ARTICULATIONS pt. 7 | Experimental Architectures: Alina Schmuch, Lithic Alliance

When we dream of tomorrow, we often place ourselves in virtual, digital worlds; infinite rooms of ephemeral bodies. Our desire to escape from physical spaces is not at all strange. In examining the histories of architectural space, it doesn’t take long to notice their biased and controlling qualities. To ‘re-programme’ our imaginations, to reconsider the importance of tangible forms, we require fresh approaches to these systemic obstacles.

The two artists in this edition of Articulations build sensorial, politically provocative structures to reconnect us to the biological machinery which our consciousness still inhabits. Responding to the disused former nightclub in the basement of the Radvila Palace Art Museum, Alina Schmuch and Lithic Alliance will examine civic infrastructure, bathing, sonic vibrations and geology through methodical examination and close listening.

Both artists are Rupert residents for September and October, and will present their work for the first time in Vilnius. Following each presentation, the artists will briefly discuss their research topics and residency plans with Rupert’s curator of residencies and public programmes, JL Murtaugh.

Lithic Alliance (based in Brussels) is a more-than-human collective predominantly working with the lithological realm and the energies and vibrations that emerge in this mineralized entanglement. Their research digs into the ecological and geopolitical foundation of co-existence, animisms and the rights of nature resulting in multifaceted projects that investigates connections spanning over vast temporalities to identify phenomenological correspondence and queer kinship. 

Taking up photography and film, Alina Schmuch (based in Berlin) explores the intersection of visual media and reality through artists’ books and video installations. She studied Media Arts at HfG Karlsruhe and was a fellow at the Jan van Eyck Academy in Maastricht. Schmuch’s work has been exhibited internationally, including at Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, Urbane Künste Ruhr, Akademie der Künste, and at the 15th Architecture Biennale with Forensic Architecture. She has received the Visual Arts Work Stipend from the Berlin Senate, the 27th Bremen Award for Video Art, and the MAK Schindler Scholarship. Currently, she is involved in Hydromedia, an artistic research programme focusing on water’s vital role in our lives and addressing environmental challenges. Earlier this year, Alina Schmuch was chosen as the 2024-25 Alterlife residency award winner, in a partnership between Rupert and Sonic Acts, Amsterdam.

The event will be held in English.

Location: Radvila Palace Art Museum (Vilniaus str. 24)
Date and time: 18:00, September 7

Curator: JL Murtaugh
Coordinator: Aistė Frišmantaitė
Communication: Aistė Marija Stankevičiūtė
Graphic design: Jonė Miškinytė
Editor: Evelina Zenkutė (LT)

Rupert is financed by the Lithuanian Council for Culture and sponsored by Vilnius City Municipality, Tech Zity.

Alina Schmuch’s Alterlife residency award is a partnership between Rupert and Sonic Acts, Amsterdam. Alterlife is a project of Re–Imagine Europe: New Perspectives for Action, and funded by the European Union.

Special thanks to Viktorija Šiaulytė, Mirna Bellina (Sonic Acts), Annette Wolfsberger (Re–Imagine Europe/W139).