“Ki |r| timai” By Ieva Austinskaitė

In the Turbine Hall of the Energy and Technology Museum, the exhibition of photographs by artist Ieva Austinskaitė “Ki |r| timai” is open.

For many residents of Vilnius or guests of the city, the Kirtimai microdistrict is an unfamiliar urban space, passed by on the way to the airport or an area surrounded by outdated stereotypes. However, Kirtimai is an extremely rapidly changing part of the capital, containing many contrasts: new business centers, the industrial and residential heritage of Vilnius, and several active cultural oases.

For the organizers, the idea of the project came from the search for a relationship with the Kirtimai microdistrict. The Kirtimai Cultural Center is the only space that has been operating and fostering culture in this area for 65 years without long breaks, and at the beginning of the institution’s existence, both open-air dance evenings and musical improvisations were held here, inviting well-known music creators of the time, such as the famous composer Kęstutis Antanėlis.

After a year-long photographic study, the photographer presented her view of the present of the Kirtimai micro-district. The artist’s exhibition “Ki |r| timai” is a documentation of street fragments, architecture and everyday signs, revealing to the viewer the changing and contrasting present of the microdistrict.  Austinskaitė’s photo series captures several faces of Kirtimai: the reflection of the new territory of corporations and large logistics centers and its structures, the old, industrial, “factory” face of Kirtimai and the recording of relatively small residential houses, huts, playgrounds and everyday life, more rural than urban.

“Kirtimai microdistrict in Vilnius was an almost unfamiliar city space to me until 2022, which I usually passed by when traveling between Lithuania and the United Kingdom. After countless hours exploring Kirtimai, the various layers of the neighborhood and the overall eclectic dynamic began to unfold. Places that looked rather bleak at first revealed themselves with strange details, belongings of people who once lived here or who still live here, phrases written on various surfaces, architecture, microdistrict planning imprints and signs of everyday life,” said Austinskaitė.

In her work, Austinskaitė explores the structures of public spaces, the urban environment, and the connection between man and the city. The artist currently lives and works in Kaunas. She completed a bachelor’s degree in photography at Middlesex University, a master’s degree at the Royal College of Art in London, and a residency at the School of Visual Arts in New York. The works of the photographer have been published in exhibitions and publications since 2011.

Organized by:
Kirtimai Cultural Center

Partly funded by:
Vilnius City Municipality

Partner:
Energy and Technology Museum

◾ The exhibition will be on display from September 8th to October 5th in Turbine Hall.
◾ The presentation of the exhibition and Audrius Šimkūnas performance will take place on October 8th (Friday) at 5.30 PM.
◾ The event is free of admission charge. Visiting the exhibition – after purchasing a museum visitor’s ticket.