KAUNAS FULL OF CULTURE. APRIL 2018

1988

Illustration by AkvilÄ— Magicdust

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Saulius Čemolonskas. Stop kadrai iš Simonos Žemaitytės vaizdo medžiagos.

Illustration by Akvilė Magicdust

1988 was a significant year in all senses: March 10-13 witnessed already the second celebration of Lithuanian rock, and in several months, on June 3rd, an initiative group for the national reform movement, Są jūdis, was elected in Vilnius. A week later, representatives of that group settled in Kaunas as well, at the Architects’ house (Vilniaus g. 22).

This spot provided a substantial link between Są jūdis and rock music, so the next pages of this edition are inevitably taken over by guitars. Oh, did we mention that August 17th, 1988 saw the Lithuanian tricolour flag being legalised?

30 years The whole year was packed with tiny or grand events of rock and punk rock, which obviously weren’t legal or adored by the government for that matter. The climax of it all was the “Purvinoji Žiema” [“Dirty Winter”] festival.

This edition of Kaunas Full of Culture is dedicated to those who danced, performed, played, sang and were involved in other liberating activities around 1988, but mostly to Saulius Čemolonskas, who passed away in August of 2017, in London.

Sadly, we didn’t manage to talk to this break-dancer, DJ, music lover in time. Saulius was always on the avant-garde side of things; he was forced to move west, away from the Soviet claws.

Find a piece called “Matchstick Girl”

by Joel Sarakula on YouTube, and you’ll see a fantastic documentary – free and colourful people, sights, objects captured by Simona Žemaitytė in Kaunas right before the independence was regained. Saulius was at the very epicentre of it. He was part of creating the famous music portal Last.fm in London and acquired thousands of vinyl records, some of which are now probably back at his flat in Kulautuva.

You, the person born around 1988, a bit earlier or slightly later – it’s now all in your hands. Rock on!

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Last year our April issue was dedicated to big beat; the photostory then consisted of snapshots of musicians of that era. Twenty years later, in 1988, the musicians wore more hairspray, more eccentric clothes and the freedom smell was much, much stronger. Let’s take a look at the hottest artists of that time. You’ll read about a few of them later on in the magazine.

Black and white treasures Gunars Bakšejevs

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“Tigro metai” threw their first gig in Vytauto parkas in 1986.

Photo from the band’s archive.

1988. “Dykuma”, the first thrash metal band in Lithuania.

Photo by Benediktas Krikštanas.

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“Nėščios rupūžės” [“Pregnant toads”], or Bitla and Lijana, peforming at the “Purvinoji žiema” [“Dirty winter”] festival.

Photo from Bitla’s archive.

Sitting by “Laumė” cafe. Photo from the archive of “Tigro metai”.

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“Tigro metai” in full bloom. Photo from the band‘s archive.

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“Tigro metai” in full bloom. Photo from the band‘s archive.

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“Tigro metai” in full bloom. Photo from the band‘s archive.

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1989. “33% kiaulių pakeliui į Vatikaną” [“33% of pigs are on their way to the Vatican”].

Photo from the archive of Rytis Bulota.

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1990. Kaunasians in Nida. Photo from the archive of Rytis Bulota.

1990. University carnival party. Photo from the archive of Rytis Bulota.

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H T N O M E H

Rock mileage Daina Dubauskaitė Photos by Dainius Ščiuka

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If anyone stated five, well, maybe seven years ago that Kaunas (Vilnius too) would face a substantial renaissance of guided tours, most people would’ve probably laughed at that. Now it’s quite tricky to pin down when exactly did this change take over, turning guests of Kaunas as well as residents into curious tourists. It’s not easy to admit you don’t know everything there is to know about your hometown.

But once you finally realize it, life gets a lot more interesting.

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One of the trendsetters of this change is an initiative “Gražinkime Kauną” [“Let‘s make Kaunas beautiful”], which started focusing on giving guided tours around Žaliakalnis and city centre after Kaunas became a UNESCO design city. Behind it there are two people who can chat for hours about the Radijo neighbourhood or on the differences between art deco and modernism – Dainius Lanauskas and Jonas Oškinis. We’ll have many occasions to write about Dainius in the future, but let’s leave him inside the Interwar years for now and talk to Jonas. Let ’s listen to him while he guides us along the traces of rock music in Kaunas.

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Before falling into the art deco trap, Jonas was a very well-known journalist in the underground and a relatively known journalist among the elite of the pop music world. He was the first editor-in-chief of Ore.lt, an alternative culture portal, publisher of the KoksNorsKelias zin, chronicler of the rock life. Recently Jonas’ text about Lithuanian music was published in a German book “The Warsaw Pact” [“Warschauer Punk Pakt”] about punk rock in the Soviet block up until the fall of the Berlin wall.

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So this is a tour that the city hasn’t seen before. On March 11th, various admirers of rock music (including yours truly), carrying tiny national flags, explored the first part of the route – from the architects’ house to the “Žinijos” fellowship. There are probably many more ways to walk around the Kaunas of 1988, and Jonas promised to improve the tours, expand them. There’s certainly demand for it – the group was full in advance, and the people taking the tour were very different: participants of the events of those days (even they discovered some things too), their children, just regular Kaunasians or folks from Vilnius who see more than just the album covers. Also, accidental passers-by who joined in, asked the guide questions or added to his stories – it was March the 11th after all.

Walking past the architects’ house, which another article of this edition mentions a lot (along with an interesting story of the initial space at the Pramprojektas institute), we’re listening to Jonas speaking of the “dollar store” in the middle of the Old Town, a hotspot of the fashionistas at that time. We learn the fact that the former Santakos cinema theatre has become the Church of St Sacrament again after the independence was regained – it’s now the only place in Kaunas where people can pray 24/7. Back in those days, it was a cinema with certain movies on, the kind of films that aimed to trigger your Soviet microchip inside your head.

Those who miss modernism will be happy to hear that the Kaunas Central Post Office plays an essential role in this story – it was the place where the Kaunas Rock Club was founded; bands like Tigro Metai, Orkus, Piligrimas and Dykuma used to rehearse here. Next to the post of-

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fice, another spot greets us – the café at the Tadas Ivanauskas Zoological Museum, where bohemians used to gather for more than 30 years. Even today, they still come here, because a club Raudona ZOOna is open on some days. City garden is right here too, the place of Romas Kalanta’s self-immolation. All this had a significant influence on how Lithuanian music would sound in the future.

Going further down Laisvės Avenue, most people probably don’t even see Elfų Šėlsmas, a location that used to be so famous for memorable parties, and bands like Rebelheart or Syndrom of Chaos can call it home.

Reaching Maironis street, we need to prepare our imaginations for this fact: the building on the left was once Orbita, the absolute best nightclub of the Union. Legends tell us that everyone from Russian popstars Boris Moiseev to Alla Pugacheva to Lithuanian rock legend Andrius Mamontovas performed or at least danced here. Is it just another coincidence that much later a nightclub Exit was opened just a few steps away? It was also known a thousand miles around Kaunas, but that’s a separate story.

Now let’s look to the right: the shop selling backpacks and handbags, during the Soviet occupation, was called Plokštelinė [Record spot] and was making the hearts of music lovers beat faster. Two people from the tour quickly confirm that they remember running to Plokštelinė whenever someone told them a new record has arrived.

Handbags are replaced by shoes, and records by the Laumė café. Cheap coffee and tolerance for younger crowds were what turned this place into a hotspot of hippies, punks, metal heads, writers, poets and other artsy or off-key individuals.

Signboard of „Orbita“ restaurant.

Photo by Teodoras Biliūnas.

No Merkurijus too, but imagining it is made easier because a shopping mall was a place that hundreds of thousands frequented. Jonas turns to YouTube to show us a music video by a disco/rock/breakdancing/pop chameleon Egidijus Sipavičius. The clip was shot right in this former mall, look for it on YouTube – “Sipavičius breikas”.

Still relevant, the fur-changing Kaunas Artists’ House was also known as “the Arts” 30 and more years back, and Rytis Bulota tells us about the action around this building and in the cafeteria Pakalnė (sadly, it didn’t

leave any traces of its existence) in another article of this edition. The next spot on V. Putvinskio street is the bar Kava-ledai [Coffee-Ice cream], which was referred to simply as “Kibiras” [“Bucket”] among friends.

On top of the hill is the Jonas Jablonskis gymnasium, where one of the few girl bands, Summerland, rehearsed. Another one was Nėščios Rupūžės [Pregnant Toads] – what I would give to see them in concert or at least find a poster of them…

I mentioned the “Žinijos” fellowship on purpose – even before the independence was regained, a renowned journalist Virginijus Mizaras used to give lectures here about rock music and organise album listening sessions. Close to the fellowship, in a kindergarten, a legendary black metal band Nahash used to rehearse, or so do people say.

