lithuanian word is used in the drawing, I associate it with respect for the Lithuanian language.

Photo by Lukas Mykolaitis

Adriana Lavrukaitytė To me, Nebeprisikiškiakopūsteliaujantiesiems was always a sign of rebellion, youth, and the pursuit of freedom. Every time I return to Kaunas, I hope I will still see it there. For some reason, it is a very cute and sentimental sign.

Tomas Gecevičius A romantic drawing next to a train station. It seems that the cyclist is in a hurry to visit his beloved and reminds the observer to surprise their loved one with a flower bought from the nearby flower market.

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On August 19, Kaunas Artists’ House will host a screening of a documentary called “Pure Art”. Directed by Maxim Shved, the film follows a prominent painter, Zahar Kudin, who, to cut a long story short (and not to spoil too much), paints over painted-over paintings. Technically, this is a story about street art or art in the streets, but, more importantly, it is a statement about contemporary Belarus, social change, freedom and art. Sadly, Kudin ended his life in December 2019. Maxim Shved agreed to tell us more about his idea and its performer, and we’re looking forward to sending the copy of this issue to Grodno, Belarus.

Pure Art Kotryna Lingienė

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Film still „Pure Art“ 2020 AUGUST

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The screening in Kaunas (also in Vilnius, Kirtimai Cultural Centre, on August 20) is part of a long-running Common People film program. At the core of the program lie portraits of eccentrics and hermits, tender relationships and everyday social occurrences, subcultures and communities, living in the margins of society.

Your diploma states you are a lawyer and a political scientist.

How did you become a filmmaker?

My decision to study political science was quite random at the time I made it. But I like to observe people’s behaviour, and politics throw paraffin into the flames, provokes persons to act. This is what we need in documentaries – human beings expressing themselves.

How did you become interested in Kudin’s work?

First time I heard about Zahar Kudin when reading the article about freaky adventures of his in the US. I like Zahar’s quote used to name it: “When will people stop yelling and start thinking: “I make Belarus?”. I agree: we should try to act more, and talk less, feel sorry for oneself. Our meeting took place as preparations to make the film. I didn’t know his artworks

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yet, except for the pictures at that article. We chose him for our project because of his personality and strong character, Zahar, as a painter was of secondary importance for me. And the main idea of the film was to show the atmosphere in Belarus from the position of weird art phenomenon, but not to tell the story of the artist.

Can you elaborate more about the atmosphere of absurd you tried to perceive in the film? Do you think art, including cinema, can fight the absurd?

For me, absurd is challenging to capture by words; I tried to catch it by cinema. Listen to this – an abstract artist is coping colourful squares which put communal cervices to hide slogans and street art from the Minsk walls. Later, one of his canvas from this Plein air was taken by the National Museum of Art. This sounds crazy to me. But I don’t think art is for fighting something. I can quote Zahar’s words from the film – art is for punning questions.

Street art, by one of its definitions, is opposition to institutional art and the tradition of galleries. Or, on the other hand, it can be treated as the only pure art because curators and declarations do not limit it. Zahar Kudin appeared in

Zahar had a complex concept about art, which I can tell from all the time I know him. He liked to share it; most of his conversations were about art. But I will not take responsibility to reproduce his point of view. To me, this definition has its right to exist, but I’m not a fine art expert to criticise it. Street art is closer to me, for sure.

If I understand correctly, Kudin switched from traditional galleries to the streets. Am I correct, and how did this transition happen?

What was he looking for in the streets?

I don’t think Kudin switched or transformed into the street art. He agreed to participate in our project because he liked the idea of the film about Belarus and we both invented this solution to attract people to talk – we decided to interpret squares on the city walls and copy them to huge canvases. But he was happy to participate in any art activity and liked to be in-demand: in a gallery or on the streets.

Some passers-by in the documentary are cautious bout Kudin’s performances. How does the general art public, the critics and art historians, in Minsk accept Kudin’s work and expression?

The public liked Zahar – he was a bright person with bold and sometimes crazy ideas. This love, though, was realised mostly in words, there was no queue to purchase his artworks. He was very sensitive to other people’s opinion about his art and sometimes even hurt by uncareful worlds. Close contact was painful for both sides – he could say rough words as feedback to someone’s

art. However, a lot of critics and art historians admire his ideas and art, especially after his death. And he was the youngest artist whose work was accepted to The National Museum.

