Lithuania in the News
18th November 2007
Outstanding Contemporary Art and Architecture for Vilnius
Jonas Mekas during the opening of the
Jonas Mekas Visual Arts Centre.
Photo courtesy Lietuvos Rytas.
The legendary avant-garde American Lithuanian filmmaker Jonas Mekas was in Vilnius for the opening of the Jonas Mekas Visual Arts Centre (JMVAC) in Vilnius. The JMVAC was opened on Sunday, November 4, 2007, and the Centre’s first exhibition was dedicated to the history of art "Avant-garde: From Futurism to Fluxus", thus bringing to attention the creative work of two outstanding contemporary Lithuanian artists, who have greatly influenced modern art movements -
Daniel Libeskind. Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Massimiliano Fuksas. Photo courtesy Omni
Jonas Mekas and Jurgis Mačiūnas, the founder of the Fluxus movement.
The opening of the Centre provided a good impetus to advance the proposal for the establishment of a combined Guggenheim - Hermitage Museum branch in Vilnius, which would then house the JMVAC. Representatives of the Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Hermitage Museum in St.Petersburg were in attendance during the opening of the JMVAC. The famous contemporary Guggenheim Museum already has branches in a few cities outside America, including Bilbao, Spain, and Berlin, Germany. Vilnius, due to take on the mantle of the cultural capital of Europe in 2009, is particularly suited for such a venture. With a Guggenheim - Hermitage Museum branch Vilnius would become an artistic draw card for all of Eastern Europe. Already world famous architects are vying for the privilege of designing this Museum, including the American Daniel Libeskind and the Italian Massimiliano Fuksas. Both Libeskind and Fuksas are of Lithuanian heritage. Libeskind is the architect who designed the master plan for the reconstructed ground zero of the World Trade Centre in New York, probably the most famous building project in the world today. It is interesting to note that another American Lithuanian architect, Ed Narbutas, has a leading role in the World Trade Centre project. He was responsible for coordinating the work on the Freedom Tower and now is the design manager for Tower 2 on the site.
Further information:

www.lrytas.lt 04/11/07, 13/11/07, 13/10/07, 08/09/07
www.omni.lt 12/11/07
www.worldarchitecturenews.com