“I believe it is possible to create a reason to communicate in person, to discover one another through conversation. My greatest desire is to ‘pull’ people out of the computer screen and into reality. The idea of art can do that, and I believe it unites us all for this common goal,” said Virginija Vitkiene, then head of the Kaunas Biennial, in the first issue of “Kaunas Full of Culture” in September 2015.
(Text published in the September 2025 issue of “Kaunas Full of Culture” magazine, “Movements”)
In September 2025, as we begin our 11th year, we are once again talking about a phenomenon that is still in Kaunas, still a biennial, and still an invitation into reality. The methods, places, and personalities have changed, but not the idea. V. Vitkiene’s duties and achievements now include heading the “Kaunas – European Capital of Culture 2022” project, without whose ambition, born in the minds of like-minded people wishing the best for their city, this magazine would not exist.
Just this month, Virginija, who also managed to direct the Lithuanian Culture Season in France, begins her leadership at the National M. K. Ciurlionis Museum of Art. We hope to cover this on the magazine’s pages soon. But this time, it’s about the Audra festival’s art program, which has become a bold collaborative project with the museum. A festival whose humble, microscopic beginnings started thumping in the basement of the M. Zilinskas Art Gallery in 2015. The club Lizdas may no longer officially exist, but its spirit is the strongest thing the Kaunas night has.
If you wish, we can go back more than a decade – after all, history repeats itself in cycles, stirring up stagnant waters. And today, active Kaunas resident Saulius Piksrys shares details about the birth of the ecological movement Atgaja. Vytautas Jakelaitis tells us about his motorcycle journey following the paths of interwar adventurers Matas Salcius and Antanas Poska – and illustrates it himself with a century-old camera. Another group of riders in this issue relies solely on their own muscle power – and bananas, lots of bananas. Dancer Oksana Griaznova, who presented a sketch of her performance “Under the Sun” to ConTempo audiences in August, speaks openly about gratitude to her body for all experiences, even painful ones.
For those motivated to keep going after flipping through the whole magazine, there is a collection of tips on how to move culturally in Kaunas. There is also the traditionally packed September calendar, when almost everyone starts their new seasons. Feel free to mark your plans and reasons to connect in it, and you can send your wishes to the editorial team, which is starting its 11th season, on Facebook, Instagram, or by meeting us in person at the Kaunas Culture Fair, the biennial, the philharmonic, a gallery, a museum, a theater, or a factory.
