Culture came to visit eleven micro-districts of Kaunas and for ten days in unexpected places presented art installations, exhibitions and live concerts to neighbors and courtyard guests – a total of 16 artistic performances.
For the fifth time, the Kaunas Artists’ House brought culture to 11 micro-districts of the city – from August 19 to 29, the festival “Kultūra į kiemus” sounded, showed and told stories in Petrašiūnai, Žaliakalnis, Šilainiai, Aleksot, Centro, Eigulių, Vilijampole, Panemune, Gričiupios, Šančias and For residents of Dainava. As last year, residents could offer their yards for festival events.
It is true that at least twice as many applications were received than was foreseen in the program of activities, and the program itself was enriched by the partners of the festival who offered their own activities: this year the Kaunas Photography Gallery brought photo projections to the courtyards of city residents, the Lithuanian Museum of Education came with a mobile exhibition “Museum on Wheels” , and Kaunas Antanas Martinaitis Art School decorated the courtyards with exhibitions.
The opening concert with the band SKAMP in Palemona and the live performance of Austijeja, who plays songs in a Sami and sensitive way, in Vytėnai, gathered an extremely large number of listeners. The evenings of animated photo projections organized in cooperation with the Kaunas Photography Gallery did not leave anyone indifferent. As last year, the elements were also tested – during one of the concerts, when the jazz duo Anyanya Udongwo and Paulis Stanulionis played, it started to rain from the very first chords. However, even though the event ended in a draw, the audience was even more crowded at the end than at the beginning.
The selection of artistic activities is determined by the yard and its people
“The process takes place in such a way that we first select the performers and put together the program, and then we decide where and in which yard what will take place. And although when choosing a program for a specific space, we take into account the environment and the people who live there, but this does not mean that if the majority of senior citizens live in that place, then classical music will necessarily be played there. Since the organizer of the festival is “Kaunas menininkai namai”, we always want to look for synergies with contemporary art, young artists, with industrial, electronic music”, says Aistė Paukštė, cultural project manager who has been working with him since 2020, about the behind-the-scenes of the festival’s organization.
For example, this year the experimental electronic music performance “Keista bjauri žuvis” was played in Žaliakalny. “The neighbors said: you know, we don’t really listen to this kind of music in our free time, but we studied and adapted ourselves for this performance all week before the concert,” A. Paukštė recalls talking to local residents during the performances.
Photo by Gražvydas Jovaišas/Culture to yards, Palemonas
According to her, it is the performers, their scale, the format of the event that often dictates the choice of venue: “For example, for the opening and closing events of the festival, we are always looking for more spacious places that can accommodate more spectators. And for performances like this year’s piano concert in Vilijampolė, you naturally want to look for a more chamber environment – although, to be honest, a rather large group of listeners gathered for Emilija Rožukaitė’s concert, playing on a piano specially brought to the yard – some came dressed up, sat on brought chairs and spread blankets hospitably inviting those around to sit down, while others listened directly from the house, with open windows or sitting on balconies.”
Events that not only bring together, but also engage
It is no coincidence that every concert of the festival began with a thank you from the organizers, naming specific people from that yard and community who invited culture to their environment and contributed to the organization of the entire event.
As the organizers themselves say, when traveling from yard to yard and from micro-district to micro-district, the differences in audiences and a different microclimate are felt, and the involvement of neighbors is fascinating everywhere.
“I had to watch how after one of the events, two neighbors carried the carpet wrapped up and shared with each other: “But how good this concert is and how the neighbors are taking care of themselves – for the first time in a very long time, I feel needed.” Last year’s festival also had some exciting moments. I remember how we invited the seniors sitting by the staircase to help us with simple tasks like hanging flags. They happily got involved and it was obvious that such a small opportunity to contribute meant a lot to them”, says A. Paukštė.
Photo by Gražvydas Jovaišas/Culture in the yards, Gričiupis
According to the organizer, the neighbors not only helped when asked, but also actively created the program on their own initiative: they treated the guests to delicacies, organized lotteries without losses, decorated the spaces with lights, posters, garlands, and more than one managed to show their talents on stage, for example, to visitors in Dainava Aldona, a singer of original songs who lives here, welcomed her, and a neighbor who invited her to dance with the sounds of the harmonica saw her off.
The “Kultūra į kiemus” festival, which destroys stereotypes about micro-districts and creates discoveries both for the residents of the courtyards and for the Kaunas visiting them, says goodbye until next year. The organizers are looking forward to once again inviting the urban communities to let the culture under their windows and through it create connections, communicate, collaborate and get to know each other.
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2024-09-03 11:11:07
