KAUNAS FULL OF CULTURE. MARCH 2017

KAUNAS FULL OF CULTURE

Block

Illustration by Lina Vyšniauskaitė

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After reading through the finished articles for this edition, we were still discussing whether it’s the “street” that unites them or the “block”. Perhaps there’s no suitable term in the Lithuanian language yet to refer to a space that’s also an action.

A street as a process

Illustration by Lina Vyšniauskaitė

Anyway, in addition to what you’ll find in the following pages, we might also throw in a fact that the prehistory of the theme lies in “Kiemo galerija” (Ožeškienės street), which, according to one of the heroes of this edition Justinas Kalinauskas, is part of the larger cultural space that could soon be called “V. Putvinskio street”.

We simply ought to mention the self-existing and then artistically awakened Cabbage field in Šančiai; we might also imagine that the Krantas alley (“shored” by Kranto 1-oji and 18-oji streets) could become a valid cultural coastline. Linguistic games can lead to great decisions. By the way, last autumn – specifically it was the “Šančinės” celebration period – witnessed an open-air gallery “Kranto 18-oji gatvė: Langai” being present, but is it really closed for good?

The English-speaking world knows the phrase “block party” very well. All you need is a street (yes, your street) being closed and your neighbours and yourself displaying some interesting stuff outside for one day. What if we make it a week?

We wouldn’t have to completely stop the car traffic, only carry some things out from our houses and just be there. Be there for ourselves, the neighbours, passers-by. Are you thinking that the ungrateful Lithuanian climate might interfere?

Well, what about three months a year? If we have a deal, then let’s begin turning driving lanes into acting lanes.

We could start with a slogan “lift up your window blinds”.

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H T N O M E H T F O C I P O T

There’s no unified street name sign style in Kaunas.

Maybe there will be, one day. For now, there’s plenty of shapes, colours and fonts to capture. Donatas Stankevičius took his Polaroid for a walk and this is what he brought back.

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Last autumn, Justinas Kalinauskas and his team have almost literally torn the peaceful space of Kaunas Artists‘ House apart. The invitation “Tear it off” – which angered some and intrigued others – led to the 45th birthday celebration of an organisation in a building that failed to become the official embassy of The Holy See due to a conflict between Vatican and the First Republic of Lithuania. The house, created by Vytautas LandsbergisŽemkalnis and built in 1930, is only one of many interesting and valuable objects in V. Putvinskio street. We recently invited people to try a new app “GilusKaunas” (“DeepKaunas”), allowing users to experience the city’s historic periods on foot. But what about the future and its projections at Kaunas Artists’ House – a performance space as well as a creative cluster?

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Temporary CEO of reforming V. Putvinskio street Interview by Kotryna Lingienė Photos by Dainius Ščiuka

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How did you end up in this street and at the artists’ house?

Actually, I was born in V. Putvinskio street at Pranas Mažylis hospital – I can see it from my window right now, while residing in Žemaičių street.

During recent years, I’ve organised a few events at Kaunas Artists’ House (KAH), worked on some projects, thus I got to know most of the people.

Someone who noticed my work proposed me as a candidate when a new leader was needed.

I always introduce myself as a temporary director as I’m not hoping to stay for long. Creative aspirations led me here – it was interesting to work on the reorganisation of this institution, being part of the rise in quality from an administrational and cultural perspective, integrating it all into the life of Kaunas. Talking about these aspects, KAH was pretty distant from the city’s tendencies and it lost its effectiveness while also experiencing an identity crisis. We needed to optimise every link of the process, putting in a lot of energy and hard work.

When the organisation was being established more than 45 years ago, it was done in relation to the sociopolitical situation. KAH was a shelter for artists and it had no competition.

Later, during the Independence movement, there was a euphoric period for a few years – circumstances changing, freedom overtaking, more vanguard processes taking place. Then it stopped. New people in charge had a different take on culture and how artists should represent it.

Now we’re working towards a horizontal hierarchy, where collaborative spirit and work would allow ideas to flow from the bottom and be developed together. As soon as this happens, my work here will be done.

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We changed the design in three months, along with improving means of communication and the usage of social channels. June will see us evaluating all results and working out a strategy to move on from there.

How important is the geographical position of KAH – V. Putvinskio street – when making decisions?

Historically, this was not a street of artists but rather a one of diplomats, all of which had a solid status and a strong impact on the city. This was an elite street. We don’t have elitism as it was perceived in those days because we’ve entered the period of urban culture: a multi-functional centre of Vytautas Magnus University just opened here, also the museum of M. K. Čiurlionis was renovated.

Thus we’re approaching a peculiar state that wouldn’t contradict the one 80 years ago and at the same time would be relevant to the contemporary world, creating historic links and making the street an integral part of Kaunas again.

From an urban planning point of view, this place is in the outskirts: the structure of Vienybės square was changed during Soviet times, S. Daukanto street was shortened and it bumped into K. Donelaičio street.

These and other factors resulted in less traffic, fewer pedestrians, and the situation is getting better only because of the mentioned multifunctional centre.

Several options are possible in order to foster cultural and social growth – reanimate the culture, so to speak. A strong community won’t just form on its own, and we need potential stepping stones for it to stand on first, like the already approved square of Emmanuel Levinas at the end of the street.

I believe V. Putvinskio street, as an integral cultural element, could start at “Kiemo galerija” in Ožeškienės street, then go up the hill to the Kaukas stairs. It would be a great route for both locals and tourists, involving museums, architectural objects, squares and so on. One could learn about the crucial moments of Kaunas’ history here.

Why wouldn’t a community form on its own?

Well, the Independence period and a few years before it was a time of unity. Maybe the Interwar years were the same, but we can’t be sure. Could this become a norm now? Every idea, organisation, squat or hub creates its own community, and I’m suspicious of it. Yes, that’s a way to attract an audience, yet will it turn into a real community? The answer is no if there won’t be something that would keep people coming for years. Still, some good signs are present – in Šančiai, Šilainiai, also the area around the Kaukas stairs.

We must admit though that often it’s only a handful of people that are really active, speaking of their ideas to the passive majority.

So building a community is not one of our aims at the moment.

Maybe later, when no organisation will stand behind it, it will form on its own. Our mission is to initiate change and create relationships that would lead to actions.

How do the old wolfs in neighbouring institutions see you?

In a positive, yet neutral light.

We organised breakfast for our neighbours – it was a way to motivate people to work together, but, you know, no one wants additional work.

People working in those institutions go home, they don’t stay here. Also, they would require more energy and would need to calculate the

direct benefits they’d get from collaborating.

Initiatives like this are actually what we’re all about. It’s connected to the search for an identity too as KAH is not just a building, it’s everything around it as well. We already achieved a few things and we hope that winter will bring a boost in expanding creative activities, allowing us to delegate some tasks to our new “small colonies”.