Without paying him any fee.

How was the film met in your home country? Do Belarusians agree with the image of the state shown in the movie?

We have a unique film industry in our country; there is almost no money, no festivals, no specialists, no competition, no public. But there are films! Some of them are created in state studio Belarusfilm, but most of them are not accepted by viewers.

Some of them are created with no budget but with a lot of enthusiasm by independent filmmakers. And some by applying to the countries which have recourses. The Polish Film Institute supported my film.

Most of the feedback we received about the film was something like this – it ironically reflects the reality we live in. People said that the film shows that the situation is absurd and sometimes harsh, but you leave the cinema with light feelings.

What is the street art scene like in Belarus generally? Does state or municipalities accept this form of art?

Most of the nowadays street art in Belarus are associated with Urban Myth art project, murals by Vulica Brasyl festival attracting world-known artists and HutkaSmachnaa art community with local activists.

The roots of street art can be traced back to Soviet times. Over the last years, the state has been trying to be more loyal to this art. But sometimes authorities paint over even murals they accepted to create.

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both worlds. What was his point of view to the definitions? What is yours?

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This yard is mine Gunars Bakšejevs Photos from the archive of Kaunas 2022

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Once upon a time, one Lithuanian rapper mumbled, “This yard is mine, no stepping over the line” but times are changing, and while the sales of fences are probably not declining, the gates are opening wider. The gates of those who can welcome you, have something to say, seek to share, and be inspired and perhaps even discover some new talents of their own. It is always easier with the help and encouragement of others. So, having dedicated the whole issue to the walls of Kaunas, we enter the courtyards. And that is precisely how one of the programs of “Kaunas – European Capital of Culture 2022” is called: Fluxus Labas! Courtyard.

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Or more precisely, it’s a sub-program. First and foremost, All as One is a program of community laboratories where locals exchange ideas, attitudes, and experiences; where creative dialogue that produces connections and changes is fostered. As Fluxus Labas! Courtyard coordinator Goda Pomeranceva told us that this year, the activities are taking place in eight yards. Two communities joined the project in 2019; the other six became a part of it this February after presenting and discussing their ideas.

During the meeting in the winter, Greta Klimavičiūtė-Minkštimienė, the curator of the community program All as One, said, “In the course of the joint creative process of communities and artists, people themselves dared to talk out loud about the problems they faced in their environment and looked for ways to correct it through artistic activities. The culmination of the project was the desire of the people to do everything with their own hands and, considering the advice of the artists to solve the existing issue using the creative solutions generated during the discussion. We intend to use the methods that have proved their worth and helped to establish a connection with each other again this year.”

So, half a year has passed, and we can already bear the first fruits of the synergy of the communities and observe the ripening of others.

This summer the action took, is, or will be taking place in Gričiupio St. 11, Ukmergės St. 4 and 8, Zanavykų St. 66, Muravos St. 19, Kuršių St. 28, Baltų Ave. 147 in Kaunas and Pilėnų St. 3 in Akademija (Kaunas district) as well as Politechnikos St. in Naujasodis (Kaunas district). By the way, not only artistic ideas and local histories are connecting – nearby businesses, institutions, etc. are enK AU N A S F U L L O F CU LT U R E

couraged to support the miracles born in the courtyards with materials, products, transport, or tools.

On June 29-July 2, in the village of Naujasodis, in a green space near the Neris, reminiscent of a resort, local community together with architect Algimantas Grigas implemented a functional small-scale architecture object – a pyramid – designed by BudCud architecture studio from Poland. Everyone worked together: stubbed up, transported tools, cut the parts, shaped the pyramid, and prepared the food for the celebration of the finalized project.

Neighbours said they hadn’t seen such a stir for 47 years!

In the yard of Gričiupis on July 2 an interactive, experimental-stage event took place, which revealed the culture of the local population, promoting dialogue and mutual understanding between different generations, life experiences, and social groups. Each resident of the apartment building became an equal creator, performer, organizer, artist, and spectator of the event. Goda Pomeranceva said that the director of this stage event, Edita Niciūtė, was pleased with the beautiful initiative of the residents and their involvement in the creation of yard performance, which strengthened the sense of community among them.

