The VII ArtVilnius International Art Fair was held at the Litexpo Centre from 9 to 12 June 2016. This year – at one of the largest events of its kind in the Baltic countries – Poland was the guest of honour. Karolina Tomkevičiutė, the spokeswoman for the fair, told Radio ‘Znad Wilii’:
"Last year we began a tradition of inviting a guest country each year. This year, it is Poland. We invited the top ten galleries and two cultural institutions from Poland.
Poland was represented by twelve galleries and institutions: the Museum of Contemporary Art in Kraków (MOCAK), CSW Łaźnia in Gdańsk, Gallery Apteka Sztuki, Art Agenda Nova, Czułość, F.A.I.T., Zderzak, m2, Le Guern, lokal_30, Stalowa Art Gallery, and Assembly Gallery. Each prepared a special program of exhibitions. Kraków’s MOCAK presented works selected from the artists in their collection, and local_30 exhibited works by Natalia LL, Karolina Breguła, Filip Berendt, and Zuzanna Janin.
Janin presented sculptures and installations, for which she was awarded the Best Artist Prize by the organizers of ArtVilnius. Her exhibition included huge drones constructed from pieces of a Volvo V70 Cross Country. Of her work, she explains:
This model of car is associated with family, security, and the culture of the twentieth century. After disassembling it, I constructed the drones, which cease to be a reflection of a safe period. Drones entered our era to be helpful, but at the same time, they are dangerous and are sometimes used as a weapon.
According to the fair’s organizers, contemporary Polish art is very interesting, but little known in Lithuania. Diana Stomienė, director of the fair, stressed:
One of the goals of ArtVilnius is to activate the regional art market, cultural work, in which we aim primarily to build relationships with the strongest galleries and artists in neighbouring countries – and in the future, farther west. The art market in Poland is one of the fastest growing in Central and Eastern Europe and has attracted the attention of many international collectors. The ArtVilnius delegation has been welcomed in Poland and invited their best art institutions, museums, and galleries to participate in the fair.
Organizer: Lithuanian Art Gallerists’ Association
Partners: Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Polish Institute in Vilnius
Sources: artvilnius.com, zw.lt, lokal30.pl, zuzannajanin.natemat.pl; ed: AS, 13.06.2016; trans: AGA 28.07.2016