Aren’t the residents afraid of the noise in the future?

We haven’t really done the research.

However, we can sense that the situation is quite positive: concerts in the Artists’ garden take place for a long time, and people from the socalled Škėma building go out to their balconies to listen to music. Many residents moved here or were born here when KAH was already active, much like other institutions in the street.

You need things like cafés, restaurants, hotels to attract tourists. Are such places included in your vision for V. Putvinskio street?

We’re not businesspeople and it’s not one of our goals, but attracting businesses and ensuring their possible growth is among the means to create a vibrant street. We’ve talked to some individuals about it, however not that many passers-by come through here and therefore it’s not the best location for businesses so far. Several food spots rely on workers at neighbouring institutions and schools nearby. A simple bar would have a hard time here, even though Kultūra and Vingiu Dubingiu – which are not that far away – prove otherwise. But how many more bars do we need in the centre?

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We shouldn’t forget the infrastructure, things like sidewalks and so forth, although probably that will be the last phase of the Renaissance of V. Putvinskio street.

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There’s a very popular street in Berlin – Oranienburger, which used to have Tacheles gallery. It’s a great example and almost a perfect mix: Oranienburger has a synagogue, many restaurants, art centres, squats and kebab places. Not too long, very eclectic, combining quite different atmospheres and functions, this way being attractive to diverse audiences that work well with one another upon overlapping.

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What’s the take of KAH’s older generation on all the changes?

The opinions are varied! A common pattern is traditional audiences fading away to let in the new spectator, who has a more open view to what we do and is willing to talk. Discussing art with such people is easier. We just started targeting particular personalities and they reacted in a welcoming way. Naturally, some people feel left behind, but we surely don’t want to completely change KAH’s profile, we aim to balance it. However, you find yourself in trouble when you include more than one contemporary artist in the month’s schedule, and we shouldn’t try to get attention with the help of shock. It would be much wiser to exit the traditional format gradually, focusing on education, collaboration and mutual angles.

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Although you didn’t quite have the time for that?

Correct. It all happened very fast and we can’t control every element, even if we’re working a lot and some results are great. We think we need all that ruckus, at least for a few more months until the situation calms down.

In what way will the street be different in May compared to the same time last year?

The volume of our activities will depend on financial options and management choices. We want to get out of the house as a closed space and fill the surrounding territory with various artistic interventions.

That’s our way of leaving the institution inside and going out in the cultural sense; we hope that’ll strengthen the community around us too.

The Devils Museum is the most popular object in the street, but groups of people are brought here in buses as if they are being teleported – the street itself isn’t part of this exploration, and it could be.

We don’t need to create something new to spark the desire to live in Kaunas, yet the positive processes could start from the cultural institutions. Once again, this might not be a base for building a strong community, rather an encouragement for people to experience the city in new ways.

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In 2007, a mural by Brazilian artists Os Gemeos was commisioned by the Kaunas Biennial. In 2014, the brothers whose family roots are in Lithuania decorated Brazilian planes for the FIFA World Cup. Augusto was of course aware of the latter but the mural at the Kaunas Picture Gallery was a nice surprise. / Photo by Donatas Stankevičius

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Augusto Lima moved to Kaunas from Spain six months ago and he’s one of the few Brazilians in the city. As the basketball player for “Žalgiris” spends most of his time in training sessions and matches, Augusto only explores his new home skindeep. We’re talking to him and not any other legionnaire from the team because we wanted to tell him of… the Lima trail.

Do you remember our story on the Brazilka (roughly meaning “Little Brazil”) neighbourhood in Žaliakalnis from the January edition in 2016? It may be quite a leap from elite basketball, but linguistic games are like that.

The Lima trail: Rio carnival to Pancake Tuesday Interview by Gunars Bakšejevs Photos by Donatas Stankevičius

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In Spain, I had the chance to become better: I got into a good school with expert coaches and diet specialists.

It was everything a teenager could need. When you’re fifteen, money is not your biggest concern – you just try to keep improving.

You’ve moved to Kaunas at the end of summer. Do you find the time to really get to know the city?

Maybe your colleagues help you?

To tell you the truth, all of my free time is spent resting at home. We don’t have much of it as we’re either playing or training. If I go out at times, it’s with the other legionnaires of “Žalgiris” – Isaiah Hartenstein and Kevin Pangos.

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I was kind of afraid of the cold weather, but I must admit that there are pros. For example, a winter walk in the forest is a marvellous thing; this was new to me.

Pancake Tuesday is just round the corner. You know this celebration as the Mardi Gras carnival back home. Any mutual things here between Lithuania and Brazil?

With all due respect, you can’t really compare these celebrations. Also, I will be in Germany at the time. Of course, a carnival is always great – I used to watch it as a child, my friends and family members were taking part. My mom’s cousin is even the head of one of the samba schools. Many Brazilians love Mardi Gras; others don’t deem it interesting. “Žalgiris” is a legendary club, admired not only in Kaunas and not only in Lithuania. Can you feel that on the court? Higher hopes, pressure? You might compare it to the situation in other clubs.

I researched the club’s history before coming here. I know Arvydas Sabonis’ son Domantas pretty well – he’s now in the NBA, but we played together in Malaga’s “Unicaja”.

Mindaugas Kuzminskas is also a good friend of mine. They told me “Žalgiris” is not just a team, it’s way more, though I didn’t realise that fully until playing for it. I was surprised that there are fans of the club in other Lithuanian cities – this wouldn’t be possible in Spain.

It’s fantastic to feel the support of the whole country, not just Kaunas.

Basketball is a religion here and that’s obvious. Yes, I come from a country that’s ruled by soccer,

From luxury apartments to colourful wooden shacks - the Lima trail in Brazilka neighbourhood of Žaliakalnis is full of contrasts. The basketball player could of course pose by the Lima road sign itself but… / Photo by Donatas Stankevičius

You lived in Brazil until you were 15, right? Did you move to Spain directly or did you have any stops on the way?

I moved straight to Malaga, Spain.

A decade ago the conditions for basketball players back home weren’t great – Brazilians didn’t have the needed infrastructure that the youngsters have today. I was lucky to move from Rio to São Paulo as the latter meant more options. However, I got even luckier when I seized the opportunity to go to Spain: it was probably one shot out of a million.

Now, as I’ve mentioned, things are better in Brazil – people can train properly and then continue playing in the US or Europe.

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After hearing the urban legend, the player was confused yet smiled.

It’s not like every city welcomes a legionnaire with a street of his name upon arrival! We also chatted about Brazilian artists Os Gemeos, which have Lithuanian roots and have left a strong imprint on Kaunas before returning to their homeland to paint on planes.

yet it’s not that important for me personally. I love basketball and I’m happy that there’s a country devoted for it like Lithuania.