And now, about the mellowing yards. Perhaps something is being planned in your yard as well, but you haven’t heard about it yet? The aforementioned architect A. Grigas will invite to workshops on Kuršių St. on August 3-7 at Fluxus Labas!

Courtyard on Kuršių St. 28. He hopes to meet zestful and open residents with the desire to move away from everyday life, who will not be afraid of accidents and mistakes. When else if not during the preparation for becoming the epicentre of European culture, should we dare to become hospitable hosts sharing culture with Kaunas residents, Lithuanians, and Europeans?

Three projects by different artists were launched in Eiguliai in July.

They are a part of the Building Narratives program, curated by the Architecture Foundation, on the Future Architecture Platform in 2020. The projects are implemented in cooperation with Kaunas 2022 programs Modernism for

the Future and All as One. The first invitation for Eiguliai residents to join Goda Verikaitė’s project What Eiguliai Speaks has already been sent. This project aims to discover the existing but still unheard stories of Eiguliai, to supplement them with future speculations, and to create a new narrative of the district. At the end of August, it will turn into an experiential audio-tour of Eiguliai, which will invite locals and the guests to rediscover or take a fresh look at the area and its surroundings.

Artist Povilas Jankūnas invites you to join his Fantastic District project, grab your imagination by the horns and help your district uncover stories and create unreal ideas and myths of Eiguliai with the help of a board game. Residents of Eiguliai will be able to complete the map task, create a game, and continue the trial version of the game. Just read and see how fantastic the call itself sounds, “The sky was heavy and oppressive as if full of lead. Slowly moving on the hot asphalt, I felt a tension in the air that grew with each step I took. When it seemed that I would finally tire from the exhausting heat of the city, he suddenly emerged from the darkest cloud with a flickering thunder.”

Another artist who wants to get to know the Eiguliai community is Sonja Lakic from Bosnia and Herzegovina, who is interested in apartment biographies and prepared a project of “post-Yugoslav” stories in the past. This and All of the other fruits of Fluxus Labas!

Courtyard will finally ripen in September, when the Fluxus Festival will take place, inviting you to not only climb the Parodos Hill but also peek into courtyards further away from the centre, which is already full of everything.

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On July 7-10, the organizers of Fluxus Labas! Courtyard were budging the Muravos St. community. The majority of the community living in the apartment block are elderly.

Some live there since the construction of the building and still remember the new benches installed near the entrance. During the workshop, the community, together with architect Algimantas Grigas, creatively renewed these benches and solved the problems of community alienation. On the second day of the workshop, two dozen residents of the building rolled up their sleeves and sanded, primed, painted, cut, carried, hammered, and scrubbed all afternoon. Neighbours said they hadn’t seen such a stir for 47 years!

The workshop lasted four days and ended with a communal celebration in the yard and talks on sustainability and sustainable consumption.

2020 AUGUST

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Although the history of stained glass in Lithuania is several centuries old, the roots of modern Lithuanian stained glass school stretch from Kaunas. Here, history brings us to Stasys Ušinskas, a real Renaissance man who created an animated film Fatty’s Dream, which gave the conservative Kaunas art community of the early 1930s quite a scare with its cubist style. But first and foremost, he is the pioneer of contemporary Lithuanian stained glass art. The professional genealogical tree of the country’s future stained glass artists, reaching our days, stems from his pedagogical work. What do we have today in Kaunas public places that come from his or his students’ creative quests?

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Multicoloured city glass Paulius Tautvydas Laurinaitis

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The artwork by Bronius BruĹžas is one of the key interior details of the Kaunas Cultural Centre. Photo by the author.

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Undefeated by K. Morkūnas, an immersive 3D work, spreads over five surfaces, each of which is an independent entity with individual plastic, texture and colour decisions © Kaunas Ninth Fort Museum.

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Ušinskas brought many stylistic ideas of the modern period to Lithuanian art from his studies in France in the early 1930s, but his stained glass is more restrained.

A few of these first works were two stained glass windows in Vytautas Church. As in all of his works here, he sought to adapt to the context: the stylized armorial motifs in these stained-glass windows intertwine with a composition that responds to the church’s atmosphere, formed primarily by its architectural character.

