Lithuanian Pavilion's Sun & Sea (Marina) Wins Golden Lion at 58th Venice Biennale

At the 58th Venice Biennale, the Lithuanian Pavilion received the Golden Lion for best national participation. The winning work, Sun & Sea (Marina), transformed a military complex room into an artificial beach setting for an hour-long operatic performance. Created by artists Lina Lapelyte, Vaiva Grainyte, and Rugile Barzdziukaite with curator Lucia Pietriousti, the piece explored themes of catastrophe within a seemingly tranquil environment. During the opening week, this looping performance became a word-of-mouth sensation, attracting audiences away from the main Giardini and Arsenale exhibition areas. In the central international exhibition curated by Ralph Rugoff, American artist Arthur Jafa earned the Golden Lion for best participant. His contribution included The White Album (2019), a 50-minute video collage combining viral YouTube clips, music videos, CCTV footage, and personal material, alongside monumental sculptures in the Arsenale. These works addressed race, industrial decline, and white supremacy in the United States. Haris Epaminonda received the Silver Lion for a promising young participant for Chimera (2019), which provided a reflective contrast in an otherwise energetic show. Special mentions were awarded to Teresa Margolles and Otobong Nkanga for their contributions to the exhibition.