Upon joining the team, you also joined Euroleague’s social project “OneTeam”, which “Žalgiris” is a part of for a few years. Together with Antanas Kavaliauskas, you’ve visited the juvenile correction facility in Kaunas.

What was the goal of the visit and how did you feel?

When you first hear about it, you start thinking whether it’s a dangerous place, and so on. But actually meeting the children made me understand that they just didn’t have so many options. We talked about everyone deserving a second chance. I enjoyed these meetings, I’ve participated in two so far. The teenagers really want to improve, they want to work, have families and get out of that place.

We told them about our lives – this

wasn’t motivation to start playing basketball, they should do whatever they think is interesting. Basketball was just as an example. They felt our support and we saw another side to life. “OneTeam” is a great project.

A bit more on Brazil and we’ll let you get back to training.

You were part of the Brazilian Olympic team in Rio. What’s your take on this event as a Brazilian, not as an Olympian?

Obviously, it was one of the most spectacular events I’ve witnessed, and I got to see it from the inside.

However, to be honest, I don’t think the country was ready for it. Brazil is the most beautiful country in the world, of course, but… we also held the World Cup in 2014, which cost us a lot. Then came the Olympic Games. More than we need a monthlong celebration that omproves our image, we need investment in schools and hospitals. That’s my opinion.

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Artist Naglis Rytis Baltušnikas proposed his project dedicated to J. Mačiūnas for the 2016 “Kauno akcentai” (“Accents of Kaunas”) contest. His idea was to establish a Fluxus-themed absurd square that would somewhat risk the health and wealth of its visitors, situated in a busy tripartite junction between Vytautas avenue and the streets of Donelaičio and Parodos. A small pole would stand right in the middle of that junction, inside a triangle-shaped “safety island”: the plank would read the name of the square and the area could feel both close and unreachable to pedestrians.

Jokes under logic Interview by Julija Račiūnaitė Photos by Teodoras Balčiūnas

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By the way, this junction branches out in front of 1 Parodos street, which essentially was the childhood address of J. Mačiūnas. We spoke to N. Baltušnikas on this, previous, next and potential interventions for the cultural map of Kaunas, also about other jokes of his.

Tell us about the project of Jurgis Mačiūnas square.

I created this project long ago, once noticing that the little triangle space inside the junction is a kind of dead space. No one drives or walks there, nothing happens, thus I wanted to put something there. Almost immediately I realised the fit for Mačiūnas, especially having in mind I created the plank with the name of the square in 2000, when I worked with planks a lot. Also the house of Mačiūnas is right in front! I thought of going to the municipality building, but who should I address? I called the vice mayor and sent him a rough sketch I did on my smartphone. A year goes by and he calls me back saying there’s a contest that could use such an idea.

Have you stepped into the square’s territory, where the Fluxus Aztec symbol should be?

I actually don’t remember – I created the project for this square three years ago, and I absolutely love working on such ideas that no one really wants.

Those are the best. You’ve mentioned that some negative feedback was present.

I won’t name one dissatisfied person as he’s no longer with us, but there were also statements like “How can one do this? People work for days, buy paint, suffer, while here it’s all made in a factory”.

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Factories make it easier.

Yes, I’ve created many pieces this way. The discussed artwork, for instance, will be made by “Kauno švara”. Amazing.

Are you going to monitor the physical realisation process of your project?

I wish! Maybe I’d even get a penny or two for “creative monitoring”?

As you may know, money doesn’t stay in artists’ pockets for too long.

When will the project be done?

When it gets warmer, I hope. Now it’s too cold outside – just recently a street near the station was covered in suitable paint yet it all peeled off. Also, the junction was being reconstructed and I still need time to make a template.

J. Mačiūnas built a bridge for Lithuania to reach the international Fluxus movement.

Do you believe Kaunas is using this bridge well?

Let’s hope this won’t anger museum professionals, but the biggest problem might be that Kaunas has the M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum. In a way this institution has “killed” J. Mačiūnas, even though the presence of Čiurlionis is smaller than the one of Mačiūnas [shows the ratio with fingers]. Someone just thought that flowers, stars and Zodiacs are painted in a pretty way, the same person also believed he understands what Čiurlionis had in mind here as apparently it’s so beautiful and easy to relate to.

That’s why Čiurlionis is everywhere, but many people don’t understand what they see in his works. Don’t get me wrong – he has some solid paintings, yet I’m more interested in his music. He was the first to

The little triangle space inside the junction is a kind of dead space. No one drives or walks there, nothing happens, thus I wanted to put something there.

use abbreviations (like “M.K.C.”) as a composition technique, and many years have passed until the famous John Cage started using the same principles. This is interesting to the bone, however many choose not to see it or hear it. So if we had no museum of Čiurlionis during Soviet times, maybe we’d all remember Mačiūnas better. Perhaps the latter would even have become a symbol for dissidents. As this didn’t happen, I’ll make a square. Don’t get hit by a car while taking a photo there.

I’d gladly take you there for a picture, even if that means the risk of physical traumas or fines.

I had an idea of a machine inside the square – you pay a small fine and get a receipt. No need for a policeman, and people could collect those

tickets as souvenirs. Later I thought that this is like putting butter on top of butter, so I discarded the idea.

How important is the actual implementation for an artistic idea? Is this relevant to you personally?

Some ideas should be rejected. I was once contemplating putting a large, at least 50-metre-long pipe in the pool of the paintings gallery.

The structure would be higher than the Resurrection Church, it would vibrate and hum, scaring people who’d come close to the gallery as the pipe could break at any point.

And how would this influence the attendance of the gallery?

There you go, this project is strictly theoretic. It shouldn’t be realised, even though it reminds me of the works of architect Léon Krier, who used to doodle something with his pencil and never carry it out as it would simply not work.

Any other unrealisable ideas?

Some ideas were created for the Šančiai district, while working with Evaldas Pauza and Vytautas Umbrasas. We thought of a park next to the military barracks: a neon sign could read “parkas” (“park” in Lithuanian), but at times an additional letter “a” would blink in the middle, making the word into “parakas” (“gunpowder”). I like neon lamps and use them extensively, however there are fewer places to buy them today. There was a company in Vilnius, but they don’t pick up the phone anymore.

By the way, I told this idea to the team behind Kaunas biennale, yet the outcome is not clear for now. Šančiai could also use a big swing – long, old-fashioned and placed on a

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cannon’s gun-carriage. When you’d try to swing, your legs would break. I don’t have that sketch on my phone as I created it on my tablet.

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It would be nice to have a few sketches like this to illustrate the article.

I’ll share them if you promise not to use photos of me.

