Art Vilnius 2023: Art lovers unite at the biggest contemporary art fair in the Baltics

Lithuania is famous for many things. Its rich political and social history, stunning natural and architectural beauty and its thriving art scene.

Every year artists and art lovers from across Europe gather together in the capital city for Art Vilnius, a three day event which celebrates contemporary art.

This year Art Vilnius took place from Friday October 13 to Sunday October 15 at the Lithuanian Exhibition and Congress Centre Litexpo and involved 70 galleries and institutions spanning 18 countries.

This year the biggest contemporary art festival in the Baltics celebrated its 14th anniversary with the theme of performance art, with dance, music, cinema, and literature, accompanying its visual arts programme.

Lithuania and performance have been intertwined since 2019, when the country’s creators won the 58th Venice Biennale Golden Lion for their opera-like performance, "Sun and Sea (Marina)”.

Art Vilnius’ 23 Artistic Director Sonata Baliuckaitė is proud that the festival goes beyond the traditional boundaries of art forms and showcases an impressive array of mediums and genres, including installations, glasswork, bronze sculptures, textiles, and more.

Speaking to NationalWorld Ms Baliuckaitė said: “It’s the biggest event in all of the region.

“Our art fair is different from others. This year we have the theme of performance.

“Last year the theme was sculpture installation and the guest country was Ukraine. This year we invited four Ukrainian galleries and we organised for them to come over for free.

“Our art fair has a lot of young artists from academies. We have six exhibitions from the Vilnius art academy, from the Latvian art academy and the Estonian art academy.

“They represent brave projects.”

One of those young artists is 25-year-old Mantas Valentukonis, who recently graduated from Vilnius Academy of Arts, with a degree in painting.

The young painter was excited to exhibit his work at Art Vilnius for the first time in association with Drifts gallery, a contemporary art gallery based in Vilnius.

His work, which included a series of paintings and a virtual reality experience, was commissioned by gallery owner Jolanta Laurent.

“I’m grateful to Jolanta that she trusted me to create works so it’s a great feeling,” Mr Valentukonis told NationalWorld.

“I have prepared a new series of works which I’m excited to show to the public.”

“It’s my very first time at this art fair. My gallery is very new so for me as well it was very important to be shown here and to present the artist I’m working with,” said Ms Laurent.

“When I founded the gallery I was very interested in contemporary creating and for me it was very important to find some place with history.

“The art scene is very young in Vilnius. Because of our history there were some interruptions in our cultural life so it’s not the same as France, Italy or Spain.

“It’s very important for artists to come to festivals like this as it’s a platform where you can meet all the ecosystem of the art scene.”

Many artists from across Europe came to take part in the festival.

Painter and sculptor Ruta Jusionyte, who is from Lithuania but lives in France, said Art Vilnius feels like a homecoming to her.

“It feels like I’m coming home and makes me feel proud about my identity,” she told NationalWorld.

Over 20,000 visitors attended Art Vilius over the weekend who enjoyed an abundance of performances including a presentation by the Vilnius Academy of Arts.

It featured students and teachers alike reenacting performances by renowned artists such as Dainius Liškevičius, who represented Lithuania at the 56th Venice Biennale, Lithuanian poet and art critic Laima Kreivytė, and Lithuanian sculpture and performance artist Česlovas Lukenskas.

Another notable performance included a resurrection of Egle Rakauskaite’s live sculpture “Trap, expulsion from Paradise” from 1996. This featured a dozen girls dressed in white confirmation dresses with their long hair braided into a tight net that binds them together in a circle.

25 years later the performance has been reimagined with more colourful costumes.

Art Vilnius showcases the best of Baltic culture and provides an essential platform for experienced and newcomer artists alike.