The exhibition, ‘Jonas Mekas: let me dream utopias’ continues one of the last proposals for a project by poet, artist and filmmaker Jonas Mekas. This was a deeply personal project for which Mekas wanted to focus on his relationship to poetry and its importance to his life and artistic work. The exhibition includes a number of Mekas’ previously unpublished poems taken from over 60 years of his life, and incorporates his films, as well as sound pieces selected by the artist. In the spirit of Mekas’ conviviality, for five weeks the exhibition space will act as a host for discussions, performances, screenings, readings and public and educational programmes. These activities and the exhibition’s architecture will frame and contextualise the project’s many ideas and themes, exploring notions of poetic freedom, nostalgia and the idyll in the artist’s work, while also demonstrating the continuing vitality of Mekas’ practice today.
Jonas Mekas (1922 – 2019) was a Lithuanian-American filmmaker, poet and artist. Over twenty books of his prose and poetry have been published, several of which have been translated into over a dozen languages. His work has been exhibited at the Serpentine Gallery (London), the Centre Pompidou (Paris), Musée d’Art moderne de la Ville de Paris, the Moderna Museet (Stockholm), MoMA PS1 (New York), the Museum Ludwig (Cologne), the State Hermitage Museum (St. Petersburg), Documenta 14 (Kassel) and the 51st Venice Biennale, among others. Mekas is a recipient of several awards, including the Venice Film Festival’s Grand Prize (Documentary) awarded for his film, The Brig (1964), the Lithuanian National Award (1995) and a special mention at the 51st Venice Biennial.
PROGRAMME
June 20th, Thursday at 7 pm: Opening & Performance programme featuring Viktorija Damerell & Gailė Griciūtė, Žygimantas Kudirka and Dalius Naujo (drums, percussion, vocal), Jonathon Haffner (alto saxophone), Raha Raissnia (synthesizer) & Dabar Mes Esam Čia Choras
June 26th, Wednesday at 6:30 pm: Panel discussion ‘Memory, narrative and poetics’. Participants: Violeta Davoliūtė, Ramūnas Čičelis, Deimantas Narkevičius. Moderator: Aurimas Švedas.
June 29th, Saturday at 2 pm: Curators’ tour (by registration)
July 3rd, Wednesday at 5 pm: Jonas Mekas film screening programme (with Lukas Brašiškis) and poetry reading programme in Biržai public library (Jurgis Bielinis Public Library of Biržai)
July 11th, Thursday at 6 pm: Curators’ tour (by registration)
July 11th, Thursday at 7 pm: Jonas Mekas film screening programme (with Lukas Brašiškis)
July 18th, Thursday at 6 pm: Closing & poetry reading programme, Vyt Bakaitis in conversation with Yates Norton
The exhibition will be open between June 21st and July 21st (Wednesday 12-6 pm, Thursday 12-8 pm, Friday 12-6 pm, Saturday 12-5 pm, Sunday 12-5 pm) at Pakrantė (Vaidilutės 79, Vilnius). Free entrance.
Exhibition and programme curators: Justė Jonutytė, Kotryna Markevičiūtė, Yates Norton
Exhibition Architecture: Ona Lozuraitytė and Petras Išora
Exhibition Coordinator: Miglė Kolinytė
Producer: Rupert, Vilnius
Graphic Design: Tadas Karpavičius
Programme participants and contributors: Vyt Bakaitis, Lukas Brašiškis, Ramūnas Čičelis, Leonas Čiudaras, Viktorija Damerell and Gailė Griciūtė, Violeta Davoliūtė, Vaiva Grainytė, Brenda Iijima, Monika Kalinauskaitė, Aušra Kaziliūnaitė, Dalia Kėželienė, Valentinas Klimašauskas, Žygimantas Kudirka, Erik Martinson, Deimantas Narkevičius, Dalius Naujo, Jonathon Haffner and Dabar Mes Esam Čia Choras (Lina Saveikytė, Milda Laužikaitė, Agota Zdanavičiūtė, Rūta Barisaitė, Kamilė Gudmonaitė, Laima Griciūtė, Paulina Simutytė, Paulina Jankauskaitė, Aistė Jančiūtė, Ainė Buinikytė, Gintarė Martinaitytė, Inga Šepetkaitė, Joana Daunytė, Julija Jarutytė, Živilė Razinkovienė, Ingula Rinkevičienė, Gabija Stulgytė, Paula Kovaliova, Dorotė Girskienė), Sara Poisson, Joseph Pomp, Herb Shellenberger, Anastasia Sosunova, Aurimas Švedas, Evaldas Timukas, Rita Venskūnienė.
Special thanks: Lee Ann Brown, Elle Burchill, Charity Coleman, Pip Chodorov, Giedrė Darškutė, Indra Drevinskaitė-Žilinskienė, Melanie Henke, Lolita Jablonskienė, Giedrė Jankevičiūtė, Monika Kalinauskaitė, Patrick Kohn, Lara Lempert, Oona Mekas, Sebastian Mekas, Gražina Michnevičiūtė, Gintautas Trimakas, Jolanta Zabarskaitė, Pakrantė, Jurgis Bielinis Public Library of Biržai.
Supporters: Lithuanian Council for Culture, Vilnius City Municipality, Pakrantė, Vilnius Tech Park, Būkčia, UAB Biržų duona
Partners: Lithuanian Culture Institute
Media partner: 15min