The International Symposium of Visual Arts

Preliminary date: August, 1998

Place: The inner courtyard of the Contemporary Art Centre

Organizers: Audrius Novickas and Algis Lankelis, in assistance with the Contemporary Art Centre and Lithuanian Union of Artists.

Participants: 14-16 artists from different countries who do not belong to the ethnic majority of their country. These may be representatives of ethnic minorities, refugees or people who have personal reasons for not living in their homeland. Artists, creatively interpreting everything related to their national descent and capable of perceiving themselves as part opportunity to express their own self, the attitude towards environment or even political standpoint.

Description of the project. The Internationale Symposium "Colourful World" has been drawn up as a visual project in the open air. The symposium would last for three weeks and its results would be shown at the exhibition, which would be opened in the artists' working place. The symposium would comprise two stages. The initial one would be erection of a "tent" or "adjoining tents" as a temporary "refuge for works af art created during symposium. The "tent" should be understood as a secure and definite space for each artist symbolizing a place of temporary home. The image of "tent" would be closely related to the invited artists' fate to wander and it does not matter whether it is compelled wandering, present-day nomadism or it has been inspired by their ancestry. Every author would freely choose his own way of "pitching a tent" (or make suggestions in case "collective tent" is put up). By the way, the organizers of the symposium would encourage using the ways of building which traditionally had been used by the artists' ancestors. We hope that the artists would bring here their own exclusive stories, the themes of which prompted by their authors' national descent would develop in the routine of present-day civilisation. During the second stage the artists, by using different means of visual expression, would "install" their brought-in stories in their own space of the tent.

Objectives of the symposium. The symposium is particularly important today when Lithuania's society has become more open and it searches for answers to vital questions. An unsolved issue of refugees and migrants should be mentioned here. By inviting artists - representatives of the so-called ethnic "margins" - we seek to show that foreigners and representatives of ethnic minorities do not simply make use of the privileges granted by a certain country; they can enrich the culture of that country as well. Inviting artists of non-European origin, we hope to enliven and expand the context of Eurocentric cultural modelling dominant in Lithuania. Interaction between cultures is perceived as the source of vitality and rebirth of culture. We also believe that this cultural event could serve for strengthening of non-orthodox consciousness of all nations and ethnic minorities living in Lithuania and give birth to new impulses in their mutual relations. The symposium has been drawn up as part of a plan for reviving non-comercial art. It is aimed at initiating cooperation between artists from different countries and establishing spontaneous relationship between the artists, their works and the public.

Any contributions
- mental or financial - will be appreciated.