This is the end of the Kaunasian rock tour’s first part, and I’m very much looking forward to part two.

Let’s meet at the Kaunas Sports Hall, where Die Toten Hosen once performed.

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We couldn’t count the number of bands, collectives, poems or novels that started right here. It would be great if someone like the late Neringa Jonušaitė, who published a book about the Neringa café in Vilnius, would do the same for Laumė or Tulpė, a jazz café just a bit further down Laisvės Avenue, marked by a few pavement tiles today. Even though this memorial is indeed very subtle, it’s still valuable, whereas Laumė has nothing to remind folks of it.

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To a part of our readers, Rytis Bulota is a lecturer of political philosophy at VMU. Others might know him as the bass player of Mountainside, and some remember him from the project “33% kiaulių pakeliui į Vatikaną” [“33% of pigs are on their way to the Vatican”]. During the blockade period, Mountainside used to rehearse in Neveronys, at a greenhouse factory, and since the buses weren’t frequent due to the lack of gas, Rytis used to go to those rehearsals on a bike. He met Saulius Čemolonskas there, who charmed the whole Kaunas with his breakdancing and style. This sort of charm helped to get the keys to a space in Kulautuva, where intensive jam sessions and rehearsals by various bands took place.

Hipster before it was cool, or go get a haircut, Bulota Kotryna Lingienė and Kęstutis Lingys Photos by Donatas Stankevičius, taken at B2O bar (Gedimino g. 30)

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Even though three decades have passed since he had a Mohawk, Rytis has a phenomenal photographic memory and a retrospective conscience. When asked about the events he didn’t take part in, he doesn’t interpret the facts in his own way, instead he mentions a few people who could tell a better story about 1988, about the “Purvinoji žiema” [“Dirty winter”] festival that took place in the former radio factory.

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“I think I’m the only one left still playing music from all of those people”, Rytis laughs. He admits that he wasn’t at the legendary concert of Sonic Youth in Vilnius in 1989 as he had to study. His friend Vaidas Iškrypėlis [Vaidas the Pervert] came back from the capital wearing a Sonic Youth T-shirt – the one Kim Gordon wore on stage…

You were 16 in 1988. What was teenage life like in Kaunas?

I’ve actually spent a lot of time in Vilnius too since my cousins lived there.

I remember the underground of the capital – hanging around Pilies street, seeing folks like Atsuktuvas [Screwdriver] or Varveklis [Icicle] with their Mohawks. It all looked unreal. Slightly scary, weird, and at the same time very interesting.

during a punk rock festival. Watching the band perform, I told my friend that “we could easily do that”. That’s how we started playing. Our heads were filled with hippy ideas, Led Zeppelin and blues at the time. For example, we’d find a friend’s father who worked at a company with a suitable room or a hall. Then you’d get to know the people working there and find a way to buy the equipment. It was chaos. We played music without having a band name and did it next to the musical theatre, at some research institute. The attic even had a leisure room.

We were hanging around Laumė in 1988 already. Vaidas Iškrypėlis was my neighbour from Aukštieji Šančiai; he approached us once and said that he’s organising a festival and we should perform. We told him that we play blues music and this was a punk rock event, but he didn’t really care. With a few months left until the festival, we tried out something more punk rocky and got hooked. Our name was Pionieriaus Garbės Žodis [Pioneer’s Word of Honour], and we used to get on stage wearing Pioneer neckties. So we played during the Purvinoji žiema festival and that was something incredible to us.

The main difference between Vilnius and Kaunas back then was that the punks and the metal heads of Vilnius were two separate groups, whereas in Kaunas the whole of underground was a united community. When I first came to Trestas, one of my classmates started breakdancing. I used to go with him to rehearsals, and to shows later in Trestas. I started spending time with the people sitting next to Laumė café.

Was there any censorship by the government at that time?

When Perestroika hit, censorship became much looser. For instance, the band Akvarium was founded in Russia in 1972, but it released its first official record over a dozen years later, when the term “rock music” was no longer a taboo. Don’t get me wrong – you could still be beaten up by the police, but that was already their own choice rather than a state-issued rule.

I think it was 1987, we went to Vilnius for a Graždanskaja Abarona concert

I remember getting in trouble at school in 1987 because of my hair. It

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was probably 1989 when I came back after the summer with long hair and was told to cut it. Instead, I got a Mohawk. The deputy headmaster wasn’t happy at all… They were cross with me, but they couldn’t do anything officially anymore.

How would you explain the phenomenon of the government saying yes to rock music, and then it was the same music that crushed the regime? It’s obvious now, but people didn’t realise that if they could express themselves in such groups, they would definitely unite and fight for themselves.

Quite the Pandora’s box you’ve opened there! I touched on these subjects in my thesis. There was an economic as well as an ideological crisis before Perestroika, and people were completely apathetic. At first it seemed like Gorbachev was just a continuation of Andropov, so the KGB and the military-industrial complex supported him. But when he started acting against the corrupt nomenklatura, he had to get the approval of the people. So he allowed informal organisations to blossom in order to earn points. The reason for the collapse of the Soviet Union was nationalism – Gorbachev didn’t expect Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians to unite in such a spectacular manner.

Talking about rock music, the government didn’t realise that most Western rockers were total lefties.

As Havel said, it was jeans and rock music that brought the system to an end, but the government was preoccupied with getting territories back and strengthening the regime. They never saw the danger of subcultures.

But was it jeans or the will of some people to wear them? Not all 16-year-olds were driven by nationalistic feelings…

I think everything blended into one pot, not just consumerism or patriotism – every element acted together to result in a bomb-like reaction. In the West, hippies were the left-leaning ones, and here they were right-wingers. The same was with punk rock: ours was closer to the skinhead culture, not the real Nazis, rather apolitical punks who understood anarchy as the freedom to party. It wasn’t a left-oriented movement at all.

When the independence was regained and the January events were behind us, what happened to the music protests?

Those who organised the big events were fans of rock music – Dovydas Bluvšteinas, Margarita Starkevičiūtė, Gintautas Babravičius, Algirdas Kaušpėdas… That’s why the music that united us was rock, but some of the musicians were apolitical, so when the situation got calmer, the events faded away.

I’d say cognitive dissonance took over Kaunas – those geezers with tracksuits were going to “rock marches” and having a blast even though they hated that kind of music. They’d usually kick the asses of someone looking like the musicians on stage. Rock music lost its effect on Kaunas when market economy started up, and the music productions of “Popcentras” were now the thing for the masses. In other words, rock music was a victim of trending.

Do you remember your life changing after March the 11th? Did something change in school?

I was in 12th grade at the time. All of us were brought to classes of military preparation. I remember major Pakalka telling us that we’re stupid to believe Vytautas Landsbergis

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How soon did it change? How long until the teachers started putting pins of Lithuanian flags in their clothes? Five years?

Two years.

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who promised us that we’re not going to serve in the army. The major thought we all will! Some teachers weren’t sure about the whole situation changing for the better, so they didn’t seem truly happy. Things don’t happen overnight. Of course, it was a big deal for us all.

Ha. When you finished school, were there any opportunities to go abroad, go West? Or did you not plan on it?

After March the 11th, they would still take you to the Soviet army, so everyone tried to get into the university, whatever it took. I had to spend some time at my grandpa’s after school since I was already an adult but not a student anywhere. One of my friends was serving somewhere in Central Asia at the time. He ran off to Lithuania right after the independence was regained – he had to live as an army fugitive here, in a friend’s basement.

I got into VMU; I was part of the second generation of the renewed university. After our first year, my course mates went to Denmark and they talked me into going with them as a guest student. I spent a year and a half there, and went to Norway after starting my master’s studies. I didn’t plan on going abroad, but it just happened.

Staying in Scandinavia wasn’t something I wanted to do since all of my friends lived in Lithuania. I was feeling terrible about drinking Scandinavian beer while my friends and my band were partying back home in Kaunas. It was actually very comfortable to live in Denmark then, because people didn’t have central

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heating during the winter in Kaunas, no hot water too. But this city was just so fun!

For example, we once organised a party in the VMU hall with my course mate Darius Baltušis. We grabbed some large speakers and just created a disco. For free, of course, out of passion. No one organised such parties for money in those days.

What kind of people would go to such discos?