I can promise that we’ll use less photos of you if you send the sketches over.

I could at least have worn a suit for this. I even have a few white shirts, one of which is quite beautiful, with flies on it.

Let’s talk about Fluxus more. The cabinet in Kaunas was opened in 1999. At that point, thanks to local artists, the people were already introduced to various forms of contemporary art – performances, happenings, installations, land art. So what did the Fluxus cabinet mean to the audience then?

I was probably living in Spitsbergen, Norway at the time, close to the North pole. Upon my return to Kaunas, talks about the cabinet were already pretty quiet. The opening didn’t really mean that much to me personally, but that’s what makes Fluxus so fun – it’s the fact that it just isn’t art in itself, at least not art for a museum. Now, it has become a victim of its own ideology.

This revolution is like Saturn eating its own children.

Something like that, yes. Not only Fluxus artists, but also composers like Iannis Xenakis were aiming to spring out of concert halls or

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Well, my creative work is packed full of nonsense, I just think it’s funny.

museums. I always like projects which make that point very clear.

The Fluxus cabinet was a mistake as it contradicted the very essence of the movement.

Are you suggesting someone put the famous matches of J. Mačiūnas to use?

No, many people love that place.

Mačiūnas’ colleague Ay Yo even wants to create exclusive artworks to remember the artist and leave them in the paintings gallery.

Do you see the Fluxus movement as a kind of school for you?

Well, my creative work is packed full of nonsense, I just think it’s funny.

Many artists make laughable pieces and keep their faces still, but I enjoy the jokes. That doesn’t mean I’m part of Fluxus – it’s over. Done. One could restart the Baroque period, and why not? But the philosophy just wouldn’t be there, especially in

the case of Fluxus, which focused on the 1950s. However, Redas Diržys seems to be still living that life, writing manifests and so on. Gøran Oldieck and I even went to his project in Alytus once to build a monument for prostitutes, alcoholics and people with STDs. It’s still there!

What’s it made from?

Pure stone. It has a few “Norwegian”styled lines by Goethe written on it [starts quoting the poet in a dreamy manner]. Do you speak German?

I don’t.

Well, it can’t be easily translated.

Usually there are flowers on that monument.

Is Redas Diržys the one who puts them there during the night?

No, no. But sometimes I just get

into a car and drive there. People meet at this monument, often they have a drink. It used to stand there properly, now it’s on its side, being used as a table. Amazing!

What led you to Kaunas?

Algirdas Kaušpėdas invited me here. We founded a cultural club at Kaunas’ house of architects. I opened my first independent gallery there and started inviting artists, who were… so to say, outsiders. We used to receive recommendations from the governing party not to exhibit something – this was early 1988 after all. However, one time the head secretary of the city’s committee visited our exposition and commented on a risky piece of art: “I’ve seen works like this in America. Not a big deal”. We stopped receiving complaints after that.

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Did someone in Lithuania learn that already?

Just go to a gallery and see for yourself, some works are trapezeshaped! Later, I’ve spent a great deal of time on screen printing, also with a tablet PC – you draw something with your finger, send the file to the factory and they make the artwork.

You can create as many jokes as you want this way, much like Juozas Erlickas does for “Lietuvos Rytas” newspaper.

You’ve tried many art forms.

What’s your take on sticking to one discipline?

It gets boring. How long can you paint? I’ve finished my painting career when I saw the works of Anselm Kiefer at Tate Modern. He puts a very thick layer [shows] of paint on the canvas, and what an ideal subframe to hold it! I then realised that I wouldn’t paint until Lithuanians would learn how to make better subframes.

Some mathematicians become poets after their studies. Coincidentally, you and J. Mačiūnas both studied architecture. Does this experience come in handy during your projects?

My parents made that choice for me.

I didn’t know what I wanted to do then, and if I had to choose now – I’d go to culinary school. Being a chef is a great thing. I love the Portuguese cuisine, especially when I combine it with the Chinese one.

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If you were getting recommendations not to exhibit particular works, does this mean the society took interest in the gallery’s activities?

The society was positive towards us, even if people didn’t understand some artists like Mindaugas Navakas (Simas). The audience knew that this was something that they could have only seen in the West before. A lot of people used to show up, and the huge attention to art was another form of resistance against the Soviet system.

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Let’s get back to architecture.

You must have something you can use from it today, even if you were studying it not of your own free will.

Yes, the cause-and-effect phenomenon is important to me because of it. For example, why does this photo seem rotated? Why is this line here? Everything has to have a purpose, otherwise it’s just a childish game. The jokes of an artist have to be logical or based on something meaningful. That’s especially evident in abstract painting: you can tell from a mile away who puts long creative hours into it and who just takes some paint and uncontrollably splats it around. Jackson Pollock had the aim to paint in a very specific way, and so he did, much like Kazimir Malevich, who put an entire philosophy into his black square. Being an architect makes you question the purpose of every element, yet I still wouldn’t like to become one.

“Block” is the theme of this edition. What’s interesting about the street you live in?

I was born close to Vilnius – they didn’t make it on time to the capital, so probably it was some place like Švenčionys or Švenčionėliai. I used to live in Trakų street, now I reside in Cvirkos street, where many buildings are ruined by people who wanted to insulate them. Beautiful houses that had charming round corners! The owners typically ruin the corners when insulating, and they don’t understand that this changes the proportions of the whole house. I once had an idea to insulate Soboras – we’d just have a cube then and forget about this building.

That would look like the prosecutors’ office building in Vilnius.

Correct. My friend tells me that two cubes like that would look great next to one another. As for the insulation – maybe the new generation will be smart enough to peel everything off.

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An architect who played Laisvės Avenue

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In 2010, a crowd of people from the cultural field was taking part in artistic happening “People with coffee faces” in Laisvės Avenue, initiated by Audrys Karalius.

Participants got what they wanted – a chance to revive the local historic cinema, which was at risk of becoming a casino. Sounds like “the wild 1990s”? That means we’re fast learners.

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By Gunars Bakšejevs Photo by Donatas Stankevičius

Why such a throwback to this example of society shaping a city?

Well, streets are at the core of this edition, not only as white canvases for the creator’s paintbrush but as complete artworks themselves. And, during one of such coffee-inspired gatherings, Laisvės Avenue became a musical piece and… was played.

Performed, executed, you name it.

However, it needed to be split in half first, then read as sheet music. Who’s more fit for the job than a person split in half himself – an architect and sound artist Darius Čiuta?

Darius started both studying at Vilnius Engineering Construction Institute and experimenting with sound in 1986. An award-winning architect says he never thought his profession would have something to do with music. “Now I need it for balance”, the internationallyknown sonic artist smiles. Darius mostly works with field recordings and doesn’t know whether having

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a different passion – like skiing or riding motorcycles – would make him a better architect.

