Let It Be Night is an annual festival in Vilnius (see post two years ago). It brings together professional and amateur artists to perform at night. Most of the events are free of charge, and many happen outside. The idea is to make Vilnius more of a night city, which it is not. The festival takes place in June, just …
First bubbles of this year
Also posted on Wonderland.CafeBabel.com. As soon as it became warm enough, Laimikis.lt relaunched its initiative called “Bubble the City” in English (in rather unsuccessful search for an adequate term for the creative Lithuanian “Burbuliatorius”). As last year, it takes place in Lithuanian cities and towns, as well as the most popular migrant destinations. The idea is to encourage people to …
Oddities of Cambridge
Long time no see, right? I saw that this long absence cost me about 30% of my usual readership. But I hope to win all of you back, starting with impressions from England and Egypt, and finishing (for now) with interesting political events. Months ago me and my colleague decided to attend an urban studies conference at Cambridge. The programme …
Street signs controversy
Are multiple languages in public space an issue? Not in many countries. But in Lithuania there is an ongoing battle over some buses and street signs, which, in addition to Lithuanian, give translations in Polish. A law in Lithuania obliges all public signs (streets, institutions, etc.) to be in Lithuanian. The mainstream interpretation is that this implies they have to …
Repeating shapes and patterns in Paris
I know that Paris is the city that so many people have either visited or seen in films, so if I simply describe what I saw there, I doubt if those of you who read this blog on Google Reader or similar will click on the link. However, there are many angles to look at Paris, and, interestingly enough, its …
Wishlist of 2010
Lietuviškas vertimas bus vėliau. I write this in English because I want to show it to my international friends as well, and it’s not on the Wonderland blog because here I can embed youtube. All of this is based on what I blogged about, links that I bookmarked, tweeted or posted. Let’s start with the video of the year. It …
Frozen Vilnius
December (Lt. ‘gruodis’) is named after harsh, dry frost (‘gruodas’). After several global-warming type of winters, it’s already the second which is exceptionally cold. It is -13 at the moment, and if it goes down even more, it seems that eyelids will freeze together after every blink. Like any stronger weather-related phenomenon, snow exposes the mismanagement of Vilnius’ streets. Sloping, …
Legal graffiti: inclusive urban art or “farted radicalism”?
On the 9th of September I attended a street art event, co-organised by Julijus G. There is a group of people who promote graffiti in Lithuania as a legal form of urban art, which engages the people who hang out in the spaces decorated. The people who organise such events are a group of young enthusiasts willing to legalise graffiti …
Colourful Japanese devils take the streets of Vilnius
“What’s this? What’s this?” curiously repeat an elderly French-speaking couple to each other as they pass by a colourful crowd of all kinds of characters, some holding swords about the size of themselves, some with blue hair or painted faces. It is the fourth time Cosplay enthusiasts get together in Vilnius and show how they can imitate their favourite characters, …
Visit to Ramleh + some reflections on Lithuania
Some Israeli friends invited me to visit an unrecognised village in Ramleh, where they took part in an artistic protest. They told me that the families that live there were expelled from their original villages after the Independence of Israel was announced and in a period of rather lawless situation many Arab residents were forced to leave their homes. Many …