Pasaulio žemaičių dailės parodos: nuo idėjos susigrąžinti išeivijos menininkus iki būtinybės aktualizuoti Žemaitijos dailininkų kūrybą

LTPasaulio žemaičių dailės paroda jau tapo gražia tradicija, kas kelerius metus sukvie- čiančia kūrybines pajėgas iš viso pasaulio ekspoziciniam sambūriui. Toks dailės parodos mastas ir ambicija — išskirtinis reiškinys Lietuvos meno raiškos kontekste. Visų pirma dėl kūrybinio arealo pozicionavimo, susijusio su istorine geografine teritorija, ir savitos — žemaitiškos — tapatybės bei mąstymo, nes parodoje gali dalyvauti visi iš šio krašto kilusieji ar jame gyvenantieji ar glaudų ir tiesioginį, nuoširdų ryšį su Žemaitija jaučian tieji. [Iš straipsnio, p. 239]

ENThe first exhibition of work by Žemaitijan artists was held on the occasion of Žemaitijan Region Culture Days, from 1 to 5 September 1938, at Telšiai Primary School. The exhibition was curated by Pranas Genys, a poet and director of the Alka Museum, and Paulius Augis-Augustinavičius, a graphic artist. A total of 17 artists participated in the exhibition, presenting 115 works that were selected by the exhibition’s commission. Exhibitions of art by Žemaitijan artists were later organised in 1940 and 1943. With the beginning of the Sąjūdis movement, the idea emerged to bring together Žemaitijan artists who are scattered around the world and to present their works in Lithuania every few years. The first exhibition was held in Klaipėda in 1989. In 2020, the Eighth World Exhibition of Žemaitijan Art was held. The exhibitions have been dedicated to a certain theme or anniversary since the Fifth World Exhibition of Žemaitijan Art in 2007. In addition, artists were able to submit only three works no older than four years to the exhibition, and works from collections were no longer accepted. The World Exhibition of Žemaitijan Art is now a tradition uniting creative forces from all over the world in an exhibition every few years. Its scale and ambition are exceptional phenomena for an art exhibition in the context of Lithuanian visual art. In particular, due to the creative field being related to a historical and geographical area, and the recognition of a unique Žemaitijan identity and way of thinking, everyone who comes from or lives in the region, or ‘feels a direct connection with Žemaitija’, can participate in the exhibition.The environment and Žemaitijan culture in which they grew up and matured has often left an indelible mark on artists, which is constantly reflected in their work. Therefore, over the eight exhibitions, not only Lithuanian, but also expatriate artists who live or have lived in the USA, Canada, Australia, Latvia, France, Denmark, Hungary, the Republic of South Africa and elsewhere participated. Secondly, the exhibition unfolds not only in time but also in space. Over the year, separate exhibitions are put on in different parts of Žemaitija. The main exhibition of professional art is put on in the Museum of Žemaitijan Art in the palace of Duke Mykolas Oginskis in Plungė, which opened during the Second World Exhibition of Žemaitijan Art in 1994. However, satellite exhibitions are scattered throughout Žemaitija: they have been put on in Telšiai, Biržuvėnai, Plateliai, Kelmė, Renava, Palanga, Rietavas and Kretinga. Thirdly, the exhibition features professionals, emerging artists and folk artists, that is, any artists (over 150 each time), regardless of their education or affiliation to a school, artistic group or stylistic direction. Therefore, from an artistic point of view, the it is multifaceted, manifesting itself in a variety of genres (paintings, graphics, textiles, ceramics, and works of metal-plastic are shown). The exhibition is dominated by painting and more classic forms of expression, and just few works of interdisciplinary art or video art are presented. In recent years, photography has also become an occasional guest. It is important to emphasise the different levels of professionalism of participating artists, which makes it difficult to evaluate the exhibition and to make an overall judgement of it.Therefore, in this context, it is necessary to pre-select works, in order to form an unambiguously strong and solid basis for the exhibition in the future. Interestingly, the question of its organisation and its future has been dealt with since the very beginning, and even develops consistendy from exhibition to exhibition, unfortunately without offering the necessary solutions. In recent years, in changing the main goals of the exhibition, focusing on the presentation of works by contemporary Zemaitijan artists, developing the variety of genres, and integrating young artists, there is a return to the question of changing the organisational model. It is necessary to move towards curating the exhibition, by announcing a competition to select a curator for the next exhibition straight after the end of the last exhibition. An essential aspect of participation in the World Exhibition of Zemaitijan Art, the Zemaitijan identity, is unravelled by the ethnologist Dr P. Kalnius, who states that the identity of Zemaitijans today is a regional (sub-ethnic) identity, and not an ethnic identity.50 This fact presupposes an assessment of the context of Zemaitijan art within a broad range, not limited to the factor of origins alone. Therefore, the constant question of how long World Exhibitions of Zemaitijan Art can last takes on a new meaning. The answer is, basically, that they will last for as long as there is a self-identification with Žemaitija, regardless of geographical origin, current place of residence or even the ability to speak Žemaitijan. This matters especially, since the phenomenon of the exhibition itself strengthens the Žemaitijan identity, because it testifies to the existence of a unique artistic tradition that unfolds in exhibition halls every four years. [...]. [From the publication]