The students at VMU and our friends. We had a big circle of partygoers, from Laumė to Trestas and Kaunas Artists’ House. There was enough of punk rock around us, but those punks should probably be called hipsters now. If you looked like people in the West, you were instantly considered to be a punk. Now everyone looks like a punk according to those views!

When did Laumė close?

It died out gradually. During the Soviet times, there weren’t many cafés and restaurants, and we couldn’t get in as minors. So Laumė was kind of a hanging out spot – you’d sit outside and get inside to feel warmer.

When the weather was better, you’d go to the artists’ house and shock the older generation of artists who were hippies. We could organise a solid “group hang” very quickly – 50 faces would just show up instantly.

When regular bars and cafés were opened, there was no need to gather next to Laumė. Also, some people started studying, others worked, country walls were brought down and everything changed.

What were the new regular bars?

We visited a cafeteria called Pakalnė and the Kaunas University of Technology’s cafeteria next to the war museum. Beer was being sold every-

1988. „Pionieriaus Garbės Žodis“ [„Pioneer’s Word of Honour“] performing at the „Purvinoji žiema“ [„Dirty winter“] festival.

Photo from the archive of Rytis Bulota.

where. When the cafeteria closed for the day, the ladies let us sit there. Pakalnė worked longer, and we used to stay there for quite a bit. The name for our band Mountainside was born out of this cafeteria’s title.

An exhibition of Igor Moukhin’s photos from the Perestroika period was organised at the Kaunas Photography Gallery. We talked to him about assembling those people for new portraits. He said he would not do that for various reasons. For example, some of those individuals are now politicians, businesspeople and so on.

Are there any people from your circle who, in many ways, have “outgrown” the rock culture?

Quite the opposite! No shame in that – we all feel proud for partying so hard during our young days. Of course, some people from the Laumė days went down the horrible path of drugs, but others are doing fantastic, like Liutauras Varanavičius. He was the manager of the first Lithuanian trash metal band Dykuma, an activist of the freedom movement, later he became a banker and the head of the football federation!

At the university, the spirit is still alive. You know, if I would make some of these memories public, I’d probably make some money. But I keep my work and my music separate.

What are you listening to now?

Are you keeping up with Lithuanian rock?

I now listen to extreme metal or jazz, avant-garde music. I don’t keep up with Lithuanian rock, but the band Abii really surprised me. It’s a duo of a drummer and a guitarist-singer. Using a music software, it could be progressive rock, but it’s also so contemporary, and the guys are totally in touch with their feminine side. When you’re listening to a lot of Western music, it’s easy to trace where the ideas came from for most Lithuanian bands. But now I wouldn’t differentiate the music into foreign and local – we all have equal opportunities today in terms of quality.

Why didn’t Lithuania develop a strong rock culture? Was it because of the market economy you mentioned?

I think even Romas Kalanta had something to do with it. Just imagine – it’s 1972, the whole underground is being strangled, and Hiperbolė becomes the biggest rock band. The scene was too small, like in Russia – you had to attract large crowds to the underground to change something. Actually, Russian rock had a big influence on us. Nėrius Pečiūra sees Graždanskaja Abarona as the apogee of punk rock – you take a guitar, start hitting some chords

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and put everything you have into the lyrics. That’s why sung poetry is so popular in Lithuania: the music wasn’t evolving, only the lyrics.

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1990. “33% kiaulių pakeliui į Vatikaną” [“33% of pigs are on their way to the Vatican”].

Photo from the archive of Rytis Bulota.

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You’ve mentioned jazz, and April is the month of Kaunas Jazz.

When the festival was born in 1991, you were studying at VMU – did you go to concerts?

Yes, we could go to the events for free as VMU students. Jazz was interesting to us, we would listen to it even when we were punks. That same guy Vaidas Iškrypėlis showed the early works of King Crimson to me, but there weren’t many live events to choose from.

I’d say we were hipsters before it was cool. Since there was nowhere to go, we got hooked on horrible Lithuanian pop music. I remember organising a party of Lithuanian music with the mentioned Darius Baltušis around 1991; we even dressed up like in the 1970s. I took my mother’s crimplene shorts, boots with high heels… We marched through Laisvės Avenue, and people looked at us more surprised than they would when I had a Mohawk.

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Or, for instance, a Stasys Povilaitis concert at the National Kaunas Drama Theatre. No one came, maybe ten elderly aunts in the audience.

The whole scenography consisted of a single chair on the stage, and Povilaitis was lip-syncing while a bunch of us punks and metal heads were shouting “Stasys, you’re the man!”. We asked for his signature, one friend got his T-shirt signed. We entertained ourselves as well as we could. Maybe someone could see that as making fun of the singer, and that is partly true, but perhaps we gave a start to his new popularity wave.

Back to jazz. I’m now interested to analyse just what did I listed to back then and how little I understood. I started really getting Miles Davis’ album Bitches Brew only after listening to it 30 times and learning how it was recorded.

Recently the bar Antri Namai hosted the 30th birthday party of the Kaunas underground.

Were you there?

I wasn’t, but I saw that PuntoJazz will show the movie “Lietuva – tai jėga” [“Lithuania is the thing”] in April. I’ll probably go.

Out of sentiment?

Absolutely. It’s interesting to remember everything now, to compare it.

For example, the discussed Nėrius Pečiūra wanted to erase the fact that his nickname was Atsuktuvas [Screwdriver] after the rock boom died down – he thought that would interfere with his music career, but he still kept on being a punk on stage! Now, when punk rock is popular again, and when it already became part of history, why not use it all today? No shame in that. However, in Kaunas, punk rock was more of an ideology than a musical genre.

There are no records left of it, but that might be a good thing.

Talking about the present, what band would take the role of an inspirer if Lithuania would find itself in Ukraine’s situation, god forbid?

I believe it would be G&G Sindikatas.

They have close connections to the punk rock culture too. I remember recording one of the first demos of Mountainside in a Vilnius studio called Porno Sound. Kastytis Sarnickas, aka Kastetas, was working there.

He mentioned someone invited him to join a hip hop band even though he knows nothing about that music. Hip hop was relevant to us at the time, so we urged him to join the band. It was G&G Sindikatas, obviously.

Ah, the records. Where would you buy them?

During the Soviet years, one spot was a basement in front of the officers’ club. A famous list of bands hanged there – bands that weren’t recommended for the Soviet listener. Punk rock bands were on that list, even though bands like The Clash were complete lefties. Julio Iglesias was referred to as a neo-fascist. You’d bring your cassette to that spot and you’d select a band from the official list… and the unofficial one, which had Iron Maiden, Sex Pistols and so on.

Other spots were in flats – old guys had some great equipment, they’d get good music and would copy it to others. I think it cost three rubles to copy a cassette. Another source of music was the Polish radio as these sort of bands weren’t banned in Poland. Lithuanian bands like Bix used to “borrow” some musical ideas and elements not from Jamaican musicians but from the bands of our neighbouring country.

Another breaking point was in the 1990s – I was visiting a friend in Prague, and Šarūnas Karalius, president of the Bix fan club, admirer of the band Pavement, came to Prague straight from the Roskilde festival in Denmark. He said “Rytis, dance music! Wow!”. And he started playing dance music with his colleague Povilas at Pakalnė – they became the RyRalio duo…

When Šarūnas brought techno music from Denmark to Kaunas via Prague, did it replace live music here?

It’s hard for me to comment on that as I was living in Scandinavia. As far as I know, the musical climate changed around 1995 here. But that’s another story.

Maybe that’ll be another edition of Kaunas Full of Culture! But what can we expect from Mountainside?

Actually, we just recorded an album, and designer Linas Gliaudelis – the same pal that Povilaitis signed a T-shirt for – will make a cover for us. Dovydas Bluvšteinas and Zona will publish it. It should be ready in autumn.

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“If he can‘t see at least ten years ahead, don‘t call him an architect”, Frank Lloyd Wright once noted. One of the first taboos that journalists learn about is starting a text with a quote. But this story is about a period when rules were being broken, and about the people who had more professional freedom than writers. It’s about the young generation of Kaunas architects in the 1980s.

Freedom, rock music and Są jūdis.

The architects of Kaunas

By Paulius Tautvydas Laurinaitis In picture: New Year’s Party at the Architect’s house.

Photo by Romualdas Požerskis.

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Their new creative impulses and architectural expression forms would probably require a separate article, so I’ll come back to this topic. Today, let’s look at their life at the time: the relationship with freedom, rock and roll, resistance and Sąjūdis (the Reform Movement of Lithuania). In 1988, the initiative group of the Kaunas Sąjūdis was formed in the hall of the former architects’ house, which is now a café Galeria Urbana, where four architects of Kaunas told me stories about the symbolic moments of the 1980s and beyond. Meet Neringa Blaževičienė, Loreta Janušaitienė, Audra Kaušpėdienė and Gintaras Prikockis.

