About Lithuania

 
Brief History of Lithuania

Lithuania was reestablished as an independent democratic republic in 1990. Once the largest state in the medieval Europe, it was under the Russian Empire control from 1795 to WWI, independent from 1918 to 1940, and again occupied by the Soviet Union until 1990. Lithuania was the first Soviet Republic to secede from the Soviet Union. It is sometimes credited with contributing to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Lithuania joined the European Union and NATO in 2004.  Currently the country of 3 million is committed to protecting its own statehood and democracy and extending support to Ukraine as the conflict in the region is unfolding.

Arts and Culture in Lithuania

ART

Lithuanian National Museum of Art  https://www.lndm.lt/en/

Folk Art
Lithuanian folk art is a beautiful aspect of Lithuanian culture that connects the Lithuania of today with past generations. Some Lithuanian folk art has its roots in pagan belief systems, others stem from practical usage, and others are decorative elements made with materials found locally.

  • Straw gardens, known as sodai or šiaudinukai in Lithuanian, are decorative hanging elements made of geometric shapes
  • Lithuanian decorated eggs are known as margučiai
  • Black ceramics are a tradition that dates back to the times of ancient civilizations and is produced in the same way today
  • The distaff was used in Lithuania to spin yarn prior to the introduction of the spinning wheel
  • Papercutting, called karpiniai, has been practiced in Lithuania since the 16th century.
  • https://thenorthernvox.com/lithuanian-folk-art/

Lithuanian Folk Art Institute  https://ltfai.org/lithuanian-folk-art/


Contemporary Art

MO Modern Art Museum https://mo.lt/en/
A personal initiative of Lithuanian philanthropists Danguolė and Viktoras Butkus, MO functioned as an art museum without walls for close to ten years. The collection of 5000 modern and contemporary pieces contains major Lithuanian artworks from the 1960s to this day

CULTURE

The Lithuanian Culture Institute https://english.lithuanianculture.lt/
Established by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania, the Institute purposefully presents Lithuanian culture and professional art abroad and enhances the opportunities on the international scene for cultural professionals and artists, as well as for specialists and organizations working in these fields.