Don’t Miss the Chance to meet Marina Abramović in Kaunas, the European Capital of Culture
For one night only, only with those who have secured their tickets in advance. The Serbian artist Marina Abramović, synonymous with performance art, has promised to meet her fans in Kaunas, the European Capital of Culture. She is scheduled to give an open lecture on 31 March 2022.
The artist will travel to Lithuania to open her exhibition “Memory of Being”. The show will be available to the public at the Kaunas Picture Gallery from 30 March.
The exhibition, initiated by Meno Parkas Gallery, is one of the most important and ambitious events in the programme of Kaunas 2022. It will present in detail the work of the icon of the contemporary art world from the 1960s to the present day. The visitors will be welcome to get acquainted with the documentary material, her artistic biography and interview, the famous Manifesto, and the unique creative Method.
In the conversation with the writer Adrian Heathfield, Marina Abramović discusses the role of an artist:
„What is the function of an artist? Each artist you ask will probably have a different answer. But mine is definitely consciousness-raising. Start with yourself; change yourself. If you change yourself, you can change thousands.”
According to the director of Marina Abramović Institute Giuliano Argenziano, the exhibition partner, the exhibition will have a unique form – it will be displayed as a spectacular video installation of the selected artist’s performance documentation and films.
Arvydas Žalpys, one of the curators of the exhibition and the director of Meno Parkas Gallery, is positive that the worldview of the people of Lithuania and the surrounding region is close to the work of the Serbian artist: “From the times of the Soviet Iron Curtain, Lithuanian artists and people of culture tried to find the information about Abramović’s work in many different ways – it symbolised a brave pursuit of liberty, surpassing fear and established clichés, as well as an unconstrained expression of the artist’s identity by freeing from the well-known shackles of the Soviet system. This is why this meeting of the audience and the author is very important.”
Meno Parkas has already published the Lithuanian-language version of catalogue “The Cleaner”, the most comprehensive presentation of Abramović’s work, which is a must-read for those planning to attend “Memory of Being”. The show in Kaunas Picture Gallery will run until 31 July.
Open lecture by Marina Abramovic in Žalgirio Arena and the support for Ukraine
Even though one will have four months to see the exhibition itself, the contemporary art lovers from Kaunas, Lithuania and other countries who are most interested in the phenomenal woman and her work, ideas, and ways of thinking should get their tickets now for the artist’s meeting with her fans on 31 March at 6 pm.
Due to the much-felt anticipation, the event is planned to occur at Žalgiris Arena instead of the Picture Gallery. Tickets to the open meeting are here.
In response to the aggressive actions against Ukraine and its people, the organizers announce that part of the tickets’ incomes will support the Ukrainian cultural program in Kaunas. The Ukrainian culture program will host, support, and provide space for artists and creators, who will choose Kaunas as their temporary home during the war.
