In the 35 years since regaining independence, Lithuania has made its presence felt on the global cultural stage, becoming a distinctive voice in film, music, theatre and the visual arts. From the Golden Lion-winning opera “Sun & Sea” that toured 33 cities worldwide to breakthrough achievements at film festivals like Locarno and Venice, Lithuanian creators are leaving an indelible mark on the arts. The country itself is fast becoming a destination for culture gourmands. In 2009, the capital Vilnius took the mantle of European city of culture, while the country’s second city Kaunas then enjoyed the status in 2022. Meanwhile, in 2024, France ran a three month cultural season dedicated to Lithuania that featured 200+ events and 500 artists, with some events even held in the prestigious Pompidou Centre in Paris. We can say that the country’s cultural footprint far exceeds its modest size.
Sun and Sea: taking the world by storm, one beach at a time
One of the most celebrated pieces of Lithuanian art of the last few decades is surely this much lauded operatic performance. It was the Lithuanian entry of the Venice Biennale in 2019, where it won the prestigious Golden Lion. Created by the trio of Lina Lapelytė, Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė and Vaiva Grainytė, the opera is centred on a single holiday beach scene (utilizing real sand), and includes librettos from a number of disparate characters. As the New York Times succinctly summarises it, “Within a single hour of dangerously gentle melodies, [the work] manages to animate a panoramic cast of characters whose stories coalesce into a portrait of an apocalyptic climate crisis.” The opera continues to be performed across the globe, with performances already lined up for Bogota and Ghent in 2025.
From film set to festival champion
In the last decade in particular, Lithuania has emerged not only as a world class filming destination but also as home to a burgeoning generation of young filmmakers. The country’s diverse locations, ranging from Soviet era neighborhoods to Baroque, Renaissance and Gothic architecture have proven to be a draw for international co-productions. HBO’s “Chernobyl,” and Netflix’s “Stranger Things” and “Young Wallander” are just some of the popular shows that have utilised not only the location opportunities, but also the depth of technical talent available.
This is only part of the story, however. Laurynas Bareiša’s “Pilgrims” won the Orizzonti Award at Venice and was acquired by HBO, while at the 2023 Locarno Festival, Lithuania was the country that took home the most awards. Saulė Bliuvaitė’s debut “Toxic” captured the Golden Leopard, and Bareiša’s “Drowning Dry” won for Best Director and Best Ensemble Cast. Meanwhile, the country’s local box office is in rude health, with the lighthearted nostalgic coming of age drama “Pietinia Kronikas” becoming the most profitable homegrown film in the local market.
Breaking barriers
By age of 35 in 2022, when she ended her tenure as music director with the UK’s Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Lithuanian conductor Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla had already made her name as a trailblazer. Following in the footsteps of such luminaries as Sir Simon Rattle, Sakari Oramo, and Andris Nelsons was no mean feat, but it is the fact that she was the first woman to head a major orchestra that is truly significant. Her recordings include acclaimed Weinberg symphonies (winning the 2020 Opus Klassik and Grammophon Awards), works by Lithuanian composer Raminta Šerkšnytė, and “The British Project” featuring Elgar, Britten, Walton, and Vaughan Williams.
Mirga is not the only Lithuanian maestro who has made her mark. For the last two decades, renowned Lithuanian pianist Mūza Rubackytė has performed across the globe, largely responsible for the dissemination of the music of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis. But Čiurlionis is only one of the many composers in her oeuvre. She has performed, and recorded, such masters as Liszt, Shostakovic, Prokofiev and Beethoven. She is also an in demand pedagogue, and has delivered masterclasses at the prestigious Liszt Academies in Budapest and Weimar.
We also cannot forget the operatic soprano Asmik Grigorian, who has achieved much in a relatively short time (she is only 44). Her acclaimed roles include Marie in “Wozzeck” at Salzburg Festival and Madama Butterfly at Vienna State Opera and the Metropolitan Opera in New York. She has also performed at prestigious venues worldwide including Royal Opera House, Bayreuth Festival, and Teatro Real Madrid.
