In pursuit of Paris
2020
Vytautas Kasiulis museum of Art, Vilnius, Lithuania
The Cité Internationale des Arts, in Paris, established in 1965 by Felix Brunau as private foundation is one of the biggest art residency centres worldwide and since its inception has offered a welcoming reception to more than 25,000 artists from the broadest range of countries. It is situated in the very centre of the city on two sites (Marais district and Montmartre area), and serves as a productive platform for the familiarisation with the cultural scene of the French capital, playing a significant role both in Paris and internationally. The Cité develops its activities with 135 French and foreign partners, its 326 studios yearly receive over 1,000 creators from a hundred countries. It is a veritable hub of cultural dialogue and encounters.
The Vilnius Academy of Arts has its studio at the Cité since 1995, open to the representatives across all kinds of arts and to distinguished students. Over the period of 25 years of the Lithuanian history at the Cité Internationale des Arts, nearly 200 Lithuanian artists and art professionals stayed in the studio. Most of the VAA residents, when asked, describe the experience of Paris as singularly rich and abundant in cultural impressions. Quite a few linked the residence time with their creative plans and the realisation of conceived ideas, others dedicated the time to cultural self-enlightenment.
The exhibition offers a broad cross-section of 25 years bringing together the artists of different generations with varied predilections and styles, a good dose of robust creative chaos and revelry, infused by the all-embracing thirst of art.