Presentation of the Vilnius Biennial of Performance Art at the art fair ArtVilnius’23
The 1st Vilnius Biennial of Performance Art (VB23), dedicated to the 700th anniversary of Vilnius and taking place throughout the year, concludes its programme at the contemporary art fair ArtVilnius’23, between October 13–15 at LITEXPO.
Vilnius Biennial of Performance Art will present its booth at ArtVilnius’23, where visitors will be able to see aftermovies of the Biennial’s performances, meet VB23’s Artistic Director Neringa Bumblienė and attend the performance by VB23 participant Robertas Narkus.
According to Neringa, this presentation at ArtVilnius is also the last event of this year’s Biennial—‘I am glad we have the opportunity to look back on such an important year for us and share the beautiful memories of the first Biennial in two aftermovies full of liveliness, also inviting visitors to attend one of the performances presented during the summer, which was not able to accommodate the large number of people who wanted to see it at the time’.
Programme
On Saturday, October 14 at 15:30, ArtVilnius’23 will host the discussion We need to talk about performance art at the LRT studio, where the curator of the fair’s Project Zone, Valentinas Klimašauskas, will talk with Neringa Bumblienė, artist Agnė Jokšė and Lewben Art Foundation’s project manager Giedrė Marčiulaitė.
On the same day, between 17:30–19:00, Neringa Bumblienė will be at the VB23 stand in Hall 4 to talk about the biennial. After this meeting, everyone is invited to the Project Zone’s stage in Hall 4, where at 19:00 the performance Egghorseticism by Robertas Narkus will take place. The performance by Robertas, who represented Lithuania at last year’s Venice Art Biennale, will invite viewers to a session of ‘egghorsecizmus’, permeated with black humour and absurdity. In the centre of the show is a man going through a mid-life crisis.
The Theme of Performativity at ArtVilnius’23
VB23’s presentation at ArtVilnius’23 is also related to this year’s theme and emphasis—performativity. The organisers of ArtVilnius’23 invite you to approach the concept of performativity openly and creatively, speak about it boldly and discuss the broadest interpretations associated with this phenomenon.
This year, 70 art galleries/institutions and 300 artists from 18 countries will take part in the international art fair. In addition to the main programme of art galleries, the Project Zone will present the collections of world-renowned artists, museums and art foundations, as well as institutional exhibitions (curated by Valentinas Klimašauskas) and the performance programme of individual artists participating in the Project Zone on a special stage during the entire fair. Visitors are also invited to the exhibition of sculptures, installations and performances The Path (curated by Vytenis Burokas).
The art fair’s programme will also include discussions on performance art and creative performance art workshops for children. Participating galleries will also present performances by their artists.
About VB23
VB23 is a new and ongoing international event dedicated to contemporary performance art, organised by Vilnius City Gallery Meno Niša as an official part of Vilnius’ 700th anniversary programme. VB23’s director is Diana Stomienė and its artistic director is Neringa Bumblienė. The main focus of the inaugural Biennial is the city of Vilnius, but also a city per se, as a human-made and human-dominated environment that we share with other life forms, where different histories, myths, activities, interests, desires and visions collide, coexist and overlap.
The opening event of VB23 was held on January 23, 2023, with the performance Aphotia—a new large-scale work by Emilija Škarnulytė at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre as part of the curated programme. The Biennial’s main programme took place from July 23 to August 6, 2023, showcasing 38 artists with a total of 31 performances in 17 public and semi-public spaces across Vilnius.