The third annual Book Art Festival will run in Klaipėda from October 11 to November 10, spanning the entire month. Organized by the Klaipėda Culture Communication Center (KCCC), the Festival will feature book art exhibitions, creative workshops for both amateurs and professionals, lectures, book presentations, and collaborative projects with students from the Vilnius Academy of Arts, along with traditional annual additions. This year’s highlight is an art residency program across both sides of the Baltic. The project is funded by the Klaipėda City Municipality and the Lithuanian Council for Culture.
KLAIPĖDA-MALMÖ: CREATIVE EXCHANGE
As the Festival expands its program, the partnership with KKV Grafik (Malmö, Sweden) has been renewed, offering a unique residency opportunity for Lithuanian and Swedish artists with the partner organization. Following an open call in midsummer, one candidate from each country was selected. Skirmantė Žemaitytė has already started her residency in Malmö, and we look forward to welcoming Sofi Hagman, who will be working in the KCCC Art Yard workshop.
HOW RELEVANT IS BOOK ART TODAY?
KCCC, which has been organizing the Festival since 2022, sees it as a kind of mission. “In an era of rapid digitalization, where books are becoming electronic or audiobooks, and any creative process benefits from the use of AI, we aim to promote the art of the book itself while preserving the perception of its cultural value,” says the Festival’s director, Žana Jegorova, KCCC’s Deputy Director for Cultural Activities.
Therefore, relevance to the younger generation of creators is really important. Last year’s program included the exhibition Book. Untitled, featuring students and teachers from the Klaipėda Faculty of Vilnius Academy of Arts (VDA KF) and curated by lecturer Martynas Lapas. This year, the students participated in an intensive one-day creative workshop, the results of which can be seen in the exhibition Water, Light, and (T/P)ower. Curated by two famous illustrators, Ieva Babilaitė and Rasa Jančauskaitė, the students’ works reflect on the seaside symbolism, ranging from free associations to the composition of postcards using collage techniques.
GET LOST IN THE LABYRINTH OF BOOKS
The next exhibition, titled In the Labyrinth: Books and Publications of Artists/Graphic Designers, represents the ideas of the 12:15 Reading Room established by curator Marija Repšytė, bringing its books into the spaces of the KCCC Exhibition Hall. It continues the previous exhibition at the M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art, this time supplemented with exhibits from Estonia. The exhibition aims to highlight the creation of artists’ books in Lithuania by showcasing examples that reflect the journey through time. The opening of the Book Art Festival will take place on 11 October at 5:30 PM in the KCCC Exhibition Hall. On 12 October at 11:30 AM all visitors are invited to join a a guided tour of the exhibition with its curator Marija Repšytė.
EXHIBITIONS:
GUIDED TOURS:
On 12 October and 10 November: a walk and talk with the exhibition’s curator Marija Repšytė
CREATIVE WORKSHOPS on 19, 20, and 26 October, and on 9 and 10 November: illustration, printmaking, bookbinding, Japanese painting, riso printing
EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS conducted by KCCC educators
CREATIVE EXCHANGE PROGRAM (Lithuania & Sweden)
From 27 September to 5 October: Skirmantė Žemaitytė was artist-in-residence at KKV Grafik Malmö
From 21 to 29 October: KCCC will host Swedish artist Sofi Hagman
25 October 5:30 PM: launch of the new issue of the Gegutė magazine
9 November: Book Art Festival Forum
Organiser: Klaipėda Culture Communication Centre.
Funded by the Lithuanian Council for Culture and Klaipėda City Municipality.