Vilnius Performance Art Biennial (VB26) is a continuous international event dedicated to contemporary performance art. The first biennial took place in 2023 as part of the Vilnius 700th anniversary program: during the two-week festival, 38 artists performed 31 shows at 17 locations across the capital, with over 20 thousand visitors and a large number of foreign guests and journalists attending the events.
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This year’s Vilnius Performance Art Biennial program will consist of two parts. These are the invited artists’ program curated by the artistic director Neringa Bumblienė and works selected by an international jury from applications received during the open call.
The open call selection committee consisted of: Charles Aubin, one of the directors of the Centre Pompidou x Jersey City museum (USA), João Laia, head of the contemporary art department in Porto (Portugal), and N. Bumblienė, artistic director and curator of the Vilnius biennial.
VB 26 Theme
The theme of the second Vilnius Performance Art Biennial, “Glyph,” is a Greek word meaning a carved or inscribed symbol conveying nonverbal meaning, sound, or idea. It is also a reference to Ali Smith’s book of the same name, in which she writes: She could take something in you, I mean, in me, that was like a heavy burden, and give it a story, a voice. And then that dead heavy thing stopped being a burden, it came alive and started carrying itself. After that, whatever it was no longer seemed so hopeless.
“This winter, while reading the latest book by the well-known Scottish author Ali Smith, I thought a lot about what we inherit, what others and the world give us, and how we can move forward with all that. About how to preserve light, ease, and hope against the backdrop of endless war and turmoil. To see a way out, not to lose the connection that unites us all, to nurture joy. In one way or another, the works presented in the program speak about this,” says the biennial’s artistic director and curator N. Bumblienė.
Curated Program Participants
The curated VB26 program features the Italian artist duo “Invernomuto” – Simone Bertuzzi and Simone Trabucchi, who will present a performative version of their work “Triton.” Produced together with the Nida Art Colony of the Vilnius Academy of Arts, the work is related to a colony of amphibians – salamanders – living in two old rock pools in Pietra Perduca, Northern Italy.
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Internationally recognized Lithuanian curator and artist Raimundas Malašauskas will show the latest version of his work “Send in the Clowns” at VB26, produced together with the public institution “Autarkija.” Anastasia Sosunova – an outstanding artist of her generation, widely presented in Lithuanian and international art contexts, will create a new work for VB26, specially designed for the space surrounding her studio near the Vilnius Millennium Circle.
Open Call Program Participants
Four artists and art collectives present their works in the open call program. Vilnius native Joelis Aškinis will present a performance inspired by the historical microstate – the Paulava Republic, whose ruins are currently about 30 km from Vilnius.
The performance “Ecdysis,” selected for the Vilnius Performance Art Biennial, is an ongoing sound and video collaboration project between rapper and performance artist Iceboy Violet and artist-set designer Ella Skinner (United Kingdom). This work is performed inside an ice sculpture that changes under the influence of heat, light, body, and movement. Polish artist Gosia Lehmann, living in Berlin and awarded the first prize of “Hošek Contemporary” in 2023, will present the performance “Dilemma” at VB26.
Living together and originally from Belarus, Olia Sosnovskaya comes to Vilnius with the performance “Citing Sources.” Deconstructing the format of an academic lecture, the creator examines the political movement and its exhaustion. These themes intertwine with her personal experience in the 2020–2021 Belarusian anti-government protests.
A more detailed VB26 program, locations, and exact event schedule will be announced in October. More information about the biennial will be available on the website https://vilniusbiennial.com/.
The biennial is organized by the gallery “Meno niša,” its director is Diana Stomienė, and the artistic director is Neringa Bumblienė. The event is funded by the Lithuanian Council for Culture and supported by the Vilnius City Municipality.
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