Culture Night gets bigger

VILNIUS - Music jingling all night long from an abandoned backyard in Vilnius’ old town, a never-ending movie shown in a meadow at Baltasis Bridge, concerts, performances, exhibitions, creative workshops, and installations taking place in the streets, squares, and the most unexpected spaces, untiring dancers, trampling on the pavements… The entire city is filled with music, colors, lights and smiles. And this is not a dream or a clip from a motion-picture. This is all about Culture Night.

This one night festival of culture and art – Culture Night – has been organized in Vilnius since 2007 and this summer it will take place during the night of July 5-6. It will become the main cultural opening event of the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the EU. 165 projects on schedule, over 700 artists from Lithuania and foreign countries, all in the city over one night.

The program for this year will be enriched with projects by foreign artists: in the courtyard of the Presidential Palace you will be able to see the Georgian choreographic drama “Karmen;” in Vilnius City Hall you can listen to an Armenian concert performed by the Khachaturian Trio, a steady urban pulse will be brought out by street clowns from Spain – Su Seso Taladro; the British Council is going to invite the British artist Kathy Hinde with the “Piano Migrations” project, which will include an audiovisual installation, workshop for children, and music show. French artists will present the “Purple Rain” project, recommended by La Nuit Blanche – the international all-night art festival network. A joint project is also elaborated by Lithuanian and Scandinavian artists: Nordic Stage together with Avaspo Poetry will implement the music-audiovisual performance “Recycling Rituals.” Moreover, performers from Norway, Johan Mahtte Skum and Sanna Andersson, will give a concert of archaic songs from the northern part of Scandinavia.

The festival will also include traditional events: concerts for youth, cinema on the grass program with “Cinema Spring,” a piano concert performed by Petras Geniusas at Lukiskes Square, a concert performed by Domantas Razauskas at the rotunda, which will come to life for one night. The city dwellers and guests will be able to take part in various creative workshops, check photo exhibitions, visit cafes and bars which are working on special programs. Special family space will be open in Sventaragis Valley.

There will be even more embassies and cultural institutes of foreign countries joining the Culture Night this year: the British Council, Embassy of Spain, Embassy of Italy and Italian Cultural Institute, Goethe Institute, French Institute in Lithuania, Nordic Council of Ministers Office in Lithuania, Embassy of Armenia, Embassy of Ireland, European Humanities University, Embassy of Estonia, Embassy of Hungary, Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway, Embassy of the Kingdom of Sweden, Polish Cultural Institute, Russian Cultural Institute, Embassy of Romania, and Embassy of Finland.

The festival will be attended by Lithuanian artists from Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipeda, Panevezys, and other towns. Many educational institutions (Vilnius Academy of Arts, Vilnius University, Vilnius College of Design) are involved in the project as well: students are actively working on exhibitions, installations of light, and other projects. Many museums and galleries will be open in Vilnius during the night and, for the first time this year, the program is joined by the Museum of Genocide Victims. A spectacular program for the guests of the festival will be prepared by the Arts Printing House “Hourglasses” - a joint project by Lithuanian and foreign artists which has already been appreciated in other countries, will be performed twice.

During Culture Night (formerly Let it be Night!) the squares, streets, parks, and the most unexpected spaces in Vilnius are filled with various types of art – music, dance, theater, cinema, photography, state-of-the-art installations. A one-night festival showed up in Lithuania in 2007 preparing the events of Vilnius – European Capital of Culture 2009. In fact, during the very first year of the festival Vilnius had approximately 40 events, but subsequent festivals would involve more and more events and gather more and more artists as well as participants – last year the festival of culture and art invited the guests and dwellers of the city to 130 projects, presented by 400 artists from Lithuania and abroad. It is estimated that the events were attended by approximately 150,000 guests.

Culture Night July 5 – 6
More information can be found at: www.kulturosnaktis.lt