Kaunas Biennial 2019 Explores Travel as Existential Condition

The 12th Kaunas Biennial, running from June 7 to September 29, 2019 in Kaunas, Lithuania, adopts the theme "After leaving | Before arriving," examining travel in both literal and metaphorical senses. The biennial is curated by a team of five international co-curators: Elisabeth Del Prete (Italy-UK), Daniel Milnes (UK-Germany), Lýdia Pribišová (Slovakia), Neringa Stoškutė (Lithuania), and Alessandra Troncone (Italy), with consulting curator Lewis Biggs. This edition experiments with co-curatorship as a critical and methodological approach, ensuring multiple perspectives. The theme draws on Kaunas's history as a former temporary capital (1919-1940) and its experience of successive Soviet and Nazi occupations, reflecting a condition of being "in suspense" between departure and arrival. The biennial investigates socio-political dynamics and identity construction in Eastern Europe through contemporary art. Kaunas was named European Capital of Culture for 2022. The curatorial team works intensively in Kaunas, conducting meetings, studio visits, and site inspections, discovering the growing Lithuanian art scene.