Opening doors. Opening minds
Lithuanian is a country that takes culture seriously, and nowhere is this more evident than in the series of impressive museums that have been opened in the last decade. Most notable of these is arguably MO Muziejus (MO Museum), a privately funded arts museum opened in the centre of Vilnius in 2018. Designed by architect Daniel Libeskind, the building is the perfect meeting of striking exterior and interior innovation, with a representative permanent collection of the best in Lithuanian art. The gallery has fast become a meeting spot for the local creative scene.
But such cultural spaces are not exclusive to the capital city. In 2024, the Stasys Museum was opened in Panevėžys, a large industrial town in the centre of the country. The building’s distinctive homogenous “white cube” design allows it to stand out and attract the eye. Alongside the permanent collection of the works of Stasys Eidrigevičius, the local world renowned artist whose work the gallery is dedicated to, Stasys is committed to introducing the local community to the work of world artists.
New ways of thinking: Fluxus and the new Lithuanian art and society
No discussion of Lithuanian art of the last half century can ignore what is arguably the country’s greatest contribution to contemporary world art, Fluxus. The brainchild of George Mačiūnas, a Lithuanian emigre (born in Kaunas), Fluxus went on to become an umbrella term for much of the art that emerged from New York in the late 1960s, encompassing painting, music, and film. At its heart was a desire to “promote NON ART REALITY to be grasped by all peoples, not only critics, dilettantes and professionals.” Joining Mačiūnas in this revolution was another Lithuanian, the young film-maker Jonas Mekas, who influenced a generation of young filmmakers in the 1960s and created classics such as “Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania” (now included in the National Film Archive of the US).
It is this sense of the blurring of the lines between the everyday and aesthetic that underpinned the creation of the Republic of Užupis. Skirting the banks of the Vilnelė, this so-called Republic is the artist’s quarter of Vilnius. Very much in the spirit of Fluxus, the “Republic” issued its own constitution on 1st April 1997, which contains such immortal articles as “A dog has the right to be a dog.” This idea of the fun and artfulness of the everyday has become part of the fabric of Lithuania’s cultural life, visible in the country’s many street fairs and festivals like the annual celebration of the country’s signature pink soup šaltibarščiai, or the actual Fluxus festival that takes place in Kaunas each year.
The city as a text: Literary Lithuania
It is difficult to talk about contemporary Lithuanian literature without mentioning what has become one of its urtexts, Ričardas Gavelis’s Vilnius Poker. A largely experimental work, in tune with such established classics as James Joyce’s Ulysses, Vilnius Poker takes place across a week in Vilnius. Told by a number of narrators, one of which is the city itself, the novel is an articulation of the Soviet period it is set in, as well as a celebration of the capital. The novel has taken on such cultural significance that an exhibition was organised at the capital’s Mo Museum in 2024 with the book as its inspiration.
Vilnius itself has strong connections with some of Europe’s greatest writers, such luminaries as Adam Mickiewicz, Romain Gary, Czeslaw Milosz, and Joseph Brodsky having spent time in the city. Meanwhile, the massive shifting dunes that characterize the country’s unspoilt coastline have proven a draw for such literary giants as Jean Paul Sartre, while Thomas Mann kept a holiday home in the picture perfect fishing village of Nida.
A unique genius finally finding a global voice
2025 marks 150 years since the birth of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis. As adept a composer as he was a painter, his syncretic vision for art was truly unique, predating the abstract works of such better known artists as Kandinsky. A symbolist at heart, Čiurlionis drew from the nature and myth of his native land to create an oeuvre of painting and music that continues to bewitch audiences. Although his work has long been held in esteem in his native Lithuania, with an entire museum being dedicated to his work in Kaunas, abroad he was largely unknown until local artists like Mūza Rubackytė began to take his work to international audiences. Her Paris recitals, which have contained a number of Čiurlionis pieces, have spurred the interest of not only audiences but also other musicians in his work. His painting, meanwhile, was the focus of a specially curated show at the Dulwich Picture Gallery in London. With this year being the 150th anniversary of his birth, it is safe to say that more and more people will discover his work.
