Silvia Giambrone on Art, Identity, and Kaunas 2022

Italian artist Silvia Giambrone discusses her experience in Lithuania, where she created the performance 'Teatro anatomico' as part of a series of embroidery works. The piece, influenced by her Sicilian origins, involved sewing a embroidered collar onto her skin to explore the relationship between feminine practices and identity politics. In Lithuania, the embroidered collar carried a different historical weight: during Soviet occupation, it was mandatory to wear it in schools, and removing it became an act of protest. Giambrone reflects on the ambiguous nature of truth in images, citing Jacques Lacan. She describes the Lithuanian art system as predominantly public, with a strong desire for renewal among art academy students, but still burdened by Soviet bureaucratic structures. Museums in Kaunas struggle with spaces ill-suited for contemporary art, yet historical architecture offers potential. Giambrone praises Lithuania's hunger for culture, contrasting it with Italy's complacency. She previews Kaunas European Capital of Culture 2022, which focuses on redefining what it means to be a contemporary city, with performance and citizen engagement central. The initiative asks what it means to be a European capital amid crisis of foundational values. The interview was published in Artribune Magazine #56.