Festival of Cultural Spaces

From August 23 to 25, the Ministry of Culture invites the public to the “16” Festival of Cultural Spaces. During the festival, visitors will have the opportunity to explore 16 recently renovated or entirely new cultural institutions across Lithuania, including theaters, museums, libraries, and concert venues.

“This festival symbolically crowns a particularly intense phase of cultural space renovations. This breakthrough would not have been possible without both state and EU investments, as well as the active and proactive cultural workers,” says Minister of Culture Simonas Kairys. “Although 16 cultural institutions are participating in the festival, the actual number is even larger. Some institutions will not be participating due to objective circumstances, such as intensive preparations for upcoming exhibitions or ongoing construction work. These include the LVSO Hall, the Contemporary Art Centre, and the Žemaičių Museum ‘Alka.’ Therefore, even after the festival, we will have more opportunities to return to these renovated cultural spaces.”

The participating cultural institutions have prepared special programs for visitors. Over the last weekend of August, the newly revived buildings will offer numerous free tours and educational activities. On August 24 at 11:30 AM, Stasys Museum in Panevėžys will host a discussion titled “Cultural Renaissance of the Regions: Utopia or Reality?” featuring artists and cultural managers from both regional areas and major cities. The discussion can be attended in person or watched live on the Ministry of Culture’s Facebook page.

The “16” Festival will open on August 23, Friday, with the Pranas Gudynas Restoration Centre, which invites visitors to three themed tours. On Saturday and Sunday, visitors can also explore the Ąžuolyno Library, the Kaunas IX Fort Memorial Complex Exhibition Building, the Lithuanian Audio-Sensory Library, the Museum of Lithuanian Jewish Culture and Identity, the open storage facilities of the Museum of Theatre, Music and Cinema, the Radvilų Palace Art Museum, the Sapiegos Palace, Stasys Museum, the Trakai History Museum, the Žemaičių Bishopric Museum in Varnių, the Klaipeda State Musical Theatre, and four branches of the National Museum of Lithuania: the House of Histories, the Pilininkai House, the Signatories’ House in Vilnius, and the Jono Šliūpas Museum in Palanga.