At first, let’s go back almost a century – 1922 is considered to be the beginning of modern Lithuanian architecture. This is the year when an architecture department was founded at the technology faculty of the University of Lithuania. Also, future architects-engineers were given scholarships to study abroad, and they brought back architectural tendencies from various places in Europe. This was the base for Interwar architecture, which we now know to be one of the important symbols of the modern Lithuanian spirit. The occupations resulted in most local architects spreading all around the world, but those who stayed tried to keep the traditions alive. The Soviet government wanted to get rid of every trace of the temporary capital’s culture. In 1950, one of the most important cultural destinations – Vytautas Magnus University – was split into two institutes of technological nature: polytechnics and medicine. However, architects did stay at the former Kaunas Polytechnics Institute, and their work was closely linked to culture after all. Perhaps this had a particular , Institute of communal economy planning , Institute of urban planning

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influence on the city, because largescale Stalin-like interventions almost didn’t touch the face of Kaunas, and the town kept its style of lower structures.

We can be sure that the 1971 decision to move the architecture department to the newly built engineering institute in Vilnius was a massive blow to the cultural community of Kaunas. But the ideas of the Lithuanian architectural school were still active – some lecturers didn’t like this move and they urged students to go to work in Kaunas, where local institutes for architectural design were growing fast. Our protagonists say Vytautas J. Dičius stood out as the primary motivator, and Audra even refers to him as “the ambassador of Kaunas”. V. J. Dičius was responsible for a strong team of young architects forming in the city – this group of professionals not only had interesting individual ideas and discoveries, they were also active in other fields. The migration of architects to Kaunas started in the middle of the 1970s and continued for a decade. Children of the Lithuanian architectural school returned home, to Kaunas.

Before Perestroika, any real architectural design work was only possible at certain institutes. In the middle of the 1970s, Audra was appointed to work at one, so was Neringa, Gintaras and Loreta. A whole bunch of architects moved or came back to Kaunas: Vytautas Makaraitis, Algirdas Kaušpėdas, Algimantas Kančas, Kęstutis Kisielius, Eugenijus Miliūnas and others. The atmosphere at architectural design institutes wasn’t completely free – Neringa remembers coming back from vacation and finding a suspicious person “looking for something” at the office. Howev-

Communist party building.

Photo from the archive of N. Lukšionytė.

er, the Kaunas Architects’ Association (KAA) was a relatively free place, and 1980 saw a Young Architects Section (YAS) being established – it was a club for new ideas and leisure, connecting architects from all institutes. Therefore, a free underground existed right next to the stricter bureaucratic structures of the institutes, and some of the ideas born at the association or the club would find their way to those same institutes. Gintaras sceptically remembers some talks about demolishing Soboras as an occupational symbol or reconstructing it for new functions – this idea came from the Interwar period. Architecture was a freer form of expression than any art forms of those days. Audra states that they weren’t pressured much by any ideology, remembering a quote from Sergei Dovlatov: “We didn’t have to write poems about oil suckers”. Even at the institutes, the take on ideological affairs wasn’t very serious. Loreta explains that when a 3

new person would join her institute, the initiation ritual was simply to assign him the duties of the communist secretary (Komsomol representative): “When I came to the institute, there were only three young communists left there, and they were offered to quit the communist youth organisation. They did. The head of the city’s Komsomol had no other choice but to close down the organisation’s activities for the institute. We, the youngsters, were laughing at such a successful trick”.

Around the same time that YAS was founded, a legendary room for young architects was established on Pramprojektas institute’s 11th floor, where the KAA was located. “What do you do as an architect if you need space?

You create it. We created a leisure room since the public spaces weren’t suitable for it”, Audra remembers the story of the “black room”. This was a spot to discuss and exchange ideas, and older architects used to frequent

, Industrial building design institute

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it too. Soon, artists of Kaunas discovered this room, and the epicentre of the active underground was now at the highest place of New Town.

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Audra Kaušpėdienė, Jurga Ivanauskaitė and Arvydas Juozaitis in 1989.

Photo from the archive of Audra Kaušpėdienė.

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Still, this imposing space became most famous for its parties. For example, the New Year’s Eve celebration in December 1984 witnessed a debut of a one-day musical project Folksvagenai, which later came back as the famous band Antis. Neringa talks about the contrasts of that evening: “Antis burst out of the context and surprised everyone. There was a contest for groups from different institutes. No particular performance stood out, I remember some girls doing a dance-shadow play with a polyethene curtain. Antis were the last ones to perform – when Algirdas Kaušpėdas brought out an iron bed, wearing crucifixes on his sunglasses, the whole place exploded”. Audra adds: “There was also a men’s choir called Golden Penis…”. Antis, the winners of that contest, performed again, alone, on International Women’s Day (March 8th) – the phenomenon continued right up until the famous “rock marches”. Audra notes that it was Audrys Karalius’ idea to form a band for New Year’s Eve, while A. Kaušpėdas wanted to be the vocalist and the composer behind it.

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In 1985, both KAA and YAS moved to their present home in the Old Town.

Audra and Gintaras say that Alvydas Steponavičius, head of the KAA, was the person responsible for this move, along with Algirdas Kaušpėdas and Erdvilas Tamoševičius as the help.

Working as an architect requires a balance between individual and team work, and this is entirely illustrated by a memory by Gintaras about one of his first projects: “We wanted to create a club for young architects in the basement, where everyone would bring their chair from home”.

All of the discussions, exhibitions, parties and other cultural activities also moved to the new building.

When A. Kaušpėdas moved to Vilnius, A. Karalius became the secretary of KAU and he continued the traditions of the architects’ house. It was the attic of this very building that became the home to one of the first architectural design companies independent from institutes – Archprojektas.

Unsurprisingly, the new hall of the association was the place for the initial group of Kaunas Sąjūdis to be formed in 1988. This was a result of A. Kaušpėdas’ work both as an architect and as a figure of the reform movement. The initial group of Kaunas Sajūdis had many architects in it, and Česlovas Stankevičius – senior engineer of Miestprojektas institute –

became the head of the council of the reform movement in Kaunas. He later went on to become one of the signatories of the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania. Č. Stankevičius spread the spirit of the reform to other institutes as well – Gintaras remembers a support group for the movement being founded in another institute after Česlovas gave a speech there.

One of the most significant events from the late 1980s in Kaunas was the Sąjūdis protest near the central committee office, against erecting a new structure in front of the church of St Gertrude. Two architects – Irma Grigaitienė and Irena Vaškelienė – were working on the renovation of that church, while a few decision-makers in Vilnius wanted to have a new building for the communist party right next to it, this way placing the church inside a closed yard. The protest quickly moved to the construction site, and Neringa remembers people disassembling bricks and demolishing the structures of the new communist building that was being built. Audra says that I. Grigaitienė was ready “to lie inside the foundation pit” if it would come to that. The residents of Kaunas, together with this group of architects, achieved their goal – the building was never finished.

Loreta also talks about a silent method of protest by some of the older architects: “Vytautas Kugevičius told us how they received the order to cover the Lithuanian symbols on Lietuvos bank, but the architects made sure that this wasn’t an architectural invasion and that the artwork could be easily restored in the future”.

Neringa remembers the second half of the 1980s, when she started working at the Bangos factory. The factory was operating intensively at the Christ‘s 4

Resurrection Church that was then divided into five floors: “Before architects got here, the factory was full of chaos – if someone needed a door, they would smash a hole in the wall.

The construction workers almost cut two important cords inside the walls, but when the old constructor [it was probably J. Meškauskas] arrived, he told them that the whole building would collapse if they did that”. By the way, I spoke on the phone with the senior architect of Banga factory at the time, Henrikas Žukauskas.

He assured me that even though the church suffered a lot, the people in charge of converting it to a factory worked in such a way that getting the church its function back would be easy; the main structure wasn’t harmed at all. The employees of the factory were urged to vote against giving the church back to the people, but they all voted for it. Neringa tells us that her mother used to buy brickshaped pins as a child to support the reconstruction of the church. She still has them at home.

Freedom never left Kaunas, and this is just a small part of the story about the people who were truly active during the discussed period. The whole story of those young architects is not yet written, although it was their work that reflected the freedom and the protests against the established forms. “Just like during the Interwar years, our generation of architects spoke through their work, through chasing new winds and watching the trends abroad”, Gintaras says. It’s a parallel and a contrast at the same time: the architects of the Interwar period brought their ideas back from the schools in Europe, while their students from Kaunas of the 1980s used to surf through the rare magazines and wait to win contests to go on a work trip”.

