The installation "Villa Lituania" is presented at the MO Museum - a rare opportunity to see the reconstruction of the Lithuanian pavilion, which received a prestigious special mention at the Venice Biennale in 2007.
The "Villa Lituania" project, created for the 52nd Venice Biennale by Lithuanian National Culture and Art Prize laureates Nomeda and Gediminas Urbonas, received international attention and recognition - it was shown in the MACBA Museum in Barcelona, the Arcos Museum in Italy, described in the international publications "Global Work of Art" and the MoMA Museum In an anthology of critical art compiled in New York, it is presented for the first time in Lithuania. MO Museum the installation belonging to the collection is shown in the context of the first MO exhibition "Visas menas – apie mus" (curator Prof. Dr. Raminta Jurėnaitė). It will be possible to see the work in the MO museum and get acquainted with its history and video material until March 10.
What is the importance of "Villa Lituania"?
The "Villa Lituania" project, which has sparked discussions in the world of art and politics, creates a poetic story about lost territory and the quest to regain it. It is an artistic expression of the struggle for freedom.
"Villa Lituania" is a building in Rome where in 1933-1940 was the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Italy. After the Soviet occupation of Lithuania, they established a representative office of the USSR in the embassy. After the 1990s, the building became the Russian consulate, and the question of its return was not resolved.
in 2007 N. and G. Urbon proposed an artistic provocation - a symbolic action: a pigeon race between Venice and Rome. The pigeons, as a symbol of peace, were supposed to land in the last occupied territory of Lithuania - the dovecote built in the garden of the "Villa Lituania" embassy in Rome. After negotiations with Russia failed and permission to build a dovecote was not obtained, the original idea had to be adjusted and the pigeon competition to win the "Villa Lituania" cup took place in Venice.
"This entire project is multi-layered, encouraging reflection on important and painful events in our history: the occupation and the struggle for freedom. Symbolically, the installation is opened almost on the eve of Defender of Freedom Day", says Milda Ivanauskienė, director of the MO museum.
Artists' project in a symbolic place
"Villa Lituania", as a project of preservation of historical memory and artistic activism, is connected with N. and G. Urboņi's "Pro-test laboratory", which was held more than a decade ago in exactly these spaces - in the cinema "Lietuva", which used to stand on the site of the MO museum. The social, public and political action, which was aimed at resisting the privatization of cultural places and demanded the preservation of public spaces in the city, turned into a public movement. Today it can be stated that the cultural place in the city has remained.
"Art can sometimes do more than politics or diplomacy. After the fruitless efforts of post-Soviet Lithuanian diplomats to recover the lost territory, "Villa Lituania" now exists in the Museum of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where its visitors can hear the authentic voice of Ambassador Kazios Lozoraitis, among other various stories," adds Gediminas Urbonas.
The "Villa Lituania" installation will be open to visitors at the MO Museum for two months. During the mentioned period, museum visitors will not only be able to familiarize themselves with the reconstruction of the project in more detail, but other activities will also take place. Visiting the installation with a museum ticket.
N. and G. Urbonai are one of the most prominent Lithuanian artists, theorists and educators of today, who have gained international recognition for their interdisciplinary projects in the field of social, political and protest art. Recently, he has been delving into ecological topics. in 2018 the artists represented Lithuania for the second time in Venice: they presented the "Marsh Pavilion" project at the architecture biennale. Laureates of the Lithuanian Culture and Art Prize.
About MO
MO Museum, whose building was designed by the world-famous architect Daniel Libeskind, opened its doors in 2018. October 18 Prior to its opening, the MO Museum, founded on the personal initiative of scientists Danguolė and Viktoras Butkai, operated as a museum without walls for almost a decade. The collection of more than 5000 modern and contemporary works of art is part of the Lithuanian Art Gold Fund from the 6th century. XNUMXs to the present day.
MO Museum is a place of good leisure time. Exhibitions invite you to come here, cinema, educational activities, concerts and others events, intended for various age groups. One of MO's goals is to gather an active community - MOdernists - who support the idea of MO and help create the new museum together.