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The further path of the creator leads us to the former Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Crafts, designed by Vytautas Landsbergis-Žemkalnis in 1937-1938 as a symbolic economic fortress of the country. In addition to basreliefs created by Bronius Pundzius and frescoes by Petras Kalpokas, the artistic unity of the palace is complemented by Ušinskas’ stained glass windows. Lithuanian Girl and Builder contain the two ideas that prevailed in the state at that time: the romanticized Lithuanianness

and the progress of the country.

Kaunas Garrison Officers’ Club was also decorated with Armorial stained glass windows of Ušinskas.

They were destroyed, but Vytautas Švarlys helped the officers to restore these artworks in the 21st century.

Although during the Soviet occupation stained glass art was placed mainly in public and administrative buildings, Ušinskas used the political situation that hadn’t settled yet, managing to decorate the Šančiai Church and the small Resurrection Church with his compositions. In these works, he mixed religious themes with the Lithuanian context. In his pedagogical practice, which stretched from Kaunas to Vilnius, he fostered the next generation of stained glass artists, who later taught the third generation. The circle of Ušinskas’ students contains two names that are very important to the Lithuanian stained glass school: Algimantas Stoškus and Kazys Morkūnas, who, inspired by their teacher later experimented extensively with new techniques in their work – mirrored, thick block glass or three-dimensional stained glass.

As soon as the ideas of modernism returned to Lithuania, some of the stained glass artworks became more monumental and abstract.

It was especially noticeable in the seventies and eighties. The visitors of Girstutis Palace are greeted by the massive triptych Homeland created by A. Stoškus and his student Antanas Grabauskas. One of the most interesting moments is the artwork’s journey across the Atlantic. In the international exhibition Expo 67’ which took place, in Montreal, this work represented the talents of Lithuanian stained glass artists in the USSR pavilion.

And did you know that Kaunas has the largest stained glass artwork in the country? K. Morkūnas’ Undefeated takes up almost 200 square meters in the Museum of the 9th Fort and in terms of the size can compete only with the artist’s other work located in Šiauliai. But in terms of monumentality, this artwork can only compete with its neighbour outside – the 9th Fort memorial. The three-dimensional, thick glass composition was created in the early 1980s. Another student of Ušinskas, Vytautas Banys, handed over his Muses to the Kaunas Artists’ House at around a similar time. The artwork revealed the return of a much more traditional direction and technique and the ornamental design of figures characteristic of the artist.

Perhaps, for comparison, it is worth visiting other Muses that represent the third generation of stained glass artists, although they appeared earlier. The work of Bronius Bružas, a student of A. Stoškus, arrived at the current Kaunas Culture Center in 1968 and is another work that perfectly reflects the stylistic trends of the time. It consists of more than one and a half thousand glass parts, and, most importantly, it was restored a decade ago. Numerous examples of stained glass, which once adorned the cavities and spaces of various buildings in our city, are now missing, destroyed, or, at best, taken out of context. In fact, there are so many of them that this article should probably be twice as long.

Yet it would be a sin not to mention the three-dimensional stained glass Flight created by Algimantas Stoškus at the end of the 70s, which decorated the Urban Construction Design Institute’s (currently BLC) inner atrium and was a rare work of this kind in Kaunas. Perhaps some of you have seen it?

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Calendar SCENA 08 18 – 08 23

International performing arts festival ConTempo

Summer program of the festival “New Baltic Dance”: “Mechanics of Distance” Yard of M. Žilinskas Art Gallery, Nepriklausomybės a. 12

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Various locations

Monday, 08 10, 7 pm

Comics opera “Alpha”. Photo by Visvaldas Morkevičius

The programme of the second edition of the festival will invite you to enjoy the last days of summer by watching some of the performances outdoors. The programme will feature Lithuanian and foreign artists who will present contemporary opera, contemporary dance and circus performances, theatre premieres, a show from the international project Circus Next.

The festival is presented by Kaunas – European Capital of Culture 2022, organised by Kultūros Platforma and Lithuanian Dance Information Center, the Lithuanian Council for Culture supports the festival.