, Fired for increasing the height of Vytautas church tower and then started working in PRPI.

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KEKS is moving on up. The first forum for experiences

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When preparing to meet Ana Čižauskienė, a member of the team at Kaunas – European Capital of Culture (KEKS) 2022, we had to think about how this cultural celebration is linked to the theme of this edition, which rotates around the year 1988. The answer wasn’t clear at first. But talking to Ana, who’s responsible for the European Capital of Culture Forum at Žalgiris Arena amphitheatre on May 18-19, also reading the memories of a punk-cum-academic Rytis Bulota, taking interest in Jonas Oškinis’ map of 1988 – all this led to a natural observation. We’re doing this so no one would have to look for all the lost pieces after a few decades, to trace people down all around the world or to interpret facts in completely different ways to get a grip on what was going on right now.

We don’t want fresh, healthy, profound initiatives to become short flashes in our history; we want them to be much more sustainable. That’s what Kaunas 2022 is for. The city got the title of the culture capital for 2022 almost exactly a year ago, on March 29th, 2017.

So we’re chatting with Ana about the events in May and the first year of the KEKS project.

Gunars Bakšejevs Photos by Artūras Bulota

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Does the process of getting to know these residents result in more unplanned projects?

2018 was supposed to be a year of two significant events – a forum and a youth camp that was discussed in the February edition of this magazine, but we’ve just celebrated the International Day of Happiness, which has spontaneously grown into quite a big deal.

We hope that other culture capitals will join our celebration next year.

The forum is like a trampoline leading to a more in-depth discussion about the programme, also to building a more extensive international network. Three lines dominate the agenda: how can members of the cultural sector collaborate with one another, with other areas, with the government more effectively? How can we strengthen the link between culture and the residents? How can we make our international connections more substantial?

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In April of last year, did your team have any idea about the scale of the work in 2018?

Well, we didn’t plan on resting, so we rolled our sleeves right away. Compared to some other culture capitals that received their title relatively late, we had the luxury of time, but that’s why we set a whole bunch of big-scale optimistic goals and we didn’t want to waste any of the time. Indeed, we didn’t think the growth of the project would be so rapid. We’re looking for balance in the field of strategic planning by creating bonds with the residents of Kaunas and Kaunas District, also with various interest groups that are active here.

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Do you plan the forum to become annual?

So far, we haven’t decided on whether we’ll organise the forum next year.

Maybe on a local level. 2020 will defi-

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nitely see an international forum.

However, local people are valuable to us just as much as the guests, so we’ve invited a lot of representatives to the first forum from various communities and cultural institutions, the Lithuanian Sea Museum, MO Museum in Vilnius, Palace of the Grand Dukes and so forth. We know they do enough good work to share the lessons with the rest of us.

I think we pay too little attention to what our colleagues are doing since we’re so involved with our problems.

This forum provides the opportunity to exchange knowledge, talk about the issues, share some successful solutions and just be more accessible to one another. I dream of this forum becoming interesting an open to every resident, not just the ones from the cultural sector.

Sometimes, when you take a few steps in another direction, it becomes harder to understand what the residents should know about the KEKS project. Should it be about their leisure time? How will they experience the effects of KEKS? Our aim is for the residents to know that they’re living in a culture capital. However, at times people need an entirely different thing, so I’d like to have less individuals that think culture is just not for them. To do that, we need to crush stereotypes, bring culture closer (sometimes geographically) using exciting ideas.

I’ve recently been in Limerick, a city in Ireland. Limerick didn’t win the European title, but the whole city was pleased with the national culture capital programme it prepared. A detailed examination showed how the programme affected the residents, and 70% of respondents said the event that made them feel the proudest was

a colourful event with a main character – a giant grandma doll that “settled” in Limerick. The creators of the programmes initiate a lot of significant educational, social and change projects, but sometimes a parade like this one is what creates a great value.

One doesn’t interfere with the other, does it? The parade of Šančiai is an excellent example of that: when the people from Žemieji Šančiai walked through the whole city, the parade didn’t stop there – the community still meets and I’ve even heard that an opera about Šančiai is being created.

Some can admire the spectacle, others can delve deeper.

Absolutely. The community of Žemieji Šančiai inspires us – we’d like this example to spread, and the form doesn’t really matter. What matters is creating the right conditions, pro-

viding suitable opportunities and encouraging people to feel included by giving them the needed tools.

There are talks about the negative side of engaging the communities directly into growing the cultural field. A part of the residents would rather have a new contemporary art centre in Kaunas. What’s the solution here?

That’s exactly where we wish to find the right balance, as we definitely want the programme to reflect a variety of interests and choices. The parade doesn’t mean there won’t be any exhibitions of high-quality professional art – on the contrary, we need this programme to be clear and meaningful to a range of different groups of people. Kaunas will be a ballet capital for one person and a parade capital for another.

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Compared to other culture capitals, our budget is not big at all. But we can’t compromise on the quality of the programme, therefore we need to ensure that it all pays off – and there are many ways to measure that. For example, take tourism. We often hear the opinion that KEKS is a typical culture project for a tiny group of people, however that couldn’t be further from the truth.

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The programme is financed by the budgets of the city and country, even though you’re looking for closer collaborations with the business companies as well, right? Do you know how much the KEKS project will cost for one taxpayer?

The input of the municipalities is counted according to the number of residents and is approximately €40 for one person, for the whole period of six years. €40 seems a small amount of money for your child’s education for six years, right? So keeping in mind the effects of this programme and all the positive outcomes, we believe it’s a relatively small investment.

How many people can visit the forum?

There are 350 “seats”, and we’re glad that all of them are probably going to be taken. Taking part is free, people can even pick a specific workshop, but those are almost all fully booked. Among those who’ve already registered, like representatives from social initiatives, community centres, non-governmental organisations, there are a surprising number of businesspeople too. Some participants enrolled a long time ago, whereas others are only doing it now.

The KEKS project is moving on up, and the forum is one of the events that will let us talk about the future.

It would be tough to set up a solid programme without a total involvement of the cultural sector in the

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year 2022. It’s not too late to get to know each other yet. Our team is now busy with work that’s not that visible to the people yet – so far we’re spending just a small part of our time to construct plans of concrete cultural events. We’re now focusing more on implementing the vision during its different stages, on things we wish to accomplish in the long term. Which organisations should get involved more? What kind of partnerships do we need to ensure our plans are successful? We can’t start everything right this very moment, but it’s crucial to hear various initiators out.

It’s important to listen to your critics too, don’t you think?

Sure, one of the biggest risks for culture capitals is having specific groups of people feeling left out. There are usually many critics of these programmes, and most of them use this opportunity to express their positions – such programmes are a straightforward target. Part of it could be due to misinterpreting the goals, miscommunication, but some people might be playing a strategic game as well. But it’s evident that everyone wants for the city to benefit – the ways towards that can be different, that’s why we try to work with as many people as we possibly can.

Representatives of cities that were culture capitals before (like Liverpool) are also taking part in the forum as speakers, along with individuals from Valetta and Leeuwarden-Friesland (both hold the title in 2018). How did you pick the people to invite?

After winning the title, Kaunas automatically became part of the network for culture capitals, and representatives of former, present and future capitals meet on a regular basis. Some teams of these programmes part ways when the title year is over, others continue the projects. Liverpool

and Stavanger are celebrating their 10th anniversary of the title year, and members of both teams – as well as their heads – are coming to Kaunas.

Why Liverpool? This city is mentioned in various research papers and conferences, since this project had the most detailed and thoroughly analysed examination. One member of the culture capitals’ committee is the head of this examination, and she evaluated Kaunas’ application too.

Do Kaunas and Liverpool have many things in common?

Many cities with their representatives visiting the forum have stories that are similar to the one of Kaunas.

Many places have lived through the transformation from a post-industrial destination to a cultural, creative centre. The title year for Liverpool overlapped with a substantial economic growth – the British government was actively supporting the region at the time. This project became a breaking point for city residents to see their region anew. Being proud of your hometown is at the core of being a culture capital. In Liverpool’s case, this was more than just a cultural project; it was a social programme of a massive scale. Since then, the applications to get the title added new criteria. Liverpool was actually the place to connect with businesses on a whole other level. Lewis Biggs, a member of the KEKS team who’s pretty known in Kaunas, and his colleague Neil Peterson will speak more of such collaborations during the forum.

You’ve mentioned businesspeople registering to the forum. Apart from visibility and respect, what do they care about in the KEKS project?

