The long-awaited Vilnius Biennial of Performance Art is back, presenting an international programme of performance art in Vilnius from 19–29 November 2026. Now in its second edition, the biennial will feature works by established and emerging artists from Lithuania and abroad.

The Vilnius Biennial of Performance Art (VB26) is an international event dedicated to contemporary performance art. The first biennial took place in 2023 as part of the capital’s city-wide programme celebrating Vilnius’ 700th anniversary. During the two-week festival, 38 artists staged 31 performances at 17 locations throughout the city. The events attracted over 20,000 visitors, as well as international guests and journalists. 

This year’s programme consists of two parts: a programme of invited artists curated by artistic director Neringa Bumblienė, and works selected by an international jury from applications received through an open call.

The selection committee for the open call consisted of Charles Aubin, co-director of the Centre Pompidou x Jersey City museum (US); João Laia, artistic director of the Department of Contemporary Art of the Municipality of Porto (Portugal); and Neringa Bumblienė, artistic director and curator of the Vilnius Biennial. 

VB 26 Theme: ‘Glyph’

The theme of the Second Vilnius Biennial of Performance Art, ‘Glyph’, takes its name from a Greek word meaning a carved or inscribed symbol that conveys a nonverbal meaning, sound, or idea. It also refers 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.

‘Last winter, while reading the latest book by the renowned Scottish author Ali Smith, I was thinking a lot about what we inherit, what others and the world give us, and how we can move forward with all of that. On how to preserve light, vitality, and hope against the backdrop of endless war and turmoil. To see a way out, to foster the connection that unites us all, and to nurture joy. In one way or another, the works presented in the programme address these themes,’ says Neringa Bumblienė, the biennial’s artistic director and curator.

Participants in the Curated Programme

The Italian artist duo Invernomuto, consisting of Simone Bertuzzi and Simone Trabucchi, will present a performative version of their work Triton. Produced in collaboration with Nida Art Colony of the Vilnius Academy of Arts, the work draws inspiration from a colony of salamanders inhabiting two ancient rock basins in Pietra Perduca, Northern Italy. Internationally acclaimed Lithuanian curator and artist Raimundas Malašauskas will present the latest version of his work, Send in the Clowns, produced in collaboration with the public institution Autarkija. Anastasia Sosunova, an artist widely recognised in the Lithuanian and international art scenes, will create a new performance specifically for the area surrounding her studio near the Vilnius Millennium Ring, a major traffic interchange in the city.

Participants in the Open Call Programme 

Four artists and art collectives will present their works as part of the open call programme. Vilnius-based artist Joelis Aškinis will present a performance inspired by the historic microstate of the Republic of Paulava whose ruins lie about 30 km from Vilnius. Ecdysis, selected for the Vilnius Biennial of Performance Art, is an ongoing audio-visual collaboration between rapper and performance artist Iceboy Violet and artist and set designer Ella Skinner (both from the UK). Their work is performed inside an ice sculpture that transforms under the influence of heat, light, the body, and movement.

Berlin-based Polish artist Gosia Lehmann, who won first prize at Hošek Contemporary in 2023, will present the performance Dilemma. Olia Sosnovskaya, a Belarusian artist based in Vienna, will show her performance Citing Sources. By deconstructing the format of an academic lecture, the artist explores political activism and its exhaustion. These themes intertwine with her personal experience of the 2020–2021 anti-government protests in Belarus.

The biennial is organised by Gallery Meno Niša. Its director is Diana Stomienė, and its artistic director and curator is Neringa Bumblienė.

The event is financed by the Lithuanian Council for Culture and sponsored by the Vilnius City Municipality.