Vilnius Biennial of Performance Art
The Vilnius Biennial of Performance Art (VB) is an ongoing international event dedicated to contemporary performance art, organised by Gallery Meno Niša and directed by Diana Stomienė, with Neringa Bumblienė as Artistic Director and Curator. The first Biennial took place in 2023 as part of the Vilnius’ 700th-anniversary programme.
VB26
The second Vilnius Biennial of Performance Art will take place from 19 to 29 November 2026 in the public and semi-public spaces in Vilnius. VB26 will introduce city’s residents and guests to performances by both established and emerging local and international artists.
The theme of VB26 is Glyph, a Greek word meaning a carved or written symbol that communicates a non-verbal meaning, sound, or idea.
It also serves as a reference to the eponymous book by Ali Smith, where she writes: Or she could take something that was a dead weight in you, I mean in me, and she could give it a story, a voice. And then that dead thing stopped being a dead weight, it came alive, and because it did it started to carry itself. After that, whatever it was didn’t seem so hopeless any more.
Programme
VB26 programme will consist of works by invited artists, curated by Neringa Bumblienė, and works by artists selected by an international jury, formed of João Laia, Charles Aubin ir N. Bumblienė, through an open call.
Curated Programme: Invernomuto (co-produced with Nida Art Colony of Vilnius Academy of Arts), Raimundas Malašauskas (co-produced with VšĮ Autarkija) , Anastasia Sosunova.
Open Call Programme: Joelis Aškinis, Ella Skinner and Iceboy Violet, Gosia Lehmann, Olia Sosnovskaya.
About the inaugural VB23
The VB23 programme consisted of works by invited artists, curated by Neringa Bumblienė, and works by artists selected by an international jury, formed of Maria Arusoo, Neringa Bumblienė, and Joanna Zielińska, through an open call. The Biennial showcased 18 performances by both international and Lithuanian artists, with nearly half being new works commissioned and produced by VB23.
The opening event of VB23 was held on January 23, 2023 with the performance Aphotia — a new work by Emilija Škarnulytė at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre as part of the curated programme.
The Biennial’s main programme ran from July 23 to August 6, 2023 in public and semi-public spaces across Vilnius. The two-week VB23 programme featured 38 artists and a total of 31 performances across 17 locations in Vilnius. These venues included cultural spaces like t the National Gallery of Art and the National Drama Theatre, as well as unconventional sites typically closed to the public and not usually used for displays of art, such as the outdoor area of the Train Repair Depot of the Lithuanian Railways and the Liepkalnis Water Storage facility.
The events attracted over 20,000 visitors, including a large number of foreign guests and journalists.
Full information on VB23 can be found here.