The exhibition is part of a two-year cultural cooperation between six institutions in three countries: Iceland, Lithuania and Norway. With support from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Grants, the art explores the hidden causes behind our daily rituals.
The reservoir exhibition features five out of the ten artists who took part in the project: Saulius Leonavičius and Robertas Narkus from Lithuania and three Norwegian artists – Kristin Tårnesvik, Tanya Busse and Victoria Durnak. Curated by Eglė Mikalajūnė from Lithuania and Samir M’Kadmi from Norway, the work presented has been created exclusively for this project.
“I'm very excited to be a part of the exhibition in the water reservoir - a century old underground structure that has almost never been open to the public,” says Norwegian-Canadian artist Tanya Busse.
Artistic residencies
The ten artists have had artistic residencies in either Iceland, Lithuania or Norway. For Berglind Jona Hlynsdottir from Iceland, the chance to work in Lithuania was especially welcome:
”I’ve been drawn to the Baltics, and especially Lithuania. I feel like I’ve learnt so much from being there and I’m very thankful for the opportunity to take part in a very well curated project that has really given me the time to develop my work, as well as meet and work with amazing people,” Hlynsdottir says.
Saulius Leonavičius from Lithuania spent two months at the Nordic Artists’ Centre Dale in rural Norway. He has created a universal costume for contemporary meditation rituals.
“For me personally, the most important result of the project is the collaboration with other artists. It opened up new directions for my work and studies,” Leonavičius says.
For artist Robertas Narkus, the most important aspect was the opportunities that became available through the project:
“It was a great experience, and a way to meet new people and discover places and ideas. I’m results-oriented, and the project gave me the means necessary to produce and exhibit new works,” he says.
More information
The work of the ten artists will be featured in other exhibitions in Lithuania and Norway:
- VAA Nida Art Colony, Lithuania – 21 May to 19 June 2016
- Residency Centre YO-YO, Žeimiai Manor, Jonava district, Lithuania – 30 July to 28 August 2016
- Akershus Art Centre, Lillestrøm, Norway – 10 February to 12 March 2017
The exhibition is part of the project ‘Discipline today. Residency exchange and exhibitions’ funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the Lithuanian ‘Promotion of diversity in culture and arts within European cultural heritage’ programme. Organised by project promoter Nida Art Colony of Vilnius Academy of Arts, the project is implemented in collaboration with the Nordics Artists’ Centre Dale in Norway, the Office for Contemporary Art, Skaftell Centre for Visual Art in Iceland and Residency Centre YO-YO in Lithuania.
Read more about the EEA and Norway Grants to Lithuania
This article is adapted from an article written by the Art Council Norway, and was originally published on their website: http://www.kulturradet.no/eos-midlene/vis-artikkel/-/hidden-treasures-skjulte-skatter-i-litauen