Have you ever taken a journey on a piece of art? Now you can take an epic ride on one of Vilnius’ trolleybuses covered in contemporary art. Running for the second consecutive year, the Painting Routers art initiative has once again turned normal trolleybuses into canvases painted on by five teams of well-known young artists from Lithuania and Estonia.
The artists don’t need to experience a trolleybus accident to change the course of art, like Frida Kahlo did. Instead, they can open up their ideas to the public on the sides of the trolleybuses. There is plenty of time for spotting the mobile paintings, too – they will be riding on the streets of Vilnius until October 2018.
This year’s Painting Routers initiative is encouraging dialogue about sensitive contemporary issues like the #metoo movement, femininity, sensations, and sexuality. A real-life social media wall will revert back to digital when people share their experiences of the Painting Router works, creating a cycle. Taken out of the galleries, the art becomes accessible to everyone.
The artistic public transportation initiative is also a perfect lead-up to ArtVilnius’18, the city’s 9thannual International Contemporary Art Fair, taking place in June at the LITEXPO Exhibition and Congress Centre. But you don’t need to be an art aficionado or expert to let the art take you to undiscovered places.
Skip the traditional tour busses for a day and sightsee Vilnius like a local in the trolleybus that fits your mood best. Play a game of spotting all five works of art riding through the streets, or start your Vilnius experience by jumping on the artistic trolleybus on your way from the train and bus stations.
The artists involved in the project include Goda Lukaitė, Donata Minderytė, Monika Plentauskaitė, Alexei Gordin, Kazimieras Brazdžiūnas, Vita Opolskytė, Kristina Ališauskaitė, Rosanda Sorakaitė, Kristi Kongi, and Rosanda Sorakaitė.