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Photo from the archive of SÍN

“Mechanics of Distance” by Máté Mészáros focuses on positioning static and moving bodies in space, cramming matching and mismatched systems into it and examining the distance between bodies. To illustrate this problem, the choreographer’s tool is to find the right gesture, the translation of abstraction to the physical body.

The performers from three very different backgrounds (a classically trained ballet dancer, a dancer with a folk dance background and a dancer trained with contemporary techniques) and the musician interfere with each other’s personal spaces so much that the

August recipient/spectator can make away from their usual urge/constraints for interpretation. The bodies place the dance in the perspective of fine arts by their plasticity and materiality.

The audience follows the performers in the space at the proximity of their choice.

Wednesday, 08 12, 7 pm

Live: “Baltasis kiras” and “Graži ir ta galinga”

Pažaislis monastery, T. Masiulio g. 31

MUSIC Wednesday, 08 05 / 08 19, 6 pm

Impro night

Bar “Godo”, Laisvės al. 89

Photo from the archive of “Godo”

Every second Wednesday, “Godo” welcomes everyone with an instrument – or willing to try one.

They’ve got drums, so you only bring your sticks – also a guitar, a sax or a cello, if you please. There’s also a mic, so you’re welcome to join with your voice.

“Graži ir ta galinga”. Photo from the archive of Klaipėda Youth Theatre

“Baltasis Kiras” is an indie/folk/ rock band from Vilnius, Lithuania They started playing in 2008, the band name is the same as a shoe factory. “Our music is made while thinking about important people and phenomenons. Our music goes the same way with the feeling that leads to your nest – home, where you always feel good and calm,” states Tautvydas, the lead singer of the band, who’ll perform in the monastery. Another act of the night, title of which means “The Powerful One Is Also Beautiful”, is a band which was born out of a performance-concert by Klaipėda Youth Theatre that oversteps the boundaries of theatre and music.

It is an open and self-mocking attempt to understand how much of a queen, peasant, feminist or witch every Lithuanian woman has in her.

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Calendar Thursday, 08 13, 7 pm

Pažaislis music festival.

Kostas Smoriginas anniversary concert Pažaislis monastery, T. Masiulio g. 31

Saturday, 08 15, 12 pm

Suburtynė

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

The exceptional programme of the festival will present the unmatched Escamilio – Kostas Smoriginas, who will celebrate his 40th anniversary, together with his father, a wonderful actor and singer Kostas Smoriginas, Kaunas City Symphony orchestra and conductor Vytautas Lukočius.

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Photo from the archive of the artists

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„Photo by Skaidrumos

Twenty-four hours of sutartinės, traditional Lithuanian polyphonic singing? Yes, please. The organisers of the marathon promise Kaunas will rise above ground as high as never before. Care to try? Contact Skaidrumos on Facebook.

Sunday, 08 16, 5 pm

Live music in the park Dainavos park

Concert company Kauno Santaka is glad to continue the season of music picnics in the parks of Kaunas. The Ainiai ensemble will sing their lyrical songs in Dainava park on August 16.

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August Thursday, 08 20, 8 pm

Live: Migloko KKC terrace, Vytauto pr. 79

Saturday, 08 22, 6 pm

Pažaislis music festival.

“Marios in Blues” Romas harbour

Photo from the archive of the artist

Migloko is a colourful composer and singer whose creativity spans through jazz, soul, funk, blues, indie, classical music, tribal sounds and beyond. When on stage, she uses her voice as a brush to paint bright pictures in the heads of her listeners, and it all comes together in the end to a big field of ideas in which we all become music.

Friday, 08 21, 7 pm

Experimental music concert “XAW III” Kaunas artists’ house, V. Putvinskio g. 56

Initiated by industrial culture platform “Matters” of “Kaunas 2022”, the XAW micro-concert series is to present various approaches to creating electronic sound, as well as fostering the space for experimentation for both artists and the audience. The area of XAW is open to glitch and the peculiar.

KPK nuotr.

Have you seen ships sailing in the rhythm of blues? Have you heard the blues echoing in Kaunas Sea? The brand new Blues Fleet will perform an original piece. Vyšniauskas family jazz duo will play on one boat, and Bazaras family trio will play on another. Get your own ship for the best experience...

