Institutions are people. Conversation with JL Murtaugh, curator of Rupert’s Residency and Public Programmes

Ieva Gražytė: I remember our first meeting vividly – it took place on Zoom a little over a year ago. Lost in the ever-shifting time zones, I had simply missed it. You, fully understanding the complexity of life in this ever-moving world, promptly rescheduled it without the slightest inconvenience. You greeted me warmly through the screen, assuring me that you truly understood what it means to be constantly on the go.

JL Murtaugh: I remember the call well. I sensed your natural enthusiasm and appreciated you making time on the other side of the world. You couldn’t have known at the time, but it was a difficult moment for us internally, our team was stretched very thin.

Conversations like that kept us going. It’s a real honour that people like you have the interest and bravery to be part of what we do. If you dare to trust people, it can go far.

We must have frank conversations and compassion about our present working conditions, and strive to improve them. Our team’s primary focus, after all, is helping talented individuals reach their artistic goals, whatever they might be.

Within reason, I at least consider the other side’s perspective in every interaction. It’s an imperfect strategy, but I find it usually leads to a better outcome. We all want a compelling result. I admit that some do not share that sense of common purpose – it doesn’t always work for the best. Still, I endeavour to remain optimistic and empathetic.

Applying to any of our programmes takes courage and dedication. Rupert has a strong reputation, but applications are extremely personal and intimate. At Rupert or in my other projects, I choose to work with those who are genuinely enthusiastic and have a shared understanding of what resources and outcomes all parties contribute to the collaboration – labour, time, conversation, ideas, et cetera – and act accordingly.

I will speak with everyone at least once – I spend a lot of time on preliminary conversations. Beyond that, I have little energy for those who try to extract without any return, even just their attention. A relationship means they have to bring something to the table for it to work. My focus is always on those artists and partners who offer a mutually fruitful exchange.

Ieva Gražytė: Your involvement and genuine curiosity are always apparent to me. As both Liam and Syndicate, you represent a nomadic subject in contemporary art – producing exhibitions, events, and publications across the globe. I see your international presence as one of Rupert’s strengths. Could you tell us more about how Rupert fosters partnerships and long-term friendships with collaborators worldwide? It’s no secret that nurturing sustainable relationships in a scene dominated by short-term projects is incredibly challenging.

JL Murtaugh: I appreciate the compliment, though I see these as two distinct points.

Rupert made its name, from very early on, as a borderless organisation. I followed it closely from afar, and its distinguishing characteristic was a focus on groundbreaking ideas and artistic quality, rather than the artist’s origin. Admittedly, it still tended to favour those who resided or were educated in the major European or North American hub cities – London, Amsterdam, Berlin, New York, Los Angeles, et cetera – but the type of artists attracted to us set an important tone. I have always viewed Rupert as a transnational institution, albeit firmly rooted in Vilnius.

With initiatives like Mutual Empathies, Alterlife, and Ulysses, I hope to expand our frame of reference, to challenge the preference for those hubs. Since joining Rupert, I’ve individually reconsidered each of our partnerships, evaluating their curatorial conditions and outcomes. I’m attempting to provide similar resources for our artists, regardless of birthplace. Truthfully, there are often bureaucratic barriers, closed-mindedness, and fear, but it’s important to stretch the perimeters of what’s accepted as possible.

Ieva Gražytė: Could you tell more about the initiatives you just mentioned? And how do global openness and interculturality reflect on them?

JL Murtaugh: The first edition of Mutual Empathies, a multinational artist residency project, confirms the validity of this concept. It was co-created with the Goethe-Institut Lithuania director Anna-Maria Strauss, to demonstrate how everyone benefits from intercultural dialogue, and how Rupert is uniquely positioned to lead such a programme. The pilot edition took place in Vilnius and Cologne, matching a German-based artist (Vanja Smiljanic) with a non-European one (Saroot Supsuthevich of Bangkok, Thailand). It was incredible to see how quickly the bonds formed between them, and how it influenced what they created during that time.

Our newest European project, Ulysses, places us in a pan-European network of largely music and sound institutions, led by Ircam in Paris. We are its first predominantly visual and interdisciplinary arts member. What attracted me to this was its commitment to extended relationships with artists working with sonic media. Our first two residencies in this framework allow us to both revisit an artist duo we’ve collaborated with before in support of an ambitious new project—Yen Chun Lin and Gediminas Žygus; and initiate a new collaboration with an artist I’ve followed for some time now, Nazanin Noori, introducing her layered theatrical direction, hardcore compositions, and politically charged practice to Lithuania.

Alterlife is a cooperation with Sonic Acts in Amsterdam, part of our Reimagine Europe network. It provides a special opportunity to invite an artist to Rupert for a residency and mentorship, with an invitation for a new work commission to be exhibited in Vilnius, and at the biennial in Amsterdam. It had a huge response, with over 500 applications for a single spot. I have worked closely with the first artist in this programme, Alina Schmuch, who spent several months in Vilnius last year conducting interviews, research, filming, and refining her concept, then a second residency at W139 in Amsterdam where I visited her to extend the project further. We will show the first chapter of her new film installation in June at Rupert, in a very special environment, and the second with Sonic Acts in late 2025.

