Dr. Virginija Vitkienė is an art critic and curator, lecturer, editor of art publications, head and coordinator of international projects in arts and in research. She is the initiator and, since 2015, Head of the project “Kaunas – European Capital of Culture 2022” (www.kaunas2022.eu), which handled over 1500 events in 2022, implemented by 70 Lithuanian organisations with their 500 European partner institutions. In the framework of this project, Virginija Vitkienė also curated the exhibition “That which we do not remember” by William Kentridge in Kaunas (January – November, 2022) with 95 000 visitors. 

In 2009–2018, she was Artistic Director at Kaunas Biennial (www.biennial.lt). She is the author of concept and initiator of the Magic Carpets project (2017–2024). It is a Platform at Creative Europe (www.magiccarpets.eu) uniting 15 European partners and empowering emerging curators and artists for co-creative processes within communities in the European cities, towns and suburbs, mostly – public spaces.

In November 2022, Virginija Vitkienė was appointed as Commissioner for the Season of Lithuania in France 2024. She is in charge of forming a programme of more than 100 cultural and artistic events covering the majority of regions in France. 

Scientific and practical interests: participatory culture; principles of co-creation; community arts; public art; theory and practice of contemporary art; cultural policy; post-colonial theory and art; art curatorship theory and practice; civil society and artistic practices which can unite for social (thought and action) change; feminist art and curatorship.