A project the size of Kaunas 2022 could have never been created by a group of ten, fifty or even one thousand people. Nineteen thousand. That is how many of us it took to make all of this happen. Burning with a great desire and giving their best effort. Or contributing once or twice, even if just for a little while. All this to make Kaunas one big European cultural scene in 2022.

The year has flown by, in the blink of an eye. But the European Capital of Culture project has left an indelible imprint on the city’s memory. It has also left a lasting imprint in the hearts of all those who contributed. Who were the 19,000 heroes of the city? Agnė Bekeraitytė-Popierė has been trying to find the answer to this question for a whole year, capturing with her characteristic gaze and the flash of her camera all the project’s most outstanding artists from all over the world: musicians, dancers, directors, painters, sculptors, animators, and many others. These are the creators who have breathed life into the European Capital of Culture project. They were all here. They were here for us. They were here for the people of Kaunas. At least for a short time, at least for the year of 2022.