Active season for creators: attention to Lithuanian galleries at international art fairs and global warming | Culture

Participation in such networking events is important for galleries due to the attention of a global audience, access to new markets, popularization of represented artists, trend monitoring and networking. It is during fairs that ideas for new projects and cultural exchanges often arise, and artists receive invitations to residencies, important exhibitions, and their works enter influential art collections.

According to the founder of The Rooster Gallery, Jurgita Juospaitytė-Bitinienė, the Lithuanian gallery and the artists it represents are loved and well-regarded by the international audience. “Compared to our neighbors Latvia or Estonia, the Lithuanian art market is more dynamic, Lithuanians are significantly more active in terms of participating in art fairs, and we have more galleries developing international activities. The successful international careers of artists Lina Lapelytė, Emilija Škarnulytė, Rūtė Merk, Andriaus Zakarauskas, and Pakui Hardware became a strong catalyst for the reputation of our country’s visual arts field.

We are really visible – that’s why Vytautas Kumža’s photographs commissioned by Bottega Veneta were published in the prestigious fashion house’s latest fanzine; what to talk about last week’s historic events in Paris, when the MO museum signed a cooperation agreement with the world-famous Pompidou center – J.Juospaitytė-Bitinienė energetically mentions.

Challenges are also encountered. Last week, the galleries “Vartai”, “The Rooster Gallery”, “Meno parkas” participated in the Austrian art fair “ViennaContemporary”, preparing curated exhibitions of the works of the represented artists for visitors. Gallery “Eastcontemporary” presented the work of Lithuanian creator Anastasios Sosunova and won the commission’s special prize “Gallery Queer Art Prize 2024”, but this time the art fair did not avoid losses. Austria, like other countries in central Europe, was hit by rain, floods and strong winds last week.

Due to the extreme weather conditions, residents and guests of the city were advised not to leave their homes, even flights were disrupted, so the art fair was visited by significantly fewer people than usual. Climate events disrupted the plans of both local and international participants, which draws attention to the increasing impact of climate change on everyday life, in this case even on cultural events. The situation not only shows the impact of global warming on the cultural sector, but also drew attention to the need to take action to reduce the effects of the climate crisis.

Lithuanian galleries are looking forward to the upcoming jubilee art fair “Art Vilnius”, which will be held on October 4-6. The fair has prepared a special program with a focus on the Nordic countries. 67 galleries, 15 institutions and more than 300 artists from 14 countries will participate in the fair. This is a great opportunity to get acquainted with the trends of contemporary art and the latest works of artists in Vilnius.

In November, the Meno Parkas gallery will continue its intensive tour of Lithuania at international art fairs, participating in the largest Italian art fair Artissima, and The Rooster Gallery in the Art Dubai art fair. Editions”. This is a new event of the famous art fair “Art Dubai”, which will focus on photography, ceramics and other reproduced art forms.

The visibility of Lithuanian galleries in such events not only helps to promote individual artists and attract positive attention from the world’s media, but also significantly contributes to the consolidation of the country’s positive reputation and creative image.