Lithuania’s second city officially launched itself as the European Capital of Culture 2022 on Saturday with an opening event showcasing its contemporaneity and cultural potential.
Kaunas ECC programme kicked off on January 22 with Uprising, a show of music, light, video and dance, directed by Chris Baldwin.
“Tonight, I invite everyone to celebrate Kaunas,” said President Gitanas Nausėda at the opening event. “Today, Kaunas is the city of unique modern architecture, business and sports, free and creative people.”
Several dozen spectators were also greeted by UNESCO Secretary General Audrey Azolou and Kaunas Mayor Visvaldas Matijošaitis. European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen sent video greetings.
Kaunas is one of the three cities to hold the European Capital of Culture title in 2022. The programme includes over 1,000 events and internationally-known artists.
The key highlight is the Contemporary Myth of Kaunas Trilogy, a series of events that will take place on three weekends.
The programme also features Magic Carpets Landed, an exhibition by young artists working with communities, and the 13th Kaunas Biennial.
The European Capital of Culture Year will see the presentation of William Kentridge’s exhibition That Which We Do Not Remember, Yoko Ono’s retrospective exhibition The Learning Garden of Freedom, and Marina Abramović’s exhibition Memory of Being.
Other events will include the International Day of Happiness; Kaunas-Vilnius: Moving Mountains, an exhibition co-organised by MO Museum and Kaunas City Museum; and Days of Japan in Kaunas ‘WA!’.
Photo – People walk at Medieval Kaunas Castle, Lithuania. EPA-EFE/TOMS KALNINS
Read more via Lithuanian National Radio and Television
