Contemporary Design and Architecture in Vilnius, Lithuania by Marie Cleland
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With new museums, world-renowned architects and institutes, cutting-edge design and ambitious art fairs – this year is Vilnius’ chance to shine on the international stage and it’s doing everything it can to live up to its potential.
The Lithuania of today is a far cry from the fabled empire that once stretched from the Baltic to the Black Sea under the rule of the medieval king Vytautas the Great. However, after decades of Fascist and Soviet oppression, the once thriving, independent nation is clawing its way back onto the international stage, and using its rich cultural heritage as a key ingredient in its economic development.
Having the capital Vilnius designated a 2009 European Capital of Culture (the other is Linz in Austria) is the icing on the cake of a bumper cultural year, one that Lithuania could well look back on as a turning point. Alongside the programme of Capital of Culture events collectively marketed as CultureLive, Vilnius will see the re-opening of Lithuania’s National Gallery of Arts and play host to the inaugural international art fair ARTVILNIUS09.
Zaha Hadid Makes Her Mark
And while visitors discover all that Vilnius’ creative industries have to offer, there will be yet more projects on the horizon to keep them, and their cash, coming back for more, the most anticipated of which has to be the Zaha Hadid-designed Guggenheim Hermitage Museum.
The brainchild of Arturas Zuokas, the former mayor of Vilnius, the EUR 93.4m project represents a major investment in the city’s future as a design destination. In fact, Zuokas says the whole venture was inspired by the success of Bilbao in Spain, which off the back of a “build-it-and-they-shall-come” principal acquired its own Guggenheim museum and then watched as the city’s image transformed from blue-collar to beacon for contemporary architecture and its adherents.
As well as injecting a seriously modern architectural statement into a city whose buildings are predominantly Soviet-era modernist, Gothic and Baroque, the Vilnius Guggenheim will also draw attention to two major local artists, with permanent collections of works by the filmmaker Jonas Mekas and Fluxus founding-member George Maciunas. Collections from the Hermitage and Guggenheim will also make up a substantial portion of the museum’s contents.
An Ambitious Project
Construction on the project is due to start in 2010 and be finished in late 2012. Financed through private donations (EUR 7.8m of which has already been secured) and public funding (from the national government, the City of Vilnius and possibly through EU development programmes), the project is backed up by some impressive figures. It’s estimated that once complete, it will attract an additional one million tourists to the capital, generate EUR 711.4m in tax revenue and EUR 57.7m in incremental spending each year, as well creating 900 jobs. Even while the museum is still being constructed, incremental spending is projected to be EUR 16m, alongside EUR 244m in tax revenue. “From a business point of view, these figures are great,” says Zuokas.
With the Guggenheim and Hermitage involved, other major players on the international art scene are keen to be associated with the project, the initial stirrings of what Zuokas predicts will be “positive synergy from the international contemporary art community”. He has already been in talks with Museum Ludwig in Cologne and the Serpentine Gallery in London. “They are very supportive,” he says.
Modernism to Cold War Modern
But Vilnius won’t have to wait until 2012 to reap the benefits of cultural tourism. Expectations are high for the re-opening of the National Gallery of Arts on 19 June. In its renovated and extended form (an extreme makeover that began in 2005 and will cost the government EUR 24.3m), the gallery will be the only current cultural institution in Vilnius with the capacity to host major international exhibitions.
To kick-start its new life, it will celebrate one of the country’s most noted artistic talents and a pioneer of modernist painting, Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionas before hosting the V&A-curated exhibition Cold War Modern starting on 2 October. Chief curator Lolita Jablonskiene is excited about the opening and about the upcoming Capital of Culture programme: “I think they will absolutely put Vilnius on the map, in Europe and internationally.”
A key event that promises to boost the art industry in Vilnius is the inaugural ARTVILNIUS09, which takes place from 8–12 July. Organised by the Lithuanian Gallerists’ Association, the art fair will draw together more than 100 galleries from 32 countries, targeting collectors from across the European Union.
“It will aim to attract both local and overseas investors,” says coordinator Inga Urbonaviciute. She says the key markets at the moment are Germany and Scandinavia, “though Russia has always been keen on our art too”.
Art Lovers Bag a Bargain
Exhibitions and fairs are great for showcasing Vilnius’ artistic heritage and potential, but is anyone actually making a profit from the industry yet? Simona Makseliene is. She set up Meno Rinkos Agentura, Lithuania’s first art auction house, in 2007 and has already seen the market grow, with attendance at her auctions increasing each year.
It helps that prices are low in comparison to more established markets: she sells work by Lithuanian artists for EUR 1,700–2,300 on average. The highest price paid to date at one of her auctions is EUR 5,000 for a painting by Rimvidas Jankauskas-Kampas.
For investors interested in Lithuanian art, Makseliene advises holding onto a purchase for at least five years to ensure a return — if the artist’s work holds its value or grows in popularity, that investment can increase by up to 10 per cent a year. She also believes the Lithuania Art Index, set to be introduced later this year, will be a good way for investors to keep an eye on the market and see which artists’ work has increased in value over time.
Up-and-Coming Design Talent
Contemporary design is also paying off. Two of the hottest young things on the scene are interior designers Aiste Nesterovaite and Dalia Mauricaite of Daiktuviesbutis, whose clients comprise a new generation of Vilnians throwing off the shackles of the country’s conservative past.
As well as overhauling apartments in the trendy Old Town, the pair added a hotel to their portfolio last year when they designed the interiors for Vilnius’ first boutique design hotel, Old Market Guesthouse. Working to a tight budget of EUR 1,100 per room (not including bathrooms), they took their cues from the old market across the road and created themed rooms with funky graphic treatments and quirky detailing.
Young entrepreneurs Oskaras Zifermanas and Boris Symulevic opened the guesthouse (a project which they estimate cost EUR 90,000 all-up) in August last year after they saw a gap in the market for boutique accommodation that offered a more conceptual hotel experience alongside a focus on individual service.
They have also found that targeting a design-savvy clientele makes business sense, with guests booking with them because they like the look of the interiors and the homelike, intimate atmosphere they imbue. As well as its core market of business and leisure travellers, Old Market has hosted photo shoots for fashion magazines as well as artists, dancers and musicians involved in this year’s Capital of Culture events.
New Ideas
For Vilnius’ young entrepreneurs, change can’t come quick enough. Disseminating new ideas and opening the eyes of the local market to contemporary culture is one part of the process—the other is to ensure the city projects a bold new image onto the world stage. People like Jonas Zakaitis, the owner of dealer gallery Tulips & Roses, hope the emerging art and design scenes, and projects such as the Guggenheim Hermitage Museum, draw the attention of more overseas visitors.
“The flow of tourists has increased massively over the past few years. But it would be nice if they came here for different reasons—for contemporary culture, not just for historical monuments."
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