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Calendar Sunday, 08 30, 6 pm

EXHIBITIONS

Pažaislis monastery, T. Masiulio g. 31

Exhibition “Folk art collection”

Pažaislis music festival.

Closing concert

06 12 – 08 22

Maironis Museum of Lithuanian Literature, Rotušės a. 13

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2020 in Lithuania is the Year of Folk Art. The society is encouraged to take a more in-depth look into our nation’s history and the roots of our culture, and at the same time to embrace the value of traditional art and crafts. The exhibition at the literature museum presents sculptures by woodcarvers, various textile artefacts and even wooden shoes, also known as clogs.

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Photo by Wikimedia Commons / Diliff

With the Closing concert, the festival will celebrate the 30th anniversary of Lithuanian independence restoration performing the concert version of Almicare Ponchielli opera “I Lituani “featuring Jūratė Švedaitė (soprano), Kristian Benedikt (tenor) and other soloists, with the participation of the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, the Kaunas State Choir, conducted by Modestas Pitrėnas.

Exhibition “Confided memories: people, things and their stories”

Historical Presidential Palace of the Republic of Lithuania, Vilniaus g. 33

Pocket watch of Juozas Andriušis. Gift by D. Andriušytė. Photo by the museum

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August The exhibition presents the most valuable artefacts donated by people and various organisations during the 15 years of the existence of this institution. The show poses questions and tries to answer them from both the museum and donators’ points of view. What is usually considered to represent a Family Relic? Why do we donate to the museum? Do we still need authentic items-exhibits? Where do the most valuable exhibits come from? Why do we care about the ‘everyday’ history? What constitutes the value of an exhibit?

The material value of donated things may vary substantially: from an expensive gold ring or watch to a tiny prayer book, a carved wooden cross or a religious image.

However, their emotional value is immeasurable. The stories of our narrators prove that these items turned into relics not because of their material equivalent but due to their immense emotional-spiritual value related with exceptional memories, events and people.

Frequently, these relics go far beyond the family story – they tell about a city, country, or even the entire world.

07 12 – 11 11

Exhibition “Four Ways to Fly to the Moon” Vytautas the Great War Museum, K. Donelaičio g. 16

Photo by the museum

Baron Munchausen was always in a good mood, knew how to fly on a cannon shell and would always get into the most unbelievable adventures. Everyone knows this literary character, but have you met him in person? The Museum offers just that, together with an introduction to 18th-century warfare. The exhibition is interactive and full of various escapades, just like the life of Munchausen.

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Calendar 07 16 – 2021 04 24

Exhibition “The Great Industry: “Inkaras”

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Kaunas Picture Gallery, K. Donelaičio g. 16

Photo from the archive of the gallery

The exhibition continues the cycle of research on the industrial past “The Great Industry “initiated in 2017 by the community platform “Backup Stories“, creating a field of attention and memory for the numerous community of former historical factories. All the exhibited objects – unique works and mass-produced products line up on the exhibition equipment, likewise the factory conveyor, which is due to convey an alternative narrative about our history and identity. The story has been created together with the former employees of the “Inkaras” (Anchor) factory, artists and public activists.

As far back as the pre-war years, the historical factory of rubber products “Inkaras” in Kaunas had determined the Lithuanian identity: comfortable rubber goloshes had replaced the ancient national footwear known as ropes and nails. During the Soviet era, the factory supplied a deficit market in Lithuania and fraternal republics with cultish shoes by “Inkaras” thus making a dream of Western sneakers come true. The hunger strike of “Inkaras” employees in 2000 became a significant event in the era of wild privatisation that accompanied the country’s Independence. The exhibition, like its production – rubber footwear, invites you to pace a scarcely trodden path: to discover new colours and senses in the history of the industry – forgotten, erased, denied.

07 25 – 08 30

Exhibition “The Muse of the Greenhouse” Kaunas Gallery, Vilniaus g. 2

Elina Braslina, 2020

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August The exhibition curated by Jana Kukaine (Latvia) presents artists Irena Giedraitiene (Lithuania), Clare Gallagher (Northern Ireland), Jaana Kokko (Finland) and Elīna Brasliņa (Latvia). The exhibition is built around the notion of the greenhouse and its multiple social, political and economic meanings. It strives to embrace both Soviet legacy and today’s patterns of private gardening, as well as to address the issues of migration of seasonal workers to which the current population of Eastern Europe (including the Baltic states) has been particularly subject to. The exhibition is part of the international project “Woman’s Work”.