We’re not sure what the sound of a bike’s engine could galvanize, but D. Čiuta has used a particular location’s sonic setting as the basis for the conceptual actualisation of a building. One example is his proposal for the contest for a fashion museum in Tokyo. It was a 150-metre-high tower, covered in a sort of web made from dense steel.

The web would hang on pneumatic “fingers” that would expand or retract in accordance to the sound receptors inside them: “Roughly speaking, the building would react to the sonic environment and keep on crumpling”.

He doesn’t call himself “an academic sportsman” – a person who’d hide all evidence of training and only show the sparkling results. However, not every performance of D. Čiuta can

be found online, including the one in Laisvės Avenue. “I believe these shows were meant to happen just once and just in that specific space”, he says and recommends the film “Diva” (by Jean-Jacques Beineix, 1981) based on the eponymous novel by Daniel Odier, mentioning that there lies the answer to why people shouldn’t capture everything.

Back to 2010. Cutting Laisvės Avenue in half was Darius’ idea, realised with colleague Martynas Pilvelis.

The second part of a two-section show was a video projection of an Italian director Marco Ferrari’s movie on a wall, “soundtracked” by a Lithuanian basketball game: “I loved seeing confused faces as the people of Kaunas have basketball in their genes, and it was so weird for them to hear it while seeing something else”.

So could the people who weren’t there expect to hear a revision of it later?

“One should always keep hoping, it should even be forbidden to lose hope! Usually, I don’t like doing the

same things, yet I created a similar project with Luis Antero from Portugal – we both recorded sounds separately at home, took pictures of those situations and later put it all together according to the visual nuances”, D. Čiuta remembers and, when asked how does Laisvės Avenue sound, he throws another riddle, a quote by Miles Davis – “however you want it to”.

Enchanted by field recordings in urban spaces as well as nature, the artist believes the workflow is not influenced by different situations: “I might be more dynamic and deep in open nature, while the repetitiveness intrigues me at any location. Still, working with urban recordings allows me to create unreal events that seem real when you listen to it”.

Maybe not Laisvės Avenue, but the other 424 pieces by Darius can be found on www.archive.org when you type in “darius ciuta”.

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4. “Kaunas Architectural Guide“, a book by Lapas publishing house

1. Album “Centrifuge”

by Pranas Kentra 4tet ensemble

13 € www.lapaspolapo.lt

7€ pranaskentra4tet.bandcamp.com

The Lithuanian version of this architectural guide of Kaunas became a bestseller, so our hopes are up for the English edition, packed full of professional authors that look upon Kaunas with pride. By the way, the guide is available in German, too.

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Guitarist Pranas Kentra started an international quartet and recorded an album in the Netherlands named after one of their tracks. Interestingly, the sequence of the songs somewhat resembles the passage of life. This modern jazz centrifuge was also released in digital format.

5. Painting “My friend, wolf of Tambov” by Pranas Griušys

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Price upon request Contact the author for info

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This piece is a laureate of the traditional “Best artwork of the year” exhibition. 111 works waited for the visitors’ votes at the Kaunas Painting Gallery in 2016, and the most applause was given to the painting of Pranas Griušys, a regular participant and head of the visual arts department in Vilnius Art Academy. The painter became a laureate for the sixth time.

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In recent years, street art pieces in Kaunas are growing like numbers in a geometric progression. We must capture them instantly as the finished works become property of the city, and then Kaunas can do whatever it likes with them. On purpose or not, this lush and thick album – where pieces by various artists are presented through the lens of Lukas Mykolaitis – has already become a representative publication.

3. “Native.lt” bags 14 € www.native.lt

Minimalistic, reliable, standing-out works

by Kristina Šilinytė were created using Lithuanian folk ornaments, and, what’s unseen and unheard of, quotes from the art of M. K. Čiurlionis.

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6. Leonidas Donskis library VMU Multifunctional Centre, 23 V. Putvinskio street, www.vdu.lt The library of social and humanitarian sciences at VMU got the name of the philosopher in February, becoming the very heart of the new university building.

Over 25 thousand accessible publications are available, 145 new job positions were created.

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‘Everyday Bread’ project by Vėjūnė Sudarytė / Kaunas Biennial’2011

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Pause before the finals

By Ana Čižauskienė

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The city will face an exam at the end of March. It’s an exam we don’t face often: Kaunas will host several representatives of the European Commission, looking around and evaluating the cultural, infrastructural and other parameters before the big decision on March 29th. What’ll happen then, one would ask. Well, a group of experts have listened to presentations on Kaunas and Klaipėda, they have read a pile of documents that the two cities have prepared, and eventually one of these destinations will become the European Capital of Culture in 2022.

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Both Kaunas and Klaipėda, while getting ready for the contest, have been working hard to secure this beneficial win for over a year now, catalysing talks amongst townspeople on future visions, planning impactful cultural programmes, activating their partner networks and generating PR campaigns. Since the final decision is almost upon us but the drama hasn’t started yet, this might be the right time to make a short pause and appreciate a few significant moments.

First of all, both cities presented unique documents – the cultural strategy reports.

The official approval of such a document for no less than ten years’ time is one of the necessary conditions of the contest, all this in order to ensure that even if a particular city loses, its cultural activities won’t take a step back – they will still follow the plan for regeneration. Among many aspects in Kaunas’ strategy, I would personally mention the priority to foster innovative and captivating cultural ideas for various groups and communities of the city, providing more people with opportunities to take part. The intercultural factor was specifically stressed, targeting the multi-layered past of Kaunas and the impact that an array of ethnic minorities had on the town’s cultural development and legacy.

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that culture was being referred to as a horizontal axis going through all sectors of Kaunas, including infrastructure, economy, education and social affairs. Unlike the current image of culture in Lithuania (mostly one of a beggar), this was a confirmation that the sector is essential for economic growth and social harmony. The mentioned strategy has a big number of aspects that were present in the contest proposal – this acts as a guarantee that all the work won’t be in vain, and a few already active projects of “Kaunas 2022” won’t be forgotten.

One of the projects that got their start this way was an initiative to connect pupils with culture, named “Kauno iššūkis” (“The Kaunas challenge”). It’s based on a programme created with the centre for business internships at Vytautas Magnus University, involving methods of creative business practices adapted to benefit the cultural sector. By following these strategies and collaborating with various mentors from the cultural field and the relevant institutions of Kaunas, youngsters of 10-11 grades will propose their carefully tailored ideas for organisations in the culture sector. It’s believed that this might not only awaken the interest of older pupils in the cultural activities of the city but also provide some crucial feedback for the current organisers to recreate the bonds with younger audiences.

