Creative educational workshops “Everyday Objects in Art”

The continuous educational project “Everyday Objects in Art” is organized by the (AV17) Gallery and held in Jonava Janina Miščiukaitė Art School and Radviliškis and Kėdainiai Art Schools in May. It’s a cycle of creative workshops dedicated to pupils between the ages of twelve and sixteen allowing them to dab into the important principles of creating contemporary art. The project focuses on cognition and promoting the interest in contemporary art in smaller Lithuanian cities, previously organized in Vilkaviškis, Prienai, Kalvarija, Ignalina, Pabradė, and Švenčionys. In regions further from the main cities, there is often a lack of professional contemporary art events, so these creative workshops are designed to reduce cultural exclusion and to educate and train students through hands-on activities.

(AV17) gallery stands out from the others by aiming to exclusively present the art of a contemporary object, sculpture, and installation. Its main goal is to popularize contemporary art among different audiences and to stimulate its understanding and interest through various creative and relevant methods for a modern person. The activities of the project “Everyday Objects in Art” are focused on the knowledge of sculpture, object, installation, and body art. During the educational sessions, the ready-made, which is often used in sculpture, is emphasized as it is both an easily accessible way of exploring creativity and a great topic for discussion about the work of art itself and its meaning. Such media also encourages reflection on current topics that are often analyzed in contemporary art exhibitions, such as consumer culture, mass production, ecological issues, and so on.

During the creative workshops, participants were involved in educational lectures, discussions, and practical sessions with professional Lithuanian artists and lecturers: Aurelija Maknyte, Marija Šnipaitė, Jolita Vaitkute, Neringa Zakarauskaite, and Saule Noreikaitė. Photographer Aurelija Maknytė acquainted the participants with the methods of ready-made use in photography and cameraless techniques. During the workshop, photograms and chemigrams were created – photos taken without the use of a camera and exposed to light-sensitive photo paper. The works of the sculptor Marija Šnipaitė are often influenced by everyday rituals, and literary works, which narratives are often based on a chaotic network of associations. Students will be encouraged to explore the compositions of spatial bodies and their perception of the environment. By comparing familiar, personal objects with different materials, pupils will look for unique associations and construct sculptures as stories. The artist Jolita Vaitkutė creates her work with found objects or food to recreate images from pop culture and social topics. The use of these media acts as an allusion to the ever-changing world and its ecosystem. It will teach students a new, different point of view of everyday objects during the sessions. Artist Neringa Zakarauskaitė and students will create objects from no longer used pottery and porcelain shards. The creative workshops will focus on the consistently changing inner experiences that are transferred through the creative process. These workshops invite students to get involved in art and explore themself through spontaneous artistic expression. A performance artist Saulė Noreikaitė will work with students to unleash creativity and thinking through movement. During the workshop, she will introduce participants to methods of incorporating found objects into performative works of art. Youth will learn about creativity and the relationship between their own body and personal object as they move around space. Students will also receive theoretical lectures on contemporary sculpture, objects, sustainable art, and ready-made usage in art both in Lithuania and abroad. During all creative workshops, various artistic methods will be introduced in an attempt to look at contemporary sculpture and its creation in a different way.

The project was partially funded by the Lithuanian Culture Council.

Registration and more information by email: info@av17gallery.com