We think about this a lot as we want to create healthy bonds with the business world, long-term relationships that would have a positive effect on

the entire cultural sector. Today, the collaboration level is minimal – not many conversations, even though the whole cultural sector now speaks the economic jargon. We’d like to bust a few myths, look for mutual benefits in the context of this programme, create new models of cooperation.

It’s probably complex to look for parallels with a business culture of England that’s hundreds of years old.

I agree. Anyway, the culture capitals carry a strong emotional factor, including an element of patriotism that unites a region. Businesses tend to respond to this since the programme guarantees an enormous reach.

Words like “business”, “commerce” have many negative shades in the collective mind of Lithuanians, especially concerning the cultural sector. Is the KEKS project capable of changing this?

I hope it can add to the change. I have no problem understanding the fears people have, and often the choice to adapt business principles in culture results in forgetting about the educational, spiritual, moral factors. At the same time, most businesspeople still see cultural projects as charity initiatives begging for money. That’s why we need to learn to communicate the benefits of culture and art better. Measuring the possible impact of the KEKS project might seem strange, I get that, but it’s essential to us if we want everyone to benefit. Culture is more than a celebration – it holds a long-term influence on many sectors.

We’re preparing a detailed tool to measure the benefits by collaborating with the universities of Kaunas, consulting with other culture capitals.

The research will begin this year and will continue at least until 2023, maybe longer.

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They have things to tell you

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The whole list of the speakers and a detailed programme of the forum is here: http://forumas.kaunas2022.eu.

Below are just several of the faces, names and experiences.

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Auksė Petrulienė M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum

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Founder of the psilicone theatre will talk about the community platform “Mažosios istorijos” [“Tiny stories”] that’s operating at the Kaunas Picture Gallery of the M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum.

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Gintarė Masteikaitė Lithuanian Dance Information Centre / Dance Theatre Dansema

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Culture for new-borns? That’s right. A new-born theatre?

Certainly. Gintarė will speak of the experiences a dance theatre Dansema had with the youngest of the youngsters.

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Brigitte Christensen Aarhus 2017

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Visiting us from Denmark, Brigitte will tell us about the unique and compassionate community theatre project Eutopia that has assembled various ethnic minorities living in Aarhus.

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Dominika Kawalerowicz Wroclaw 2016 Wroclaw is a partner city of Kaunas. This culture capital of 2016 stood out for its impressive programme, and part of that team is continuing the excellent work.

Dominika will share her own experience working with culture capitals and as the head of the Wroclaw programme.

Pavlina Petrova Plovdiv 2019 Pavlina will introduce us to the residence project Baba Residency that’s happening right now in Bulgaria – young creators are living with old ladies in the countryside, where the young folks are learning traditional crafts, culinary, other rituals that they can later use in their artistic activities.

Rytis Zemkauskas Kaunas, 2022

Rolf Norås Stavangeris, 2008 Rolf, who led the Stavanger programme, has created a family network for culture capitals with Neil Peterson (Liverpool 2008). He has also been responsible for researching the experiences and lessons to be learned from these projects, one research paper was published as the book “What would you do differently if you knew what you now know?”

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The futuristic speech of the Kaunas programme’s fantast will focus on culture capital projects as a lifeboat for the European Union and an inspiration for the new models of the union.

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Kitokia grafika have popped up in our magazine before. We’re now back at the only comics residency and risograph print shop in Kaunas, where you can print your zine or some posters and flyers, as well as attend a workshop on all things riso and independent press.

This is where international comics artists reside, too. Remember Sheree Domingo from Berlin who drew the cover for our October issue? To sum things up, Kitokia grafika are the only ones who can actually print rock’n’roll, so we figured it’s the most suitable space for our monthly feature of new objects made in Kaunas or focusing in Kaunas.

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Music album “Linger“

by Silverpieces €10 www.silverpieces.lt

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Released by the iconic Lithuanian underground music label Zona, the album provides an elegant yet rainy alternative to the bright happiness of spring.

Members of Silverpieces are also known for playing in one of the most kaunastic bands ever – Candee Train.

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Book “Warschauer Punk Pakt: Punk im Ostblock 1977–1989” by Alexander Pehlemann €25 www.amazon.de

A DDR-born music and culture history researcher Alexander Pehlemann invited a collective of authors representing former Soviet or socialist republics to compile their punk rock era memories.

The author of the Lithuanian part is Jonas Oškinis, whose rock excursion in Kaunas we feature in this issue. Let’s pray for an English edition.

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Zine “Pankų filosofija.

Daugiau nei triukšmas!” [“The Philosophy of Punk: More Than Noise!”]

Distributed by Jonas Oškinis

25 years ago, a very young Jonas Oškinis convinced his dad to help publish a translation of Craig O’Hara’s work on punk philosophy. Dad said yes and didn’t spare paper! Jonas recently discovered a stack from the 1990s which he’s happy to spread around. In Lithuanian.

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Print “Haunted house”

by Akvilė Magicdust €10 www.kitokiagrafika.lt

Akvilė did our cover this month, and we’re glad to state your home or office can also look this good. It’s a limited edition riso print made at Kitokia grafika. Don’t be too sad if they run out of “Haunted house”, as you can choose from many more prints by local and international artists.

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Calendar 03 21 – 04 21

Exhibition: “We Are Here” Gallery “Meno parkas”, Rotušės a. 27

works to the European audiences. This year, there are five artists participating in the international CreArt residence in Kaunas: Iva Visosevic (Croatia), Ignacy Oboz (Poland), Goce Ilievski (Macedonia), Gabriela Benedeti (Portugal) and Cristina Aguado (Spain).

Their collective exhibition is very versatile, combining different artistic directions and instruments. Self-assess is the key word of this exhibition.

The best examples of Polish art created after WW2 have been borrowed from the collection of Krzysztof Musiał.

Kaunas gallery, Vilniaus g. 2

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04 05 – 05 06

Exhibition “100 metų kartu” [“100 years together”] by Monika Požerskytė

03 29 – 04 18

Exhibition of the International CreArt residence in Kaunas

Gallery “Ars et Mundus”, A. Mapu g. 20

CreArt is an international cultural collaboration project ongoing since 2012 that incorporates 12 European middle size cities. Its goal is to provide artists with an opportunity to introduce their Pet-friendly places

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The photography project presents a number of 100-year olds portrayed

by Monika Požerskytė. Her project, full of special stories, is dedicated to the Centennial of restored Lithuania and reminds us to more often look in the eyes of our close ones.

More events visit.kaunas.lt

April Saturday, 04 07, 11 am

04 09 – 04 19

Lithuanian Aviation Museum, Veiverių g. 132

Various locations

Sunday after Easter between planes

The traditional Lithuanian holiday has been celebrated in this impressive museum for more than 5 years now.

It’s a great chance to introduce your kids to planes and the art of flight.

Sunday, 04 08, 2 pm

Movie “Sengirė” [“The Ancient Woods”]

Cinema “Romuva”, Kęstučio g. 62

The documentary poem by Mindaugas Survila focuses on the inhabitants of an old growth forest – birds, animals as well as elderly people living nearby.

The film will guide its viewer through the dense woods, wolf holes, up to an eagles‘ nest, down to the underwater forest, sunk thousands of years ago and back to the man‘s home.

Spanish culture festival “Primavera en español”

For the eight year in a row, Vytautas Magnus University is hosting the Spanish culture festival. All events are held in English and Spanish languages.

04 10 – 06 04

Exhibition “Nemiestiškas miestas” [“Unurban city”]

by Stanislovas Lukošius

Kaunas city museum, Rotušės a. 15

The second exhibition from the series dedicated to the legacy of Stanislovas Lukošius (1906–1997), one of the busiest photographers of Kaunas ever, presents the magic world of the history of the city and invites to meet the now distant village feel.

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Calendar Tuesday, 04 10, 7 pm

Live: Brave Noises Kaunas Artists‘ House, V. Putvinskio g. 56

Chamber orchestra and soloists from Lithuania, Switzerland and Taiwan.

Wednesday, 04 11, 6 pm

Festival “Lietuvos teatrų pavasaris” [“Lithuanian theatre spring”].

Performance “Autonomija” [“Autonomy”]

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“Girstutis”, Kovo 11-osios g. 26

Brave Noises is a team of young, innovative and dashing artists whose music does not limit itself by a frame of one style. In 2017 the band released their debut album “Between the Dreams” which immediately attracted attention both in Lithuania and abroad. The artists’ music is a synthesis of various genres of jazz, folk, world music and alternative rock which emphasizes virtuosity of the instrumentalists and originality of their work..