Secondly, whilst preparing the “Kaunas 2022” programme and the new strategy, a few angles on the city were closely examined. For instance, a detailed survey for 1,500 residents on the quality of culture’s services was organised for the first time.

People of Kaunas tend to think that the cultural life in the city centre is more than just satisfactory, however it’s very centralised. Apparently, in their own personal environment, there is a lack of spaces, occasions and initiatives to communicate with neighbours or to attend cultural gatherings that could strengthen a civil community in their district.

The residents also mentioned that the information about cultural events often doesn’t reach them.

Additionally, we must admit that the quite fragmented audience of such events suggests that we need new ways of communicating with townspeople in order to keep the culture alive, open and active, we should aim at different dialects, topics and geographical spots too.

Research was also done on the city‘s creative industries – the last examination of this sector took place in 2011. The updated data and talks with more than 120 professionals show an impressive growth of 112%, especially in advertising, programming and photography.

We’ve found out that the field is dominated by small companies looking to form clusters and settle in creative hubs that, according to

them, Kaunas could have much more of. By declaring clearer strategies to support young businesses, the city has a realistic shot of becoming a leading innovation centre and stop the emigration of creatives.

I’d also give those creatives some of the forgotten heritage buildings to establish incubators.

This contest should be perceived as an impulse rather than a prologue, all because of sparking the typically rare gatherings of people from the fields of music, theatre, visual arts, museums, also representatives of creative industries and local communities.

It was a solid opportunity to think on and evaluate our strengths and weaknesses. Despite a few setbacks, Kaunas is full of European spirit, unique creators, strong creative businesses and art professionals of the highest level. Our cultural profile is definitely considered to be bright by many European experts, so we should let this impulse turn into a continuous workflow rather than just focus on the results.

P.S. If by any chance you find yourself in Laisvės Avenue on March 28th, smile to the passers-by – they might be members of the contest’s jury!

kaunas2022.eu

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Even though suburbs were growing in the outskirts, many cities stayed pretty small until the industrial revolution, when historical changes shaped the new face of our continent. Before that, up to 80-90% of Europeans lived in the countryside. After the towns began rapidly expanding, new neighbourhoods started to form, whether with fresh names or adopting the old ones. Kaunas, which was still part of the Russian empire, only started getting larger at the second half of the 19th century.

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The growth was quite chaotic, so there were many misunderstandings when naming places, especially before World War I and during the period of the First Republic. Firstly, no one really knew the exact titles of suburban areas like Gričiupio village, which was in some sources referred to as “Grinčiupio” or “Gryčiupio”. The situation was better at the end of the 1930s, yet we can still find some archaic names like Marvianka, Petrošūnai or Kalnica.

There were also some issues after economic migrants started moving to the temporary capital: some

The territory of Šilainiai in 1939 / Maps4u.lt

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For many centuries, typical Europeans didn’t have a problem answering the question “where do you live?” – the city name was sufficient. A person’s living environment was easy to grasp: cities were compact and had clear limits. These were what we call “Old Towns” or “heritage areas” today.

villages – which previously included a few farmsteads pretty far away from each other – had several new distant places being named the same.

When limits of the city widened and neighbourhoods got bigger, eventually people didn’t know where some areas started and others ended, resulting in old villages or farmsteads losing their identity, especially those in between expanding neighbourhoods. The end of 1920s was a time of fighting unclear city limits, thus the official detailed territory of Kaunas was determined.

For example, we can see that at the time Žaliakalnis was divided into areas that still carried names from the period before World War I: Antakalnis, the oldest, now known as Pelėdų hill; Raginė – named after a stream that ran through the present P. Kalpoko street, with Savanorių avenue and the surroundings of the Seventh Fort being its river valley;

Naujapilis – this title later belonged to a growing part of Žaliakalnis, just southeast from Ukmergės highroad (Savanorių avenue), gradually incorporating the living area next to Vydūnas avenue. As the comments by residents tell us, this division of Žaliakalnis never did become very popular among the people.

Interestingly, the citizens of Kaunas have a fairly old tradition to name places according to objects that were previously there: it’s believed that “Šančiai” is a variation of how French military entrenchments of the 19th century were called, whereas the “radio neighbourhood” alias came from the Interwar period. When a more specific title was required to identify the new residential colonies in the outskirts or suburbs at the time, people turned to the names of forts. Today we only have one such toponym – the so-called “neighbourhood of the Sixth Fort”.

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Over the Soviet occupation period, the changing perception of the city parts was present too: areas like Žaliakalnis, Aleksotas and Vilijampolė (the latter name was even used for the whole territory behind the Neris river) became even less defined, while others have shifted a great deal, like the area north from Varnių street that got its name during in the 1920s from the Sargėnai manor – this part of Vilijampolė moved further north to the present edge of the city. Kalniečiai was extended northeast, usurping the rare toponym of Murava while new micro-neighbourhoods were being built. Žemieji Petrašiūnai and Žemieji Amaliai became one, and today we only use the name Amaliai for the upper part of this suburb, while Aukštutiniai Petrašiūnai got lost in history as the title for a particular part of the Pramonės neighbourhood. Such changes in the city’s ideological limits were not only felt in the outskirts, this was also evident when the Karmelitai area – added to Kaunas in the 19th century – was becoming part of the city centre or at least perceived as “the station neighbourhood”.

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While the newer territories were being created, no one really payed attention to divide them into smaller units – this resulted in an even bigger mess with Kaunas’ toponym situation. Residents took upon themselves to name their blocks, often adopting the title of a community centre (“Saulėtekis”), takin into account the block’s urban

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specifics (“Bermudai”) or naming it after the main street (“Partizanai”).

Although new neighbourhoods included separate micro-areas that had their own numbers in the city plans, only the residents of Šilainiai used those digits. Šilainiai is actually another case of a “moving toponym”: a small village – which wasn’t even in the plans for the new neighbourhood – became what the whole part of the city was named after, even though the present territory of Šilainiai only includes the old toponyms of Linkuva, Milikoniai and Smėliai.

Today, when Kaunas is divided into very small areas with their own artificial limits, we shouldn’t forget that the perception of the residents is much more important than any official partitions. As Kevin Lynch, an urban planner and theoretician tells us, the clearest aspects of one neighbourhood being different from another are distinctive character and evident territorial and therefore ideological limits like roads, railways, slopes and so forth. In a place like Kaunas, where landscape often doesn’t help and some lines at times go through the middle of a street, not everyone could tell you where Žaliakalnis ends. Maybe the answer lies in the synergy between the administration and the citizens while creating a joint map of the city: Kaunas even has the chance to revive a few not-yet-forgotten toponyms that reference the rich history of their respective areas.

