The "Night of Culture" taking place in Vilnius on June 12th will invite you not only to listen to concerts, watch performances or participate in creative workshops, but also to experience the city at a slower pace. One of the highlights of the special program will be the sculptural installation "MKČ Crown" - a collaborative project between the Vilnius Academy of Arts and the festival, inspired by M. K. Čiurlionis' painting "Fairy Tale (Fairy Tale of the Kings)".

This year's "Culture Night" invites visitors to "travel to another world" - on June 12, the festival will present more than a hundred free events in various locations in Vilnius, and the program will include music, theater, dance, education, excursions, interdisciplinary projects and visual arts. The organizers emphasize that the festival will invite not only to observe, but also to participate, discover unusual city spaces and experience Vilnius differently.

The visual arts program on this night becomes a kind of slower route through the city – an invitation not to rush from one event to the next, but to stop, take a look and let the city spaces change for a moment. One such stop is “MKČ Crown”, located in the square at the intersection of M. K. Čiurlionis and K. Donelaitis streets.

“MKČ Crown” is a sculptural meeting installation, in which an image inspired by Čiurlionis’s work is transferred to the public space of the city. The rhythm of vertical wooden modules, the alternation of light and shadow, and the sacred composition create a chamber space that invites not only to see the object, but also to briefly stay in the story that begins with it. The installation interprets M. K. Čiurlionis’ painting “Fairy Tale (Fairy Tale of the Kings)” and transfers its mystical atmosphere to Vilnius at night.

The object consists of two semicircular walls, forming a space partially separated from the hustle and bustle of the city. It is not only a visual landmark, but also a place for dialogue - here visitors are invited to stop, sit down and experience the city at night at a slower pace. The installation acts as a contemporary urban landmark, where artistic heritage, a young generation of designers and the cultural identity of Vilnius meet.

The project was prepared by third-year students of the Vilnius Academy of Arts, Department of Design: Leonas Šėferis, Elinga Mockutė, Radasta Urbanavičiūtė, Greta Polučanskaitė and Mantas Baužys, and supervised by lecturer Inesa Malafei. This work becomes both a creative intervention of the students into the city and a broader question: how public spaces in Vilnius can become not only places of transit, but also places of encounter, memory and imagination.

This year, the visual arts at the "Culture Night" are not only spread in galleries or museums. The festival program traditionally encourages discovering lesser-known spaces in Vilnius, and it involves cultural centers, independent initiatives, state and religious institutions, concert halls, restaurants, courtyards and various urban communities. This allows the city to become an open gallery for one night, where the art experience begins not at the ticket office, but simply by walking down the street.

Visitors will be able to discover more stops along the visual arts route – from the Vilnius Academy of Arts graduation exhibition at the VDA gallery “ARTIFEX” to installations, exhibitions and interdisciplinary projects in different locations in the city. The festival program presents visual arts as one of its separate categories alongside music, theatre, dance, cinema, excursions, creative workshops and special programs.

“MKČ Crown” stands out in this program because it combines several layers at once: the memory of Čiurlionis’s work, contemporary design, the architectural context of the city and the lively presence of the festival spectator. This is not an object that needs to be “looked at and moved on”. This is a place that is worth including in your night route as a pause – between concerts, streams of people and a city full of lights.

The installation "MKČ Crown" will be open on June 12, from 18:00 to 23:00, in the square at the intersection of MK Čiurlionio g. and K. Donelaičio g., in Vilnius. Approximate address - MK Čiurlionio g. 11 / K. Donelaičio g. 1. Event free of charge.

Source: MadeInVilnius.lt