HUMAN RIGHTS AND ART – LITHUANIA
-by Justina Špeirokaité (Curator at Improper Walls)
While creating LT.art Vienna festival’s programme, curators Justina Špeirokaitė, Julija Karimžanova, Danielė Brekytė, Viltautė Žemelytė and Urtė Špeirokaitė are choosing artworks that would not only be interesting for the Viennese alternative art scene, but also present and enrich one’s world view.
Behind the abstract themes of the festival there are long discussions, dinners, wine, conversations with artists, endless correspondence and sharing of inspirations and observations. These conversations often turn to what hurts, excites, makes us nervous and raises questions about the field of Lithuanian culture. This is probably why the festival invites artists who are not obviously "mainstream" in Lithuania, who are brave and different.
The curators reflect their own world perception and the desire to see Lithuanian culture in some topics more daring. In recent weeks, Lithuanian media and social media have been full of hate speech, misinformation and obvious human rights violations. “This is very disturbing and painful for us, and we want to understand if Lithuanian culture is seen as a power to change society in the context of human rights” says LT.art Vienna curators.
Therefore they interviewed three amazing inspiring artists: Agnietė Lisičkinaitė, Eglė Kazickaitė and Greta Gudelytė, who are also part of the festival's 2021 programme.
AGNIETĖ LISIČKINAITĖ - contemporary dance performer
What do you think is the relationship between the Lithuanian cultural field and human rights at the moment?
A: Sad. In the Lithuanian cultural context it is still difficult to talk openly and loudly about #metoo issues; the working conditions and earnings of performers in many (especially freelancers) artistic fields are still a dense forest; before the pandemic we had very few open calls, which creates a sense of lack of transparency, and a feeling of inequality.
Do you think that human rights issues are one of the tasks of culture?
A: I think culture shouldn't be tasked with tasks, there are artists who work on abstract themes, who concentrate on forms and concepts, and that's very good. But I personally can't imagine my work without provocative, questioning, thought-provoking, socially and politically engaged aspects. For me, the medium of dance is a means to create a dialogue with the viewer, if I manage to broaden their worldview. I have been exploring for quite a long time that dance can be a tool for social activism. I believe that a work of art can stimulate social change and still remain an art that does not define itself within the walls of artistic institutions.
How should the voice of culture be heard when talking about human rights?
A: Loud, but I stress that I am speaking from my own perspective and from the discourses of creativity that interest me. We have a lot of oppression in Lithuania at the moment because of the hatred directed at the LGBT+ community and I find it very sad and I want to speak about it through my work.
What is the relationship between your art and human rights issues?
A: I'm currently working on a piece about protest culture. In my artistic research in this context, I try to touch upon the societal issues that are relevant to me - gender equality, minority rights, the rights and responsibilities of those in power and society. Through this work I consider that protest, as such, is a tool of democratic society to fight for the progress of society. It is just that it is often used in a very destructive way, so the question is what kind of protest baby we want to raise as a symbol of freedom or aggression. We often need a revolution to bring about change, but I think its aim should be to sow a conscious and systematic evolution of society and its social norms.
More about Agnieté here
©Ruslan Bolgov
EGLĖ KAZICKAITĖ & GRETA GUDELYTĖ. Apeiron Theater
What do you think is the relationship between the Lithuanian cultural field and human rights at the moment?
G: It is difficult for me to comment on the general relationship between the Lithuanian cultural field and human rights, because at the moment, when there are a lot of battles about the rights of the LGBT community, about violence against women, or about other socially sensitive topics, I would not say that the attitude of cultural organizations towards this issue is actively and clearly articulated, but you can see individual cultural representatives speaking about the most sensitive issues of the day. It is likely that this sluggishness and silence is related to the general, rather gloomy cultural background that prevails in the face of the pandemic, when the activity of cultural institutions and creators in general is diminished, due to the limitations of the field of culture itself from their usual expression. After all, it is usually in the performances or performances themselves that creators, such as theatre representatives, express their positions. Theatrical forms of expression are more familiar to theatre-makers than the journalistic expression of opinion on various social platforms. Unfortunately, the usual format of meeting the audience has not been taking place for some time now, and there is a general mood of confusion in our own theatre. While we are usually a socially active theatre, declaring our values in our performances, talking about the rights of different groups of people, cooperating with social and non-governmental organisations, and not being afraid to clearly express our position on sensitive topics, we are now forced to spend more time on finding influential forms of communication than on shaping the content of the theatre.
Do you think that human rights issues are one of the tasks of culture?
G: You know, I really liked the rules that the New Riga Theatre publishes for staff and audience. They sound like a kind of manifesto for humanity and human rights. In these rules, the artistic director of the JRT, Alvis Hermanis, talks about allowing freedom of speech without any restrictions, about the fact that "the focus of the theatre is the study of the human being in all its expressions. If we allow only the beautiful and orderly side of human nature to emerge, we will never learn anything about the mysteries and abysses of man - which is precisely what interests us in this work and in life." No group of people should be left on the margins of theatrical research under the guise of dubious dogmas. So yes, I think human rights themes are inseparable from other cultural tasks.
E: Everything that does not belong to nature belongs to culture. Human rights are inherently part of culture, so human rights issues are definitely part of the field of culture to which every civilised person belongs. If the question is whether the arts in particular, arts organisations, should set themselves the goal of using the tools at their disposal to contribute to the solution of these problems in society, to raise questions, etc., yes. I think that no matter how you look at it, all the topics in art are always under the big umbrella of "Human Rights", in other words, art is always about human rights, about free choices, about the relationship between law and duty. Does the artist often choose conscious and specific themes that are relevant and poignant in society at the moment - no. Often the choice is to be sleek and compromise as a survival strategy. For me, this is a reference to the fact that we still do not feel free. That in itself means that all is not well with human rights.
How should the voice of culture be heard when it comes to human rights?
E: Peacefully. The voice of culture should be a communicative example for society. We see a lot of divisiveness at the moment, maybe that's why people in the art field seem to be passive at the moment. Human rights issues are not a zone where you want to go with a gun and war paintings on your face. However, I think that in order to make societal progress in the field of human rights, we all have to use the tools that we know best. We at the Apeiron Theatre work openly and consistently on this issue. We have social projects, we are in direct contact with various so-called minority groups, and we are certainly not flattered in our work - on the contrary, we are resisted and encouraged not to fund our projects or to attend "perverse" performances. However, we see meaning in what we do. This is our important direction, this is our voice. When the fierce debate on human rights started, we immediately started thinking, generating ideas on how to make a qualitative contribution to the dialogue, on how to support young people for whom this public debate about them is like knife after knife between their ribs. We will soon start implementing our ideas.
G: Although it is imagined that culture is inseparable from civility, civility is often confused with political correctness. I think theatre people, who are no strangers to rebellious expressions, should avoid being laconic when speaking out on human rights issues and use bold, motivating language that makes a clear statement on one issue or another.
What is the relationship between your art and human rights issues?
E: Close. Long-term. With ups and downs. With ups and downs. Human rights, social issues - these are the fuel of the Apeiron Theatre, resources that will never run out.
G: The relationship between the art we make and human rights issues is direct. Many of our productions have been produced on LGBT themes, domestic violence or violence against women, and we are active in socio-cultural projects that are directly related to the integration of people with intellectual disabilities or other disabilities into society. We are a theatre that openly supports the rights of LGBT people, the rights of people with intellectual disabilities and other disabilities, national minorities and equality in general.
For more information about Apeiron Theater continue here