Vilnius’ modern art MO Museum is presenting a major exhibition Vilnius Poker which is a highlight of the city’s 700th anniversary year, Tourism and Business Development Agency Go Vilnius writes in a press release.
The immersive exhibition invites art enthusiasts to unearth layers of Vilnius through sound, images, and text. Starting in the late Soviet era, the exhibition reflects on the subsequent periods significant for the city’s transformation, divulging the topics that were relevant both in the 1980s and today: a conscious existence, a freedom to think critically and creatively, a fight for intrinsic human rights and values.
The passage through Vilnius in different time frames invites visitors to explore the city’s national and cultural identities and how it has grown into a modern cosmopolis.
The exhibition concept was trusted with Oskaras Koršunovas, one of the most prominent theatre directors in Lithuania, whose work is well known to European audiences.
Art pieces from Lithuanian artists displayed in the exhibition span the period from the 1960s to date, depicting the evergreen ideas of freedom, recollection, selfhood, and the perpetual fight against a metaphysical evil.
Novel depicts Vilnius before the fall of the Soviet Union
The exhibition revolves around Ričardas Gavelis’ novel Vilnius Poker, one of the most significant Lithuanian texts of the last several decades and a pivotal point in building the myth of Vilnius.
After its publication in 1989, the novel became a symbol of breaking free from the Soviet era and attaining the freedom of creativity. The author deconstructed the Soviet reality, choosing sharp angles to discuss jazz, architecture, arts, citizen anthropology, and multiculturalism.
“The novel depicts Vilnius as an intricate, chaotic, dream-like city with nothing specific or real. This was the starting point in creating the exhibition, which is designed like a universal tale, not limited to a specific place or time period,” said Milda Ivanauskienė, head of MO Museum.
“Vilnius Poker at MO Museum is an experience, intended for every spectator’s self-reflection in relation to history, memory, identity, the time and place of existence,” she added.
According to Koršunovas, the different exhibition spaces guide a visitor through a metaphorical Vilnius.
“We travel through the exhibition like a labyrinth and have the freedom for a wide interpretation of the novel, therefore, we have chosen artists who would not illustrate the spaces but interpret them,” he said.
The exhibition Vilnius Poker will be open throughout the entire anniversary year, from April 22 to January 28, 2024.
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