VILNIUS 700 PRESENTS: VILNIUS BIENNIAL OF PERFORMANCE ART

The 1st Vilnius Biennial of Performance Art, a continuing international art event, starts in 2023 as part of Vilnius’s 700th anniversary programme. The event is organised by the Vilnius city gallery Meno Niša in Vilnius.

PERFORMANCE ART: LIVE ACTION ART

The idea of expanding the boundaries of art and turning live action into one of its forms was conceived in the 1960s. While the history of Lithuanian performance art can be traced back to the 1960s, performance art in Lithuania only officially appeared in the 1990s, following the restoration of the country’s independence.

Even if the history of Lithuanian performance art goes back to the 1960s, performance art in Lithuania officially only appeared in the 1990s, after the country restored its independence. However, local artists were quick to catch up with the rest of world: in 2011, Dainius Mikšys’ performative installation Behind the White Curtain represented Lithuania at the Venice Biennale and was awarded a special prize by the jury; and in 2019, the opera-performance Sun & Sea (Marina) by Lina Lapelytė, Vaiva Grainytė and Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė won the most prestigious award of the Venice Biennale, the Golden Lion, bringing global fame to Lithuania for its contribution to contemporary culture and performance art.

DATES

To commemorate Vilnius’ 700th anniversary, the organisers of the Biennial have a special gift for the city: a series of exceptional events spread throughout the year. The opening event of VB23 was held on 23 January 2023 with the performance  Aphotia – a new work by artist Emilija Škarnulytė at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre. The performance was a part of the curated programme.

The Biennial’s main programme will run from 23 July to 6 August 2023 in Vilnius public and semi-public spaces. The Biennial will invite Vilnius residents and visitors to witness performances by both established and emerging artists from Lithuania and abroad.

LOCATIONS

The first and only performance art festival in Vilnius will take place in 2023 in the capital’s public and semi-public spaces.

FOCUS

The main focus of this Biennial is the city of Vilnius, but also a city per se, as a human-made and human-dominated environment that we share with other life forms, where different histories, myths, activities, interests, desires and visions collide, coexist and overlap. The city as an organism that is born, thrives, but also dies or is killed. The city as an artificial but living structure with certain rules, certain trajectories of circulation that some life forms follow and others choose to disregard, creating new ones. The city as a dense network knitted with both visible and invisible threads and charged with various tensions. The city as a platform and a stage.

PROGRAMME

The Vilnius Biennial of Performance art consists of a programme of works by guest artists, curated by Neringa Bumblienė, and works by artists selected by an international jury through an open-call.

The first, 2023 edition of the festival will present 25 to 40 performances which will analyse and reflect upon the main theme of the Biennial taking on different perspectives and using diverse creative methods.