The newest production of the Lithuanian State Youth Theatre is directed by Árpád Schilling (Hungary). The story focuses on one family that represents the society and the nation.

Wednesday, 04 11, 6 pm

Wednesday, 04 11, 6 pm

VDU Main hall, S. Daukanto g. 18

Kaunas State Drama Theatre, Laisvės al. 71

International chamber music festival “Avanti”.

Opening night

The international festival is the stepping stone for young performers into the wider stages, connecting graduates from music schools and accredited performers from all over the world.

The opening will feature a world premiere by Fabian Müller (Germany), a concertino for cello, piano and chamber orchestra, performed by VMU

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Performance “Hamletas” [“Hamlet”]

Many directors have tried to recreate Hamlet on stage; the play has become a synonym for the theatre. Each generation has a different answer to the question of existence. In the hands of young director Vidas Bareikis, Hamletas is neither a romantic hero nor an idealist.

April Wednesday, 04 11, 7 pm

Movie night: “Crime Wave” Kaunas Artists’ House, V. Putvinskio g. 56

This event is the fifth part of a cycle of independent films, initiated by an educational platform “Kitas Kinas” (“Other Cinema”). “Crime Wave” (1985) is a work full of astounding imagination, black humor, and innovative ideas. The premise of this film: a silent writer Steven Penny (the film’s director John Paisz himself) is trying to write the best ever crime cinema script for a film called “Crime Wave”.

The only trouble is that, even though Steven writes great beginnings and endings, he cannot fill the in-between.

Friday, 04 13, 9 pm

Live: Rakija Klezmer Orkestar

“PuntoJazz” attic, Kęstučio g. 6

The klezmer slash balkan rhythms band originated in Kaunas and the musicians always love to come back here. We love you too, guys. Let’s dance!

Friday, 04 13, 9 pm

Concert “Jaunas kraujas 6” [“Young Blood”] Club “Lemmy”, Girstupio g. 1

Friday, 04 13, 6 pm

International chamber music festival “Avanti”.

Instrumental music night Kaunas Artists‘ House , V. Putvinskio g. 56

Young musicians are getting ready to perform pieces by F. Doppler, H. Dutilleux and E. Goossens.

More events visit.kaunas.lt

Three promising acts in one night!

Meet “Raskladuškė” (thrash metal, Kaunas), “Pigeon is my Friend” (alternative rock, Vilnius) and “Detuned Lights” (alternative rock, Kaunas).

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Calendar Saturday, 04 14, 10:00

Spring cleaning

8th fort of Kaunas fortress, Pryšmančių g.

Kaunas town hall, Rotušės a. 15

Saturday, 04 14, 12:00

Performance “Kudlius ir miško broliai“ [“Bowwow and the forest brothers”] Kaunas State Puppet Theatre, Laisvės al. 87A

The International Crochet Blanket project was initiated by the Dutch city of Leeuwarden, the European Capital of Culture 2018. Its ambassadors in Lithuania are the Kaunas 2022 team.

Come by the Town hall to meet everyone who participated in this warm project.

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An unique structure belonging to the Kaunas fortress network is situated on the highest peak in Kaunas. The members of the Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union invite everyone to participate in the spring cleaning that’ll help expand the pubic space of the fortress.

Saturday, 04 14, 4 pm

Presentation: International Crochet Blanket project

Saturday, 04 14, 10 pm

Party: “Balkanaktis Kaune” “PuntoJazz” attic, Kęstučio g. 6

The story about eternal hope and faith in freedom is based on the memories of Juozas Lukša-Daumantas, one of the most important Lithuanian partisans also called the forest brothers. Directed by Agnė Sunklodaitė.

More events visit.kaunas.lt

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The “Baltic Balkan” DJ Team have invited a world music selector DJ YaNeck from Poland. The party will also be joined by E-roott, the best reggae selector in Lithuania.

April Saturday, 04 14, 11 pm

Kablys Takeover

Bar “Lizdas”, Nepriklausomybės a. 12

Sunday, 04 15, 7 pm

Live: “Arklio galia” “Emma” social centre, A. Mickevičiaus g. 35

One of the main underground electronic music venues in Vilnius are bringing their staff, DJs and aesthetics to Kaunas for one night only.

Sunday, 04 15, all day

World Day of Culture Various locations

One of the most colourful Lithuanian music acts out there are bringing their guitars and saxophones to Kaunas, not forgetting the drums and the mic.

Monday, 04 16, 7 pm

Poetry slam #9 We’ll start the day with a carillon concert in the War Museum garden and raise the pace flag there; the festivities will continue in the Tadas Ivanauskas Zoological Museum. Visit www.kmn.lt for more details.

More events visit.kaunas.lt

Kaunas Artists‘ House, V. Putvinskio g. 56 The Lithuanian slam scene is a few years old now and still keeps the underground vibe. It’s lively, interesting and fresh – and the sessions are always packed with both slammers and supporters.

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Calendar Wednesday, 04 18, 6 pm

Opera “Radvila Perkūnas” Kaunas State Music Theatre, Laisvės al. 91

Thursday, 04 19, 18:30

Project presentation: “100 metų kartu” [“100 years together”]

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Bookstore “Vaga”, “Mega” mall, Islandijos pl. 32

Written by Jurgis Karnavičius and Balys Sruoga in interwar Kaunas, the opera focuses on important events that happened in 16th and 17th century Lithuania.

Thursday, 04 19, 5 pm

Book presentation

Maironis Lithuanian Literature Museum, Rotušės a. 13 Irna Labokė’s new book “Florestano niekučiai” will be presented by the author and the creative team. In Lithuanian.

Come by the bookstore to meet the team behind the album, photography and film project dedicated to the Centennial of the restored Lithuania.

Thursday, 04 19, 7 pm

“Kaunas Jazz 2018”: Opening Night

Kaunas Bus Station, Vytauto pr. 24

Thursday, 04 19, 6 pm

International chamber music festival “Avanti”.

Closing night Kaunas State Philharmonic, L. Sapiegos g. 5

VDU Chamber orchestra, accordion trio “Indeed” and French horn players Andrius Dirmauskas and Egidijus Stanelis will perform music by G. Ph. Telemann, F. Strauss and J. S. Bach.

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In the charming waiting hall of the new building of Kaunas Bus Station, the festival will be opened with a concert by Kotryna Juodzevičiūtė Collective. The “Voice of Lithuania” winner performs jazz, soul and funk with her bad. The concert is free of charge and will be a pleasant surprise for many travellers.

April 04 20 – 04 22

Kaunas fair “Pavasaris 2018” [“Spring 2018”] Old Town

Lithuanian culinary traditions, community workshops and events and many other reasons to visit the fair are promised by the organisers. Can’t miss it - the fair will take over all of the Old Town.

Friday, 04 20, 3 pm

Performance “Mama” “Šelteris”, Vytauto pr. 79

The award-winning utopian tale of the Age of Enlightenment exalts the human mind and the power to make the world perfect and tries to convince us that three sons – three religions – can live in peace and harmony. Directed by Gintaras Varnas.

Friday, 04 20, 10 pm

“Digital Tsunami: Syntetyk” Club “Lemmy”, Girstupio g. 1 The director Aušra Bakanaitė and Klaipėda puppet theatre are dedicating this performance for all of the family. It’s a story about the connection between the mother and the child and the powerful force of motherly instinct.

Friday, 04 20, 6 pm

Performance “Natanas Išmintingasis” [“Nathan the Wise”] Kaunas State Drama Theatre, Laisvės al. 71

One member of the radiator-eating DJ trio Digital Tsunami has recently visited Warsaw and fell in love with the Syntetyk DJ Team. The Polish guys are now coming over to see where Adam Mickiewicz once resided.

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Calendar Saturday, 04 21, 10:00

Spring cleaning “Darom” Various locations

Don’t be surprised by thousands of Kaunasians cleaning their yards, parks and other public spaces on April 21st. The country-wide initiative has been going on for 11 years.

You’re welcome to join us.

The world-famous musical by Sir Elton John and Tim Rice has been a success in Kaunas, Too. Directed by Vytenis Pauliukaitis.

Saturday, 04 21, 9 pm

Live: Nėrius Pečiūra and “Wagon Restaurant” Cafe “33”, K. Donelaičio g. 33

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Saturday, 04 21, 11 am

Guided tour “Nuo Aleksoto panoramos iki Aleksoto gatvės” [“From Aleksotas panorama to Aleksotas street” The guided tour in Aleksotas neighbourhood was initiated by modernist architecture and art deco enthusiasts “Gražinkime Kauną”. This particular tour will be held in Lithuanian, but you can email them and ask about English-language tours at info@grazinkimekauna.lt.

