Neringa Wood Works is an exhibition by Neringa Forest Architecture. It is both an exhibition and a summer-long wood workshop. From 14 June to 31 August, each Saturday and Sunday, the collective gemeinsam bauen wir neu — a group of women and queer technicians, architects, and carpenters from Zurich — together with other contributors to the Neringa Forest Architecture project, will run workshops at VAA NAC working with wood from Curonian Spit. The workshops are open to all: local residents of Neringa and summer visitors. The aim is to make working with timber and tools open to everyone — especially those who may not usually have this kind of access, skills, or experience.
Calendar of workshops and registration is on NAC website: https://nidacolony.lt/lt/archyvai/
The 39m³ of timber at the core of the Neringa Forest Architecture project – gathered over a three-year cycle in a timber archive at Nida Art Colony of the Vilnius Academy of Arts – represent a fraction of the biomass regularly cut for landscape maintenance and forest management works on the Curonian Spit. This material is typically processed into wood chips and enters the biofuel market, where it is sold as biomass for combustion in centralised (district) heating plants – these facilities generate over 70% of Lithuania’s total heat supply. In the research residency programme initiated in 2020 at VAA NAC, this timber was redirected and instead became both the basis for and catalyst of a wide range of activities that unfolded over the following five years – including the development of the ‘Children’s Forest Pavilion’, Lithuania’s pavilion at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition, la Biennale di Venezia 2023.
‘Neringa Wood Works’ functions as an activated workshop, a summer long studio dedicated to work with wood: from 14 June to 31 August, each Saturday and Sunday, the collective gemeinsam bauen wir neu – a group formed by women and queer technicians, architects and carpenters in Zurich that addresses accessibility and inclusion to professions requiring knowledge of machines and building technologies – and other contributors to the Neringa Forest Architecture project, hold workshops at VAA NAC. These sessions focus on working with wood from the Curonian Spit – reflecting both the local context and the techniques of using this wood: making the material and experimenting with it accessible to both local Neringa inhabitants and the summer guests.
The workshop space is accompanied by a timeline presenting a broad scope of experimental and playful approaches to redefining work with timber, carried out over the past five years by programme residents, contributors and student courses – ranging from research-based projects, tours and walks in the landscape and a shepherds’ artistic residency to tangible objects and image-based works. Together, these present a working model for engaging with landscape and heritage through situated, critical practice. The project approaches both as dynamic fields – shaped by historical processes, administrative frameworks and lived experience – and addresses them as spaces where cultural work can be attentive, responsive and materially grounded.
Curators: Neringa Forest Architecture (Jurga Daubaraitė, Jonas Žukauskas, Egija Inzule)
Contributions by artists, researchers, architects, designers, geographers many of whom are participants in the project since 2020 among them:
Adomas Zubė, Agata Marzecova, Ainis Pivoras, Aistė Ambrazevičiūtė, Ancient Woods Foundation, Andrej Polukord, Anita Zariņa, Anne Hovad Fischer, Anni Laakso, Antanas Gerlikas, Anton Shramkov, Antti Auvinen, Aurelija Plukė, Circulation of Infernation, colectivo amasijo, Dovilė Lapinskaitė, Eduardas Budrys, Eitvydas Doškus, Elis Hannikainen, Emma Holmberg, Gabrielė Grigorjevaitė, Gediminas Virgilijus Dikšas, gemeinsam bauen wir neu, Gražina Banienė, Gražina Žemaitienė, Gvidas Laukaitis, Ignė Narbutaitė, Ines Weizman, Jan Lütjohann, Jonas Palekas, Jonė Pivoraitė, Jurgis Paškevičius, Kamilė Krasauskaitė, Kathryn Wood, Kornelija Žalpytė, Kristupas Sabolius, Laura Garbštienė, Lina Lapelytė, Mantas Peteraitis, Martynas Kazimierėnas, Milda Laužikaitė, Mindaugas Rasimavičius, Monika Janulevičiūtė, Monika Kalinauskaitė, Mustarinda Association (Tiina Arjukka Hirvonen, Michaela Casková, Robin Everett, Riitta (Nyyskä) Nykänen), Nerijus Rimkus, New Academy (Ikko Alaska, Nene Tsuboi, Tuomas Toivonen), Nina Svensson, Phillipp von Hase, Pranas Gudaitis, Rasa Juškevičiūtė, Sean Thomas Tyler, Signe Pelne, Urbonas Studio (Nomeda & Gediminas Urbonas), Yana Foqué, Viktorija Damerell, Vilma Gudynienė
Installation works by:
Gediminas Venckus, Antanas Gerlikas, Kotryna Butautytė, Rudolfas Levulis
Graphic Design: Nerijus Rimkus
Lithuanian translation and editing: Alexandra Bondarev, Deimantė Česokaitė
English proofreading: Gemma Lloyd
Many thanks to Anna Luise Schubert, Jakob Elias Schubert
‘Neringa Wood Works‘
14 June – 31 August
Nida Art Colony of Vilnius Academy of Arts
Exhibition Space
E. A. Jonušo g. 3
Nida LT-93127
‘Neringa Wood Works’ is funded by the Lithuanian Council for Culture, Neringa Municipality and Pro Helvetia – Swiss Arts Council