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Calendar 03 01 – 03 22

03 02 – 04 02

Kaunas artist’s house, V. Putvinskio st. 56

Kaunas Photography gallery, Rotušės sq. 1

Photography exhibition “In Company of Strangers”

Zigfrid Gronau book “Klyksmas vaiduoklių mieste. Vilko vaikai” presentation.

Maironis Lithuanian literature museum, Rotušės sq. 13

The exhibition explores runny paint that is a mostly annoying side effect.

12 pieces in this exhibition are all about that and serve as a continuum to the artist’s piece in Kaunas old town underground “Tenants tunelis”.

This book is not only a chronicle of a ten year old’s and his family’s suffering and horrible killings, starvation and armed gangs’ violence in Konigsberg, teenager’s life during the World War II and inhospitable soviet years in Lithuania but a stark reminder of things that are meant to be forgotten by the whole human race.

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Monday, 03 06, 21.30

Exhibition “Lūžio kartos varda: A. Šlapikas” Kaunas Picture Gallery, K. Donelaičio st. 16

“Cistem Failure”, “FLUT”, “Džiaslaif” concert Portraits from New York, Sao Paulo, Mumbai, Hong Kong, London, Lagos, Istanbul and Mexico by Bas Losekoot (NL).

Social Centre “Emma”, A. Mickevičius st. 35

March Tuesday, 03 07, 19.00

Play “T-O-T-A-L-L-Y”

VDU theatre hall, S. Daukanto st. 27 Autobiographic comedy by Kimleigh Smith about a woman, who learns to love life and herself after a rape.

Acknowledged as the best show in theatre festival “Hollywood Fringe”, announced as the best in festival “Capital Fringe” by “Washington Post” and acclaimed by “Wall Street Journal” as the most recommended event in “Fringe New York” festival.

Wednesday, 03 08, 18.00

Play “Atranka”

Kaunas city chamber theatre, Kęstučio st. 74A

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Monday, 03 06, 16.00

03 06 – 03 10

VDU Asia week Various locations The continues cycle exploring the breaking generation of Lithuanian painters. This time - Algimantas Šlapikas dealing with huge formats in a playful and interactive way. A. Šlapikas explores topics like nostalgia, your affiliation to home and things, taking a personal approach to these global topics.

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Five day long event series introducing East Asia in a popular and attractive way through culture, language, marshal arts, presenting food and other interesting aspects from Japan, Korea and China. The event taking place for the third time is organised by student clubs “Hashi”, “Wu Wei”, “Hallyu” and VDU Asian study centre together joined by their social partners.

Dutch band “Cistem Failure” is accompanied by Germans “Flut” and they both are welcomed here by jazz sextet from Vilnius “Džiazlaif”.

03 10 – 03 17

Mobile visual exhibition “Freedom Wishes” Kaunas artist’s house, V. Putvinskio st. 56

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Calendar Friday, 03 10, 18.00

Play “Balandis”

“Šelteris”, Vytauto av. 79 The physical comedy based on a novel

by Patrick Sueskind talks about our bodies in the state of fear, be it social or very primal state of being.

Friday, 03 10, 18.00

Kaunas city chamber theatre, Kęstučio st. 74A Gytis Padegimas play “Alksniškės” is a story about K. Grinius, dialogues and thoughts about freedom, revolution, future. The story takes place in the 5th decade of the 20th century when K. Grinius was banished from Kaunas to his hometown of Salemo Būda for protesting against Jewish Holocaust.

Pyjama party “Miegamoji rajoninė instaliacija” Project space “Kabinetas”, A. Mapu st. 20

Austėja Vilkaitytė presents the second part of her project “Pojūčiai” called “Vidiniai pojūčiai”. Here the artist looks for psychologic and physiologic experiences through dance, choreography, local candy bouquets and 3D polish bed sheets.

Friday, 03 10, 22.00

“Ir visa tai kas yra gražu yra gražu” concert Live music club “Orixo” Jonavos st. 40

Kaunas movie centre “Romuva” temporary hall, Kęstučio st. 62

March Saturday, 03 11, 21.00

Event “Stotelė: Kaunas” Kaunas railway station, M.K. Čiurlionio st. 16

Saturday, 03 11, 11.00

Excursion “Emilija iš Laisvės alėjos” Please contact “Kaunas IN”, Laisvės av. 36

The excursion will delve into historic facts and memories, which are all embodied in Donatas Ulvydas new movie “Emilija iš Laisvės alėjos”. You will hear about backstage moments from filming of mass scenes and how many volunteers participated and also see the places where stances against the Soviet regime took place.

To commemorate the reinstatement of Lithuania’s independence “Solo Ansamlis” and MTJUNKER will play in this unusual space. A backdrop for the music will be provided by a group painting exhibition and the afterparty will move to “Dilde and Akvarelė” bar.

Bar “Dildė ir Akvarelė”, Vilniaus st. 16

Saturday, 03 11, 22.00

“The Roop” Concert Club “Orixo”, Jonavos st. 40

The band’s name comes from the word “roop”, which means to scream, talk loudly. The four members mix and match their different styles in a unique way playing pop rock, rock, indie rock, dance rock music.

Veterans of the alternative scene, artistic insanity front-runners have released their first vinyl album “Paradas”.

This time the band is joined by a brass band and present a harder instrumental sound.

Party “Picturesque Frequencies”

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The main guest from Greece - June will be welcomed by a rare guest in Lithuania Manfredas, “Lizdas” host Pakas and Noia arriving from Copenhagen.

Art Lounge “Largo”, Vaistinės alley

Friday, 03 10, 22.00

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Bar “Lizdas”, Nepriklausomybės sq. 12

“Kamanių šilelis” album release concert

Friday, 03 10, 19.00

Premiere. Andrzej Wajda film “Povaizdis” (“Powidoki”)

Party “Dark Delights”

Saturday, 03 11, 20.00

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A play about President Kazys Grinius “Alksniškės”

Friday, 03 10, 18.00

Friday, 03 10, 23.00

Sunday, 03 12, 14.00 The second album from this band called “Namai” is a philosophical and musical journey, a retrospective of the two last years. This album features more mature thoughts, music has more direction in their own aesthetics and rediscovery of Lithuanian traditions.

Afternoon for the whole family. Musical tale “Alavinis Kareivėlis”

Kaunas State Philharmonic, E. Ožeškienės st. 12

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Calendar Sunday, 03 12, 19.00

“C.I.A Debutante” (FR) Concert Bar “Dildė ir Akvarelė”, Vilniaus st. 16

Experimental noise, drone, krautrock mix performers introduce themselves as Parisians even though they sound like someone from a galaxy far far away. Some might say their sound is similar to “Cabaret Voltaire”.

