Vilnius 700 presents: Vilnius Biennial Of Performance Art

VB23 summer programme

Vilnius Biennial of Performance Art (VB23) is an ongoing event dedicated to contemporary performance art, organised by Gallery Meno Niša as an official part of Vilnius’s 700th-anniversary programme. Its director is Diana Stomienė and its artistic director is Neringa Bumblienė.

The VB23 consists of a programme of works by guest artists, curated by Neringa Bumblienė, and works by artists selected by an international jury through an open-call.

The opening event of VB23 was held on 23 January 2023 with the performance Aphotia – a new work by artist Emilija Škarnulytė at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre. The performance was a part of the curated programme.

The Biennial’s main programme will run from 23 July to 6 August 2023 in Vilnius public and semi-public spaces. The Biennial will invite Vilnius residents and visitors to witness performances by both established and emerging artists from Lithuania and abroad.

CURATED PROGRAMME

Artists participating in the curated VB23 programme will be announced soon.

OPEN CALL PROGRAMME

The open call generated tremendous interest from all around the world: 286 applicants from 58 countries sent proposals for the jury’s consideration. The performances were selected by a high-profile international jury.

Jury:

Maria Arusoo – Director of the Estonian Center for Contemporary Art, long-term commissioner of the Estonian Pavilion at the Venice Biennial, currently in curatorial residency at Kumu Art Museum, curator

Neringa Bumblienė – curator and author, artistic director of the Vilnius Biennale of Performance Art, curator of the Lithuanian Pavillion at the 59th Venice Biennale, currently working at the Contemporary Art Centre in Vilnius

Joanna Zielińska – an art historian, writer and performance curator, presently a senior curator at M HKA – Museum of Contemporary Art in Antwerp, Belgium

The following artists and works have been selected to be presented at the Biennial in 2023 summer open call programme:

Teo Ala-Ruona’s (Finland) performance Enter Exude;

Rūta Junevičiūtė’s (Lithuania) performance Solar;

Keithy Kuuspu’s (Estonia) performance False Falling;

Pontus Pettersson’s (Sweden) performance Cat Practice;

Collaborative piece by Justė Kostikovaitė, Laima Kreivytė and Eileen Myles (Lithuania/USA);

Yulia Krivich, Marta Romankiv and Weronika Zalewska’s (Ukraine/Poland) performance Kiosk kłącza;

Aleksandra Janus, Weronika Pelczyńska and Monika Szpunar’s (Poland) performance Still standing;

BRUD’s (Poland/Lithuania/Mexico/USA) performance I Am Neither A Speaker Nor A Loudspeaker;

Jacopo Miliani’s (Italy) performance Throwing Balls at Night.