The infamous punk rocker Nėrius Pečiūra has been active for more than 30 years. In this presentation of his new album, Nėrius will be joined by a Kaunas-based band “Wagon Restaurant” who’ll not limit themselves either. Expect some Lithuanian rock’n’roll hits, too.

Saturday, 04 21, 6 pm

04 22 – 04 28

Musical “Aida”

Kaunas State Music Theatre, Laisvės al. 91

2018 IIHF World Championship Division I Group B “Žalgirio” arena, Karaliaus Mindaugo pr. 50

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April The hottest ice-cold sports event in April will be the world ice hockey championship. Looking forward to cheer for the Lithuanian dream team including Darius Kasparaitis and Dainius Zubrus!

Tuesday, 04 24, 20:00

“Euroleague” playoffs: “Žalgiris” - “Olympiacos” “Žalgirio” arena, Karaliaus Mindaugo pr. 50

The final night of the 40th festival will be very special. An opera written by Giedrius Kuprevičius for the 500 years of the Reformation last year was a big success and is now back for a single performance.

04 26 – 04 27

Festival “Muzika muziejuje 2018” [“Music in Museum 2018”]

Kaunas City Museum M. and K. Petrauskai Lithuanian Music History Department, K. Petrausko g. 31 The green-white team hasn’t climbed this high up in European basketball elite since 1999. The game will be the third in the series - who knows how many we’ll need?

Wednesday, 04 25, 7 pm

Festival “Lietuvos teatrų pavasaris” [“Lithuanian theatre spring”].

Opera “Liuterio durys” [“Luther’s Door”] “Girstutis”, Kovo 11-osios g. 26

Talented kids from all around Lithuania have been invited to the festival.

The participants will perform music for soloists, choirs and various musical instruments.

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Calendar 04 26 – 05 16

Photography exhibition “Vilties paieškos pelenuose: istorijos iš Afganistano” [“Searching for Hope in Ashes: Afghanistan Stories”]

The Lithuanian-born photographer Vaiva Bezhan has spent the last 10 years abroad. In 2015, she started her photojournalist career and has already visited Turkey, Kosovo, Russia and Afghanistan. Her exhibition was inspired by two trips to Afghanistan and two months spent there collecting stories.

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Dance performance “Liepsnos virš šaltojo kalno” [“Flames Over The Cold Mountain”]

Kaunas culture centre “Tautos namai”, Vytauto pr. 79

Friday, 04 27, 7 pm

Directed by Vytis Jankauskas, the performance is a story about walls, both inside and outside, real and imaginary.

Place revealed for ticket holders only

Friday, 04 27, 9 pm

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Kaunas Cultural Centre of Various Nations, Šv. Gertrūdos g. 58

Friday, 04 27, 7 pm

Performance “Otelas” [“Otello”]

Live: Get Your Gun Club “Lemmy”, Girstupio g. 1

The new interpretation of the classical story is investigating the relationship between post-soviet heritage and human tragedy.

Instead of a theatre stage, the performance directed by Gildas Aleksa is moving to a new apartment in Kaunas each time it’s shown.

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The Danish mystical soldiers of darkness are bringing their new album to Kaunas. It will be the first gig of the band, already well known and loved in Lithuania, in our city.

More events visit.kaunas.lt

April Friday, 04 27, 9 pm

Live: BA.

Club “Gargaras”, Raudondvario pl. 101

We’re pretty sure the gig by one of the most successful Lithuanian indie bands will be sold out. It’s been almost two years since we saw Benas and his mates in Kaunas – they’ve been missed!

Friday, 04 27, 11 pm

“Kaunas Jazz 2018”: Helsinki-Cotonou Ensemble Club “Renginių oazė”, Baltų pr. 16

Helsinki-Cotonou Ensemble, taking the sounds of Benin, the homeland of Voodoo, and combining them with soulful songwriting, jazzy improvisations and funky beats, are one of the most awaited acts in this year’s festival.

Saturday, 04 28, 2 pm

“Kaunas Jazz 2018”: Jazz street Various locations

Put on your most comfortable boogie shoes, because lindy hop and jazz dance workshops in the public space at the City Garden Park will start as early as 1PM. The Jazz Street will include more locations along Vilniaus st. in the Old Town of Kaunas.

Saturday, 04 28, 7 pm

“Kaunas Jazz 2018”: Shinkarenko Jazz 4N and Jacob Karlzon Trio VDU Main hall, S. Daukanto g. 28

Jacob Karlzon is a Swedish jazz pianist and composer known for flirting with rock and electronica. His trio will be met in Kaunas by a legendary jazz bassist Leonid Shinkarenko and his band.

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Calendar Sunday, 04 29, 2 pm

Premiere. Family afternoon “Džiazolendas” [“Jazzland”]

Composed by Jievaras Jasinskas, the jazzy musical fairytale for kids and teenagers is a continuation of the educational traditions of concert company “Kaunas Santaka”.

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Kaunas State Philharmonic, L. Sapiegos g. 5

When you are fourteen, your life is crazy: you dive headfirst into things, you hang out with your friends, fall in love, climb on the rooftop and drown in the music. All you want is kisses, adventure, parties, laughter, appreciation, power and support. The play portrays the world of teenagers, which sometimes might be complicated and harsh, yet lively and moving. Based on internet forum posts and real-life stories told by 13-16 year old children, the performance is directed by Eglė Kižaitė.

Monday, 04 30

“Kaunas Jazz 2018”: Laura Mvula “Žalgirio” arena, Karaliaus Mindaugo pr. 50

Sunday, 04 29, 6 pm

Premiere. Performance “Lė-kiau-lė-kiau” [“In A Rush”] Kaunas State Drama Theatre, Laisvės al. 71

The closing concert of Kaunas Jazz 2018 will be the long-awaited gig by the British r&b and soul singer and songwriter Laura Mvula. Favourited by Elton John, Gregory Porter and Stevie Wonder, the artist has performed with all of them. Two of her albums were nominated for Mercury prize.

More events visit.kaunas.lt

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April 05 02 – 05 04

Contemporary dance seminar “Free Flow Project” Kaunas Artists‘ House , V. Putvinskio g. 56

The educational project spanning over the Baltic states, South Korea, Norway, Finland and Germany is led by contemporary dance choreographer Wooguru. His concept is based on the principles of donghak, the academic movement in the Korean Neo-Confucianism, including spontaneity and harmony between physical and emotional experiences. Register at menas@kmn.lt.

In this solo performance, Mathis Kleinschnittger is dealing with the dancing bear as a symbol for the loss of liberty and the repression of wildness. The dancing bear is a tamed wild animal, full of terrifying power. He got robbed of his liberty and its wildness got turned into foolish dances.

Saturday, 05 05, 7 pm

Live: Sinickis. Beveik akustinis”

“Žalgirio” arena (amphitheatre), Karaliaus Mindaugo pr. 50

Wednesday, 05 02, 7 pm

Festival “Naujasis Baltijos šokis’18” [“New Baltic Dance’18”]: “Grrr, I‘m dancing – Universe of a dancing bear” “Šelteris”, Vytauto pr. 79

Gravel was once a very cool band and, as a lot of great bands, parted their ways. Tomas Sinickis, the frontman, chose business but he was tempted back to the stage a few years later. He’s now going solo and hasn’t touched the soil of Kaunas for seven years. About time.

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pilnas.kaunas.lt

“Contrasts turn me on.

Black or white, Lithuanian or German, silence or noise.

Creativity, whatever that means, is what keeps me alive. I left USSR because I could not create a life I wanted to live there.”

Saulius Čemolonskas (1964 06 22 – 2018 08 12) Interview for 370 magazine

KAUNAS FULL OF CULTURE Monthly magazine about personalities and events in Kaunas (free of charge)

Laisvės al. 59, third floor

Editorial office

Authors: Akvilė Magicdust, Andrejus Bykovas, Artūras Bulota, Bernadeta Buzaitė, Daina Dubauskaitė, Dainius Ščiuka, Donatas Stankevičius, Eglė Šertvyčūtė, Gunars Bakšejevs, Jonas Oškinis, Kipras Šumskas, Kotryna Lingienė, Kęstutis Lingys, Paulius Tautvydas Laurinaitis, Tautė Bernotaitė, Teodoras Biliūnas Patrons:

KAUNO MIESTO SAVIVALDYBĖ

RUN 100010COPIES. TIRAŽAS 000 EGZ.

ISSN 2424-4481 2424-4465

Leidžia: Publisher

2018 2017No. Nr. 4 2 (32) (18)