The best Lithuanian and international contemporary art, only three days, once a year. On 7-9 October, the ArtVilnius’22 art fair invites everyone to return to Litexpo, where the organizers present a long-prepared programme of art galleries, institutions, and artists.
The theme of the art fair ArtVilnius’22, which is being held for the thirteenth time this year, is ecology, with a special focus on the genres of installation and sculpture. The guest of the fair is Ukraine, whose artists’ works will be presented in various segments of the programme.
“This year, we warmly invite everyone to ArtVilnius and ask you to support Ukrainian artists, to help them survive this difficult period, and to purchase works by the Ukrainian artists, which you may then donate to museums thus leaving them for future generations as a symbol of our unity,” said Diana Stomienė, the head of ArtVilnius and the president of the Lithuanian Art Gallerists’ Association.
The programme of the fair, which will take place in the three main halls of Litexpo and also outdoors on a total area of 12,000 square meters, will feature 70 art galleries and institutions and 320 artists from 18 countries.
ArtVilnius’22 is financed by the Lithuanian Council for Culture, under the patronage of Vilnius City Municipality, the fair’s exclusive partner is Lewben, Maecenas – law firm Cobalt.
The Gallery Programme
Visitors to ArtVilnius’22 will find their favorite galleries Okapi (Estonia), Māksla XO (Latvia), Nivet Carzon (France), The Rooster Gallery (Lithuania), Lithuanian Artists’ Association Gallery Meno Parkas (LAA), Baroti, KADS, Galerija Kristina Norvilaitė, Terra Recognita, Artist’s Association Gallery, the galleries of the Vilnius Academy of Arts, and others. The following galleries will take part in the fair for the first time: Galerie Intershop from Leipzig, Look! gallery from Riga, Kaunas Ministry of Art, and Vilnius Tumo Gallery.
The Ukrainian gallery programme will be represented by regular participants Tsekh (Kyiv | Vilnius), Ya Gallery from Lviv, Art14 and Ra Gallery from Kyiv, and new names in the fair – Shcherbenko Art Center from Kyiv and Naked Room Gallery, which is representing Ukraine in this year’s, 59th Venice Biennale.
Project Zone
This year, the Project Zone of ArtVilnius has been handed over to the renowned contemporary art curator and writer Valentinas Klimašauskas. According to the curator, who is presenting the joint project Delirious Bodies, the different developments of the fair’s ecological theme he conceived have transformed this year’s Project Zone into an open and engaging “city within a city” ecosystem.
Krakow’s Museum of Contemporary Art MOCAK will present the work of Valentina Miorandi and recently deceased queer feminists Natalia LL. In the contemporary art center area, we will find a new stage installation by Robertas Narkus, currently representing Lithuania at the Venice Biennale, entitled Injured Wind, curated by Neringa Bumblienė. The Lewben Art Foundation, established by ArtVilnius’22 exclusive partner Lewben, presents a speculative group exhibition from the perspective of an octopus, Do Octopuses Dream of Humans?, curated by V. Klimašauskas.
Twelve Ph.D. students of the Vilnius Academy of Arts will present parts of their practical research in the project Studies. The Jonas Mekas Centre for Visual Arts will invite you to the Jonas Mekas diary 365 Days, divided into 12 months and obelisks. In addition to original installations dedicated to the theme of ecology, the exhibition will also feature a special programme of video films dedicated to ecology and Ukraine.
The Path (“Takas”)
The fair will also host the traditional international exhibition of sculptures, installations, and performances The Path, curated for the second year by the artist, curator, and head of the Sculpture Department of the Vilnius Academy of Arts, Assoc. Prof. Vytenis Burokas. The Path will present 29 individual artists’ projects selected from 120 applications. According to the curator of the exhibition, The Path will not only take place in the halls but will also invade the balcony of Litexpo, so everybody is invited to walk along the sculpture path and get acquainted with the panorama of wide creative diversity.
The exhibition The Path will feature a wide variety of genres – large-scale works, installations, objects, video installations, sound works, as well as a performance by Monika Dirsytė. The outdoor area of Litexpo will display works by sculptors (including the younger generation) Jonas Aničas, Tauras Kensminas, Matas Janušonis, Nerijus Erminas, Rytis Urbanskas, and Rafal Piesliak. Some of the artists present works that respond to current world events, although this is done without commenting and indirectly – this includes works by Žygimantas Augustinas, Severija Inčirauskaitė-Kriaunevičienė, Monika Grašienė-Žaltė, and Sergei Beloaki. We will also see the synergies of installation, video, and image in the works by Eglė Kulbytė, Bionics, Agnė Pilkauskaitė, Zane Zeivate, Indrė Liškauskaitė, and others.
Plenty of Additional Events
During ArtVilnius’22, an international jury of art professionals and visitors will select the best galleries, artists, and works of art. The interactive LRT studio will host discussions, lectures, and presentations on various art topics. Visitors will have the opportunity to take part in guided tours of the fair led by art historians, and those who are unable to visit Litexpo, at the end of the fair will be able to take a 3D virtual tour of the fair.
You can now choose and purchase your favorite works in advance in the electronic catalogue of the fair’s exhibitors at artvilnius.com/en/catalogue. In parallel with ArtVilnius’22, the Art After Hours art festival will invite Vilnius residents and visitors to spend the night in selected galleries and institutions on Friday, 7 October. Visitors are invited to buy tickets for the fair on Bilietai.lt.