Last year, we hosted a residency and production initiative as part of The Sustainable Institution, where we cooperated with E-Werk in Lückenwalde, Germany, and LUMA in Arles. The artist we worked with in this programme was bones tan jones, who spent six weeks at Rupert working with me, Viktorija, bones’ project manager Eglė Kliučinskaitė, and numerous technicians and performers to first compose, then rehearse a new opera performance that we showed as part of Earth Bonds II last year, then the filmed version for a screening I organised as part of Meno Avilys’ Deep Rivers Run Silent. I’ve worked in many distinct contexts with artists to guide and facilitate new work, and without question, Rupert offers something special that other institutions cannot. We are always prepared for the unexpected.

In each case, these projects are a means to an end: residencies have to be about more than the time one is physically present. It should only be the start of a relationship. While the story differs from person to person, ideally, anyone who joins Rupert continues that conversation and benefits from our support for years to come. I have devoted considerable time to evaluating how our artist relationships can improve, facilitate return visits to Vilnius, or offer production resources, continued advice, and curatorial support.

I would like Rupert to grow to the point where we offer more than just space and curatorial support to every single artist in the residency programme. We’re moving that way already by inviting residents to be AEP tutors, holding paid public events like screenings or performances, plus those production opportunities I mentioned. It will take time, but our institutional partners, private donors, and of course, the Lithuanian Cultural Council will all be essential to making it happen.

I’ve been very fortunate to count so many supremely talented, brilliant, and motivated people as colleagues. I’ve had the freedom to move between contexts (public and private, commercial or institutional) and locations in a way many others cannot.

So, while I certainly bring my own experiences to the team, the real reason I am at Rupert – why I’m in Lithuania—is because it’s always had faith in people like me. A lot is possible when you work hard, be kind, and listen closely.

Ieva Gražytė: In the age of the neoliberal gig economy, when artists often move from one residency to another, some institutions begin to feel like home. Rupert is likely the most well-known contemporary art residency in Lithuania, bringing together artists from diverse cultural backgrounds. One of the greatest strengths of the residency, in my view, is the opportunity it provides for residents to collaborate with participants and mentors from the Alternative Education and Public Programmes. I personally made friends and professional connections at Rupert, and I’m now happy to visit these people elsewhere. How does Rupert cultivate this sense of community and lasting connection among its residents?

JL Murtaugh: I said this before moving to Vilnius or being directly affiliated with Rupert, so it comes without personal bravado: it is the most distinguished residency programme in the Baltics, and I’d even include all the Nordic countries too. I don’t believe that’s a controversial claim. I’m not sure even the Lithuanian art community fully appreciates that fact. That’s a testament to the artists who came to Rupert, its past curatorial and management teams, the welcoming environment in this country, and the high calibre of Lithuanian contemporary artists and curators establishing that ground.

This is a double-edged sword, of course. Our current team benefits immensely from the strong reputation built by our predecessors. We must also continue to take educated risks to stay relevant and at the leading edge of creativity.

Rupert was built on the value of alternative education. The residencies were a way to bring more established and innovative voices to the contemporary art conversation in Lithuania. It only makes sense, as we grow and our network enters its third generation, that we merge these two main pillars of activity.

You are right, for artists and curators – myself included! – other residencies are often a mark of approval, a line on the CV that denotes legitimacy, affiliation, and aspiration. There are so many residency programmes now, and it’s easy to rest on its most basic definition; someone who merely hands studio keys to the artist, wishes them well, and picks up the keys at the end. Some even charge artists considerable rent, which in my mind makes those institutions indistinguishable from a hotel.

Rupert must continue to stand for more. Its established success in identifying artists makes it neither an education nor a residency institution now. Those are only our main tools for engagement. We are an ecosystem, a mutual benefit society. No matter where I travel, people know Rupert by reputation and word of mouth. It’s an incredible responsibility to be a steward of Lithuania’s major conduit between the local and international contemporary art domains.

So, maintaining that visibility and presence, keeping these conversations active and the pots boiling, requires a deep commitment from everyone on the team – Viktorija, Goda, Monika, Aistė, Aistė Marija. We all play a big role in making Rupert what it is today, and what we aim for it to become. It’s critical to give meaningful time and attention to every individual we work with.

Ieva Gražytė: Indeed, institutions are made up of people, and I am so very happy to meet you all, Rupert.

This article is the second edition of Inside Stories, a series of features highlighting the people, labour, and ideas behind the scenes at Rupert.

Inside Stories is a pilot study for New Perspectives for Action, a project by Re-Imagine Europe, co-funded by the European Union and the Lithuanian Culture Institute.