08 01 – 08 30

Exhibition “Exoplanet”

Kauno Vinco Kudirkos viešosios bibliotekos Jaunimo, meno ir muzikos skyrius, A. Mapu g. 18

In the exhibition initiated by “Meno Parkas” gallery, three solo projects by contemporary Lithuanian artists Patricija Gilytė, Linas Liandzbergis and Arturas Valiauga are presented.

The name of the show comes from a piece by Gilytė, which consists of a new stop motion animation with candles, created in Klaipėda in 2019. The images born in the seaport’s hangars are based on the movement of light streams in the city, reflections on the water surface and implied cosmic trajectories, which the artist compares to the daily activities of people.

08 06 – 08 31

Exhibition “Echo of an old city”

Kaunas city council Vincas Kudirka public library, Department of youth music and art, A. Mapu g. 18

Patricija Gilytė. “Equinox K-7392” Fragment of a painting

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Calendar It’s the fifth solo exhibition of painter Rimvydas Alechnavičius. He tends to capture the smallest details of the past as a photographer. Kids catching pigeons, workers cleaning the streets and other artefacts of lost Kaunas of his childhood are the motifs of the artist’s paintings.

From 08 14

“Le regard de Charles” (Aznavour by Charles)

Kaunas cinema centre “Romuva”, Kęstučio g. 62

CINEMA Nuo 08 07

“Babyteeth”

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Kaunas cinema centre “Romuva”, Kęstučio g. 62

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Babyteeth is a 2019 Australian coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Shannon Murphy from a screenplay by Rita Kalnejais, based upon her stage play of the same name. When a seriously ill teenager falls for a small-time drug dealer, her parents disapprove. However, she soon finds a new lust for life from her blossoming romance.

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In 1948, Edith Piaf offered a Paillard-Bolex camera to the Armenian-French singer Charles Aznavour, which would always be with him. Until 1982, Charles would shot hours and hours of material which would become the corpus of his film diary. “Aznavour by Charles” delivers an intimate portrait of the iconic singer through exclusive footage of him through the years, and interviews with some of his famous friends, including Edith Piaf and Frank Sinatra. The result is warm, amusing, astonishing.

August Wednesday, 08 19, 9 pm

“Common People”: “Pure Art” Kaunas Artist’s House, V. Putvinskio g. 56

Tuesday, 08 25, 21:30

“Scanorama” presents: “Les Combattants” (Love at First Fight)

“Laukas”, Nepriklausomybės a. 12

Film still Film still

A mysterious artist appears in different districts of Minsk. He spreads his canvas and begins to paint, creating puzzling geometric figures, rectangles and squares. Step by step, we get to know the artist better. He is Zahar Kudin, one of the most promising Belarusian painters.

What is the mystery behind the rectangles and squares he’s painting?

The explanation will be a great surprise. Read the interview with the film’s director Maxim Shved in this issue.

The 2014 French romantic comedy film directed by Thomas Cailley tells a story of Arnaud, an easygoing young man, falls in love with Madeline, a free-spirited girl, and follows her to a military boot camp.

Though difficult, the boot camp experience brings them closer.

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Kaunas Artists’ House, V. Putvinskio g. 56

pilnas.kaunas.lt fb.com/kaunaspilnaskulturos @kaunaspilnaskulturos pilnas@kaunas.lt Editorial office: 5 6

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

Team: Artūras Bulota, Arvydas Čiukšys, Austėja Banytė, Emilija Visockaitė, Gunars Bakšejevs, Justė Vyšniauskaitė, Karolis Dėžutė, Kotryna Lingienė, Kęstutis Lingys, Monika Balčiauskaitė, Paulius Tautvydas Laurinaitis, Rita Dočkuvienė, Teodoras Biliūnas.

Patrons:

KAUNO MIESTO SAVIVALDYBĖ

RUN 500 10 COPIES. TIRAŽAS 000 EGZ.

K AU N A S F U L L O F CU LT U R E

ISSN 2424-4465

Leidžia: Publisher:

2020 2017 Nr. Nr. 82 (60) (18)