Letters to Friends: Jonas Mekas ir draugai is a screening and discussion inspired by the video diaries, letters and portraits of Jonas Mekas. Works by Mekas and other artists will highlight the ways these types of videos can connect people, both within their making as well as connecting the viewer to the subjects onscreen.
The screening includes the following films:
Jonas Mekas – Self Portrait, 1980, USA, 20′ (spoken English, no subtitles)
Chris Marker – Cat Listening to Music, 1988, France, 3′ (no dialogue)
Jonas Mekas – Letter to John from Jonas, 1999, USA, 25′ (spoken English, no subtitles)
Margaret Tait – A Portrait of Ga, 1952, UK, 4′ (spoken English, no subtitles)
Herb Shellenberger (USA/UK) is a curator and writer originally from Philadelphia and based in London. Since 2016, he has been Associate Programmer for Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival (Berwick-upon-Tweed, UK). He curated screenings at a number of institutions internationally, and has lectured on film and contemporary art at museums, universities and art spaces.
H. Shellenberger is currently a resident at Rupert Centre for Art and Education. In advance of Rupert’s Jonas Mekas exhibition of opening in June, he is hosting “Letters to Friends”, a workshop that will focus on Mekas’s writing, filmmaking and important function as a connector of people. The screening at “Putvinskio Street Day” will happen within the framework of this project. More on the project: Kūrybinės dirbtuvės su Herb Shellenberger: Laiškai draugams.
This event is organised in collaboration with Rupert and M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art.
The event will be held in English. Attendance is free. Regular fees apply to those who wish to see the museum’s exhibitions.
The KAH residency programme was launched in 2018 with the aim to present the most relevant contemporary artists, curators and cultural researchers working in Lithuania and abroad to the residents and guests of Kaunas city. The residency programme aims to foster intercultural, cross-institutional and cross-sectoral cooperation, to provide artists and cultural producers with the opportunity to become acquainted with the historical and cultural context of the city during their residency, to facilitate their cooperation with other artists or cultural producers and local communities.
Cover image: a still from “Self Portrait” by Jonas Mekas, 1980.
This event is a part of “Putvinskio Street Day 2019”, hosted by Kaunas Artists’ House. More on the festival: Putvinskio gatvės diena 2019.
M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art
V. Putvinskio g. 55, LT-44248 Kaunas
