This year, the port city will host its first biennale – an ambitious project aimed at establishing a regular, international contemporary art event in Western Lithuania. The artworks exhibited in the premises of the Klaipėda Culture Communication Center (KKKC) and various public spaces in the city will pay special attention to the Klaipėda region, its history, and the culture and art of the Baltic Sea region countries. Named “Sunset Every Two Years,” it will explore a wide spectrum of the main keyword – transit: from historical and logistical aspects to sexual, socio-economic, ecological, aesthetic, and even magical experiences. The biennale is organized by KKKC in collaboration with the Contemporary Art Center and curated by Valentinas Klimašauskas. “Sunset Every Two Years” will run from September 5 to October 31, with the first accompanying event open to the public taking place at the end of May.
The need to establish the Klaipėda Biennale is related to the significant lack of regularly held contemporary art events in Western Lithuania. Klaipėda is the only one of the three major cities in the country that does not periodically organize such events. There have been individual initiatives implemented, but unfortunately, they lacked continuity. The public art project “Phenomenon M,” held in the port city last autumn, can be considered a rehearsal for the upcoming biennale. “It was disappointing that an institution with several decades of history (KKKC) no longer had a traditional contemporary art event, so I have the ambition to create one,” says Liudas Andrikis, the author of both project ideas and head of KKKC. “The art world operates according to certain rules: biennales held every few years stand out in terms of scope, the number of participating artists, budget, and they are an important platform for artists, especially young ones, often becoming a strong impetus for their creative careers.”
Biennales as cultural platforms
Biennales held around the world not only enrich cultural life but also stimulate local economic growth, turning cities into important cultural centers. The Venice Biennale, which started in 1895, attracts about half a million visitors over six months, providing global recognition to many artists and shaping art trends. The largest biennale held in Lithuania is the Kaunas Biennale, often becoming a springboard for local artists whose works are later presented at prestigious international biennales. The Baltic Biennale, organized by the Contemporary Art Center, promotes collaboration between artists and curators from Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, strengthening cultural ties throughout the region.
Biennale team. Photo: Remigijus Treigys
Curator Valentinas Klimašauskas: the vision of the biennale
The first Klaipėda Biennale will be curated by art critic, contemporary art curator and writer Valentinas Klimašauskas. An associate professor at Vilnius Academy of Arts, this year he began leading the Contemporary Art Center. V. Klimašauskas has diverse experience in curating international events: national pavilions of Lithuania (with João Laia, 2024) and Latvia (with Inga Lāce, 2019) at the Venice Biennale of Contemporary Art, “Coast Contemporary” contemporary art festival in the Lofoten Islands, Norway (2023), the 14th Baltic Triennial at CAC (with João Laia, 2021). According to L. Andrikis, the curator’s international experience, recognition, and connections are among the most important components of the success of such an event. “I hoped and believe that it will ‘work’: there will be a strong international program, participants, and visitors.”
Named “Sunset Every Two Years” by the organizing team due to its associations with coastal views, this year the biennale will examine the theme of transit – as an intermediate state of change and transformation – through various subtopics:
First (1), without mentioning the current rapid changes in the world, the biennale itself, as a phenomenon occurring every two years, is a temporary, recurring, transit phenomenon that transforms the concept of time and provides an opportunity to focus on the field of art.
Second (2), the concept of transit in this case refers to the space of the dramatic multi-ethnic history of the Klaipėda region, which has undergone significant political, urban, and other transformations over the past century.
Third (3), the theme of transit highlights the port city as a center of cargo, passenger transit, and logistics.
Fourth (4), the eco-space of this region is associated with ecological, political activist movements and the beginnings of contemporary art in Lithuania (for example, “The Return of Angakok,” “Green Leaf” action-performance in Nida in 1990 against the construction of oil rigs in the Baltic Sea, “Action for Neringa – national park status” in Nida in 1989, and other political actions).
Fifth (5), the biennale will seek to draw attention to various concepts of ecological or informational toxicity due to chemical weapons buried in the Baltic Sea, various product spills, radical historical and contemporary political and other movements, as well as the condition of the Baltic Sea as one of the most polluted seas in the world.
And sixth (6), this unique ecosystem of the land of sunsets can act as an actively regenerating space for rest, wellness, sexuality, body and spiritual rebirth, a resort beach or magical “edge of the world” zone where time slows down, political or sexual bodies are liberated, new worlds and experiences are opened or created.
“As the world continues to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of biennalization, the dialogue-based work with the Klaipėda Biennale team and the unique history of the port city generously offered directions and themes for thought. Transit in a rapidly changing world, transit as a symptom of biennalization, transit development of such large events, human transit of participants and opinions during the selection of a larger team and participants – the word “transit” became the dominant keyword of the theme and format. Delving into the history of the region, the growth of the port city, the nuances of multifaceted ecological issues, and collaborating with the local artist community, the history of the local region and partial localization of the event became particularly important for the 1st Klaipėda Biennale. It so happened that I spent the first wave of the pandemic quarantine in Smiltynė, and this is increasingly evident when looking at the development of specific local microcosm and global or planetary scale connections in the content of the upcoming biennale. In the end, I would just like to sincerely rejoice in our team and wish that this micro-biennale finds a sustainable activity model that could grow new generations of local creators in the future and help to look at this unique Lithuanian region in a new and creative way.” – Valentinas Klimašauskas.
The biennale will be introduced by a symposium on May 31 – an event open to the public, where curator Valentinas Klimašauskas, scientists from the Klaipėda Marine Research Institute, and artists participating in the biennale will give presentations. During the symposium, Tata Frenkel and Jan Glöckner will hold creative tea workshops “Gung Fu Brewing as method for education and conversation.”
The 1st Klaipėda Biennale “Sunset Every Two Years.” September 5 – October 31, 2025
Location: Klaipėda Culture Communication Center (KKKC) and Klaipėda city public spaces Commissioner: Liudas Andrikis
Curator: Valentinas Klimašauskas
Curator’s Assistant: Viktorija Misiulė
Architect: Gabrielė Černiavskaja
Producer: Žana Jegorova
Coordinator: Justina Trapokaitė
Graphic Design: Vytautas Volbekas
Partner: Contemporary Art Center, Vilnius
The biennale is funded by Klaipėda City Municipality and the Lithuanian Council for Culture
