Powerful Performance In Vilnius Calls To Open NATO Doors For Ukraine

A prominent Lithuanian performance artist Monika Dirsytė and a public activist Agnė Grigaliūnienė are presenting a collaborative durational performance PAN/DEMOS timed to the NATO Summit in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. As the war with the occupying Russian army still rages in Ukraine, the project aims to urge the Summit attendees to open the NATO doors to Ukraine. The performance takes place at Independence Square in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, on July 10th from 10 AM to 6 PM.

The venue of the performance—Independence Square, adjacent to the Lithuanian Parliament (Seimas) and Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania—was the site of mass demonstrations for Lithuanian Independence, including the final stand-off on the night from January 12th to the 13th, 1991, when the Soviet tanks seized the TV Tower and occupied the radio and television headquarters. Lithuania is hosting the NATO summit at the same time as Ukraine is fighting for its independence. Therefore the artists call on NATO to support Ukraine.

The performance title, PAN/DEMOS, refers to a turning point in a political process toward democracy. It also recalls the pandemic, which, like war, affects every member of society regardless of the national borders.

“At this time, during global turbulence, the performance hits very sensitive themes such as isolation, segregation, and virtual reality. The performance PAN/DEMOS, which was first realized during the COVID-19 pandemic, is now once again made relevant and representative of current global affairs. A glass maze encapsulating a person who is fighting for his existence represents a global arena of the present in which the nation of Ukraine, alongside all civilized countries, is resisting the brutality-fueled aggressor that's seeking to diminish and exterminate the notion of humanness.

In the case of Russia's war against Ukraine, PAN/DEMOS becomes a mirror for the world's elite—the NATO summit guests in Vilnius. In the pursuit of attracting the public's attention to socially important themes, art becomes a powerful weapon. Especially performance art which stabs right to the core. In this case, Vilnius becomes a heavily pulsating heart, and we are here, the ones speaking the language of humans. Speaking about the safety of humankind, the nation, as well as the whole of Europe.  Slava Ukraini!,” says the artist Monika Dirsytė.

As she crawls through the transparent maze, the performer Dirsytė experiences stifling confinement. She is seen, yet her sensations are encased in glass. In the same way, the war is mediatized yet cannot be experienced even from a short distance away—another performer, Grigaliūnienė, is continuously looking at the monitor. The public is invited to watch two events unfold simultaneously behind glass—the live performance and the recorded footage. The performance presents existential suffering along the labyrinthine path toward liberation.

According to Grigaliūnienė, the performance serves as a communication device during the major shift in the political field.

“As artists, we are talking about the world's wounds in the language of art. While broadening the bounds of the performance PAN/DEMOS, through the last few months we've experienced an interesting process. For me, as a person working in the field of creativity and communication, it is important to find the most convincing and modern outlets for communication about the brutality of the war in Ukraine. In this performance, I become yet another person in the world perceiving the tragedy through a display. I am trailed by a strong sense whilst thinking about the significance of the place where the performance is carried out. The location's importance is prevalent to all of us; here, three decades ago, our parents and grandparents guarded the freedom of Lithuania. I was there, and I vividly remember all of it,” comments Agnė Grigaliūnienė.