Go Vilnius presents ART NEEDS NO ROOF – Preview

Posted on by Arts News Contributor

WHEN:

Through July 26th 

WHERE:

Vilnius, Lithuania 

Lithuanian capital Vilnius, partnering with outdoor advertising operator JCDecaux Lietuva, has turned its center into an open-air art gallery using billboards to exhibit 100 works of contemporary Lithuanian artists in the exhibition ART NEEDS NO ROOF. After the three-month quarantine and subsequent cancellation of international events and exhibitions negatively affected local artists, the city has come up with the idea to invite artists to expose their works of art in the city free of charge. 

ART NEEDS NO ROOF includes works of renowned artists, such as Vilmantas Marcinkevičius, Vytenis Jankūnas, Laisvydė Šalčiūtė, Svajonė and Paulius Stanikas (SetP Stanikas), as well as Algis Kriščiūnas and Živilė Žvėrūna. 

"Although art galleries are already open, the restrictions for social gatherings remain in place," said Remigijus Šimašius, the mayor of Vilnius. "Therefore, Vilnius ‘takes its roof off.’ We have turned the city centre into a huge open-air gallery. It is one of the largest art exhibitions in Vilnius containing the works of 100 artists. We hope that the project will stimulate creativity and some works will find their way into people's homes." 

"That could be a whole day trip," Algis Kriščiūnas explained. "Such a day could change the entire perception of the city. I think that this project is a new window to the hearts of the audience. When art is exhibited only in galleries, the artists are excluded from society: not everyone will take time to come and see the exhibition. But the art objects of ART NEEDS NO ROOF will be seen by all people on the street." 

"People had no access to galleries for quite some time," said Jolita Vaitkutė, a young artist whose work may be found on the website. "We still face many challenges, and the ART NEEDS NO ROOF exhibition offers a welcome respite. Not only does it create an opportunity for artists to display their work and reach the audience, [but] it is also an opportunity for the audience to be inspired by pleasant and thought-provoking visuals in unexpected spaces." 

Citizens and guests can use a virtual map from the website to navigate through the exhibition and the city. With the opening of borders inside the EU, Lithuania becomes accessible to foreign visitors. 

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All art objects are for sale. For more information about the exhibition and about the artworks, please visit the ART NEEDS NO ROOF website. 

All images courtesy of JCDecaux Lietuva 

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