It is agreed to cooperate in organizing patriotic-themed LNDM exhibitions in Lithuania, NATO countries, and Ukraine, to educate and inform the public about Lithuanian history, military affairs, security, and defense policy issues, to foster citizenship and increase public awareness. The agreement was signed by LNDM Director General Dr. Arūnas Gelūnas and Lithuanian Armed Forces Commander General Raimundas Vaikšnoras.
“To be able to protect and defend culture, we must first know it. We are pleased that the cooperation agreement signed today opens the museum doors not only to Lithuanian but also to our allied soldiers. They are always welcome in our museum halls, where the history of Lithuanian art unfolds, museum exhibits evacuated from war-torn Ukraine are presented, and masterpieces of world art are displayed.
We hope that the artistic values nurtured in our museums will inspire soldiers and allow them to better understand what we cherish and strive to preserve,” – said LNDM Director General Dr. A. Gelūnas, expressing joy about the partnership.
“Our history and cultural heritage are an integral part of the state’s identity. Works of art have not only artistic but also historical value – they preserve our memory and tell about the state, its people, and the era. Therefore, the cooperation between the Lithuanian Armed Forces and the Lithuanian National Museum of Art is important – it allows combining the knowledge and experience of our institutions in protecting what has lasting value.
By defending the state, we defend not only its territory. We also defend its history, culture, that which testifies to who we are,” said Lithuanian Armed Forces Commander General R. Vaikšnoras.
Interinstitutional cooperation opens the doors of LNDM museums and galleries to soldiers from Lithuania, NATO allies, and Ukraine. Individually or in groups, they can visit exhibitions and displays in Vilnius, Klaipėda, Palanga, and Juodkrantė free of charge. By visiting exhibitions, soldiers can better get to know Lithuanian culture, history, and expand their understanding of our common fight for freedom.
The agreement was signed at the LNDM Vilnius Picture Gallery. This is where the history of joint work between the museum and the military began, when at the end of 2008, after the war in Georgia, a Lithuanian Air Force plane flew works by one of the most famous Georgian painters, Niko Pirosmani, to Vilnius. This exhibition, opened on New Year’s Eve at the Vilnius Picture Gallery, marked the beginning of the “Vilnius – European Capital of Culture 2009” program. The exhibition became part of the millennium celebrations of the name of Lithuania.
Read more The first EU and Ukraine drone alliance meeting took place in Brussels
One of the latest examples of this partnership is the canvas “The Arrest of Christ,” attributed to the Italian Baroque master Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1610), currently exhibited at the Vilnius Picture Gallery and brought from the Western and Eastern Art Museum of Odesa, Ukraine. The Lithuanian Armed Forces is one of the partners of this and other LNDM exhibitions presenting Ukrainian cultural heritage protected from war threats.
Since 2020, LNDM, together with Ukrainian cultural institutions, has organized more than 20 exhibitions. Among them are exhibitions of Maria Prymachenko’s works, which presented pieces evacuated from the Zaporizhzhia Regional Art Museum to Lithuania.
With the onset of the large-scale war, LNDM evacuated valuables from five Ukrainian museums to Lithuania – here they are preserved, restored, and presented to the public. LNDM also organizes exhibitions in Ukraine: Vadim Shamkov’s photo exhibition “My Museum” has already been presented in Kyiv, Odesa, and frontline cities – Sumy, Kharkiv. In October, this exhibition will reach Mykolaiv.
The new cooperation agreement continues the successfully developing partnership between LNDM and the Lithuanian Armed Forces and reflects the desire of both institutions to strengthen cultural and educational cooperation in Lithuania and abroad, increase public understanding of the importance of the Lithuanian Armed Forces and its allies, and foster patriotism.
The Lithuanian National Museum of Art is one of the largest national art museums in Lithuania, collecting, preserving, researching, conserving, restoring, and popularizing art and cultural history values of national importance. The LNDM collection is exhibited in nine branches in Vilnius, Klaipėda, Palanga, and Juodkrantė.
Read more “Nordikos” manager sold two warehouses in Estonia for 6 million euros