Wednesday, 03 15, 13.00

Friday, 03 17, 18.00

Premiere: Play “Žalgirės” Kaunas national drama theatre, Laisvės av. 71

Lecture “Kai yra 38 liudininkai, visuomenės nėra”

Friday, 03 17, 21.00

“Autism” album release concert

Kaunas Teachers Training Centre Vytauto av. 44

Club “Lemmy”, Girstupio st. 1

After a year brake post medalists from Vilnius return to Kaunas to present their new album “Film Noir”. Even though the albums is full of post rock sounds, the band mixes in more dark sounds and shocking atmosphere. This album delves to uncomfortable and socially sensitive topics using real life tragic events. The band will be accompanied by “? Tempus” from Latvia.

Tuesday, 03 14, 18.00

Play “Madagaskaras” Girstutis cultural palace, Kovo 11-osios st. 26

“Madagaskaras” is play written by Marius Ivaškevičius and directed by Rimas Tuminas. It is an original, ironic and intellectual presentation of Lithuania as a fenomena, Lithuanians view of themselves and the surrounding world.

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Movie classics club. Movie “Run Lola Run ”

Kaunas movie centre “Romuva” temporary hall, Kęstučio st. 62

Friday, 03 17, 23.00

The lecture will question if our society can really be called society, what is it like, what problems do we face, what are our inner relations, how do we participate in the society and what are the reasons for that. Read by VU history faculty lecturer dr. Tomas Vaiseta.

Friday, 03 17, 18.00

Classical music concert “Violin duet eve” Kaunas artists’ house, V. Putvinskio st. 56 1998 director Tom Tykwer made the whole world run with Lola and this movie definitely deserves it’s place amongst the classics.

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Natalia Polukord (violin), Barbora Valiukevičiūtė (violin) and Simona Zajancauskaitė (grand piano) will perform composers P. Sarasate, M. Moszkowski, J. M. Leclair and others.

Vidas Bareikis play “Žalgirės” is a comedy about an amateur women basketball team whose members are all united by one goal - getting into the amateur basketball Olympics in Alaska.

Party „VHS Library“

Bar “Lizdas”, Nepriklausomybės sq. 12

Friday, 03 17, 18.30

Concert “Best Movie Scores” “Teatro clubs”, Vilnius st. 22

String quartet “Archi Quartet” will perform sound tracks from “Armageddon”, “Ghost Busters”, “Pretty Woman”, “Moulin Rouge”, “Pirates of the Caribbean” as well as music by E. Morricone, A. Piazzolla, J. Williams, F. Silvestri and other composers.

Video tape party featuring Ross From Friends from UK and 4 local DJs.

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Calendar Saturday, 03 18, 18.00

Play “Kaligula”

KTU culture centre, Laisvės av. 13

03 23 – 04 06

22nd International Vilnius Film festival “Kino pavasaris”

Tuesday, 03 28, 19.00

“GM Gyvai”: Bassekou Kouyate and „Ngoni Ba“ concert Club “Renginių oazė”, Baltų av. 16

March Thursday, 03 30, 18.00

“Kitokia grafika” zine “SW/ ON5” presentation Kaunas artist’s house, V. Putvinskio st. 56

The new comic came to be during the comic’s residency. Publication topic is centred around Kaunas - it’s modernism and architecture as seen by artist Benjamin Courtault and 8 Lithuanian artists.

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Friday, 03 31, 22.00

“Darbo džiaugsmai” concert

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Bar “Dildė ir akvarelė”, Vilniaus st. 16 “Lack of security makes us think” is the main phrase from this play based on “Caligula” by Albert Camus.

Directed by Vidas Bareikis, the play was acknowledged in Wuzhen theatre festival in China.

03 23 – 04 06

K. Petrošiutė exhibition “Dekompozicija”

Kaunas artist’s house, V. Putvinskio st. 56 Thursday, 03 23, 20.00

“Arbata” album release concert Club “Sandėlis”, Muziejaus st. 8

The Lithuanian rock band that’s been on stage for 15+ years is jumping on the vinyl bandwagon.

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

Every spring Lithuania’s movie theatres are filled with new films. “Kino pavasaris” competition programme features the latest film trends and the trending topics ranging from child abuse to the refugee crisis, which is analysed through various points of view - as a horror thriller or as an accidental documentary.

After two weeks in the movie theatre you will find winter all but gone.

Saturday, 03 25, 21.00

“Rakija Klezmer Orkestar” concert “Punto Jazz” attic, Kęstučio st. 6

Bassekou Kouyate (Mali) is one of the best known West African ngoni instrument masters. By reviving this ancient instrument he bridged together his ancestral and 21st century music. Even the ngoni tradition keepers appreciate Bassekou for his effort to revive this dwindling musical tradition.

One of the most straight forward bands today led by their frontman - Marius Stavaris, who was nominated for the Golden Stage Cross for the music in the play “Hamletas”. We will also have some DJs. Friday, 03 31, 23.00

Party “Geometrija”

Bar “Lizdas”, Nepriklausomybės sq. 12 Wednesday, 03 29, 20.00

Concert series “Sandėlio standartas”: “Shinkarenko Jazz 4” Club “Sandėlis”, Muziejaus st. 8

Quartet gathered by bassist Leonidas Šinkarenko. Dainius Pulauskas plays the keyboard, Lines Būda on drums and Valerijus Ramoška plays the trumpet.

Elektrod K from Klaipėda and duo from Vilnius “Parallax” have joined forces and decided that night geometry must be enforced with some Minsk electro sounds provided by Elena Sizova.

For more events and ideas head to visit.kaunas.lt

2017

MARCH

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pilnas.kaunas.lt

Two shabby men stand up from a bench at Miesto sodas. A gentle breeze has just blown away their trump.

They start asking around whether anyone saw a trump fly by. It’s not about the money as the wind goes through their pockets easier than through lindens of Laisvės Avenue. Oh well, even the-bishop-to-be Antanas Baranauskas played cards with his schoolmates, betting on prayers.

Kęstutis Navakas

Laisvės av. 59, 3th floor, pilnas@kaunas.lt

Editorial office

Chronicles of a Good Life: Essays. Lithuanian Writers’ Union Publishers, 2005.

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

Authors: Ana Čižauskienė, Artūras Bulota, Dainius Ščiuka, Donatas Stankevičius, Eglė Šertvyčūtė, Gunars Bakšejevs, Julija Račiūnaitė, Kipras Šumskas, Kotryna Lingienė, Kęstutis Lingys, Lina Vyšniauskaitė, Paulius Tautvydas Laurinaitis, Rokas Sutkaitis, Tautė Bernotaitė, Teodoras Biliūnas Patrons:

KAUNO MIESTO SAVIVALDYBĖ

RUN 100010COPIES TIRAŽAS 000 EGZ.

ISSN 2424-4481 2424-4465

Leidžia: Publisher:

3 (19) 2017 Nr. 2 (18)