On Wednesday afternoon, a monument dedicated to one of Lithuania's most prominent artists was unveiled in Vilnius, next to the National MK Čiurlionis School of Arts. MO Museum As part of the project "Talking Sculptures of Vilnius", MK Čiurlionis spoke with a text created by writer Jurga Vilė and voiced by actor Saulius Balandis. Vilnius residents and city guests can now hear him in Lithuanian and English by scanning a QR code.
The interactive project "Talking Sculptures of Vilnius" has been inviting visitors to get acquainted with important Lithuanian historical figures, representatives of other nations, or fictional characters and symbols of the city immortalized in sculptures since 2015. The bust of MK Čiurlionis (sculptor Žilvinas Landzbergas) became the 25th part of the project and joined the route inviting visitors to explore Vilnius through the memory of outstanding personalities.
According to Milda Ivanauskienė, director of the MO Museum, the expanding ranks of Vilnius' talking sculptures open up even more opportunities to creatively reflect on their city, its history and culture, and offer tourists visiting the capital unexpected and memorable perspectives.
"It is symbolic that during the anniversary – the tenth – year of the existence of the "Vilnius Talking Sculptures" throughout Lithuania, we are also celebrating the anniversary of one of our country's most prominent artistic visionaries, MK Čiurlionis. Today, his silent bronze bust speaks in a very personal and human way, allowing us to identify with the personality of this impressive creator through an informal touch. This is precisely the essence of this project – with it we seek to breathe life into something that at first glance seems distant from us in both time and form," shared M. Ivanauskienė during the opening of the sculpture.
The Mayor of Vilnius attended the opening of the MK Čiurlionis talking sculpture Valdas Benkunskas emphasized that although the artist did not live in the capital for long, only about nine months, the spirit of his universal creativity is still felt in the city today.
"MK Čiurlionis reminds us that art has no borders – it connects people, cities and ideas. While living in Vilnius, the artist composed music, painted, organized one of his first exhibitions, and discussed the creation of the Nation's House on Taurus Hill. I believe that MK Čiurlionis, who was interviewed today, will invite the townspeople and guests of the city not only to take pictures together, but also to get to know Vilnius through the experience of a brilliant artist," he said. V. Benkunskas.
Listeners are invited to get to know the personalities and characters immortalized in Vilnius' talking sculptures by scanning the QR codes located next to the sculptures. Through their stories, you can explore Vilnius using a specially created map.
