Art in exile: the emigration experiences and mobility of artists in XIX–XX century: the case of Lithuania

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Egzilio kultūra; Egzilis; Emigracija; Lietuvos dailė; Litvakų menas; Migracija; Emigration; Exile; Exile culture; Lithuanian art; Litvak art; Migration.

ENThe point of this article is to distinguish and characterize the waves of migration and departures by Lithuanian and Litvak artists that periodically took place in Lithuania since the middle of the nineteenth century, and to discuss artists’ experiences after they had left Lithuania. Artist migrations, moving to art centers is a part of European artists’ life. The artist profession throughout the ages has been considered to be inseparable from moving and networking. Studying abroad, travels, search for commissions, founding of artist colonies, working in residencies was, and still is, an element of a fully-fledged creative lifestyle. However, in this article, a different type of artist migration is being analyzed. A specific phenomenon of long term or complete retreat of artists from their homelands, determined not only by artistic goals but also by complex social, political or economic circumstances, is being analyzed. Artists started emigrating from Lithuania (and its surrounding territories) to the West in the middle of the nineteenth century and continues to this day. In this article, Lithuanian artists’ migration waves, from the end of the nineteenth century to the current day, are chronologically distinguished and systematically presented, intrinsic causes of emigration (and phenomena related to it – migration and re-emigration) are described and the problems of integration in new locations for artists, the effects of these problems on the artists’ identities are discussed. It is deduced that the causes of Lithuanian and Litvak emigration were often similar but the degree of adjusting differed. Many emigrated Lithuanians changed professions, unable or unwilling to adapt to intense international art lifestyle. Lithuanian emigrant artists even under politically hostile circumstances looked for a connection with their home country. Artists in exile managed to form connections and influence their countrymen who created in Soviet Lithuania.This difficult topic requires more detailed research in the future. When researching twenty first century artist cases, one has to talk not about emigrants but about migrants, artists of a fragmented identity, operating exclusively in the international art field. The problem of an artist’s identity is a lot more relevant than the artist’s nationality. [From the publication]