The Art Institute (VMU) invites you to one more finissage of the ANIMATOR project – presentation of the book ‘The Wonders of Kaunas: a field guide’ for Kaunas residents and guests. Come to the gallery ‘Meno parkas’ in the old town at 6 pm on Wednesday 7 May, get your copy of the book, take a glass of traditional punch, chat with co-authors of the book, learn more about cultural animation, meet your neighbors and friends. And don’t forget to bring your own wonder of Kaunas with yourself!
The Wonders of Warsaw and The Wonders of Kaunas - two model projects each resulting in a publication that was launched as part of the PoWisle i Po Pradze event on 28th April.
Click here to download information panels about the Wonders projects.
On the way to Kristaus Prisikėlimo - in the search for Wonders of Kaunas. Created by students from the Art Institute and the Institute of Political Science and Diplomacy at Vytautas Magnus University and from the Institute of Polish Culture at Warsaw University - Rita Akelaitytė, Vilma Balčiauskaitė, Aistė Kasperavičiūtė, Arnas Šedovas and Patrycja Proniewska - working with Pamela Wells from Laundry.
The confluence of the Nemunas and Neris Rivers - in the search for Wonders of Kaunas. Created by Beata Godlewska working with Brendan Jackson from Laundry. Part of workshops run by Laundry with students from the Art Institute and the Institute of Political Science and Diplomacy at Vytautas Magnus University and from the Institute of Polish Culture at Warsaw University.
A silent movie searching for Wonders of Kaunas in Vilijampole. Created with Ania Bas from Laundry and Vaida Gedzevičiūtė, Sandra Kliukaitė, Indrė Šurkutė, Rūta Vainauskaitė, and Agnieszka Nasierowska - students from the Art Institute and the Institute of Political Science and Diplomacy at Vytautas Magnus University, and from the Institute of Polish Culture at Warsaw University.
Here is some photo documentation of the Wonders project in Kaunas.
The Pink Group - Rita Akelaitytė, Vilma Balčiauskaitė, Aistė Kasperavičiūtė, Arnas Šedovas and Patrycja Proniewska, working with Pamela Wells - when we were exploring our section of Kaunas, we asked people what they found ‘wonder’ful about Kaunas.
This is what Vilma wrote from our day and it was part of our installation:
We had a visit organised to the TV & Radio Station. The group explored the building and met with people working there while Linara and Pamela were interviewed - you can listen to it by clicking HERE then click on “Klaskika” in left column then you will find “Ryto allegro” in the right column) Ania Bas is also in this interview, but she did not come with us. She was exploring another part of Kaunas. The radio people talked to her at another time.
We went to Ramybés Park, a famous place for being robbed. The people we found there were mostly nice. Some of them thought we might be robbers, but most of them talked to us anyway. It is a place with a lot of history. We also went on the funicular and talked to the workers there. From the top of the funicular it is easy to get to Prisikėlimo bažnyčia, a church built between the 1st and 2nd World Wars - an important time for Kaunas, when it was the capital while Vilnius was occupied. (The name Prisikėlimo means Resurrection.) We talked to a man working there who had been sent to Siberia, and had returned. You can take an elevator to the top where there is an amazing view and even more amazing it was sunny.
We talked about the street musicians and street vendors on Laisves Avenue where shops are having a hard time competing with the new-ish huge-ish mall called Acropolis, which is just outside of the centre and not very attractive. We talked about the fact that Laisves means“Freedom”and we talked about talking to people about what that meant to them. We also went to Nemunos Island, where there is a park with a lot of rules and plans for development.
The group created a progressive installation that traced our interactions, including a film in response to the funicular.
We explored Vilijampole, known as a dodgy district of Kaunas. My group was very reluctant do go there because as they have stated "nothing interesting is there". We have been exploring the district during 2 cold afternoons, gathering materials through talking to people, taking pictures, collecting objects and exploring group own views and fears about the area. Our pre-arranged visits were: a convent and a seminar.
The final work consisted of: a PhotoRain - a photo installation; a short film ‘Vilijampole Witch Project’ - exploring group’s own fears about the area; "Sister Klara from Viliampole" - a slideshow linking visit to Vilijampole with sister Clara met in the convent who is originally from there; an installation created using found objects and a wall of suggestions and possible futures for Viliampole. The group have not had previous experience in creating this sort of work.