29 October – 6 December 2026
Opening: 29 October, 19:00–21:00
Performance: 19:30
Rupert, Mindaugo g. 15, Vilnius

Rupert presents AN AMBIENT HARDCORE MANIFESTO, a site-specific multimedia exhibition by Berlin-based interdisciplinary artist Nazanin Noori, developed over the last eighteen months specifically for Rupert’s city-centre location. Across two main halls and the street-facing glass façade, the work brings together a long poem, two audio works, filtered light and an architectural intervention. The opening on 29 October features a performance by Noori, a musical dramatisation of the manifesto’s core text.

Inspired by Rupert’s architecture and its connection to the surrounding neighbourhood, Noori transforms the halls into a stage and the glass façade into a bold, poetic visual statement, visible throughout the day and brightly backlit at night. Inside, a musical intervention and lighting create an immersive, reflective experience focused on individual perception.

What is AMBIENT HARDCORE?

A term coined by Noori, AMBIENT HARDCORE describes her musical and aesthetic approach, bringing together two seemingly opposing qualities: ambience, associated with meditation and layering, and hardcore, understood as disruption and overwhelm. Fragility and sensitivity coexist with strength, maximalism with minimalism.

At the heart of the exhibition, the manifesto turns this approach into an expression of Noori’s position towards the present, human decency and political reality. For her, poetry offers a way to articulate a position without reducing it to a single fixed statement, leaving room to consider contradictions.

About the exhibition

Curator JL Murtaugh was drawn to Noori’s work even before they met, particularly the theatrical way she brings together sound, architecture, writing, choreography and scenography. Last year, he invited her for a residency to “dream together about what might be possible in our new home in the city centre”.

Murtaugh saw an opportunity to create a work that could resonate beyond the contemporary art community, particularly with people who have recently migrated to Vilnius or returned after a longer period abroad. As he puts it: “I trust the thoughtful, positive message Nazanin sends materialises how Vilnius, Naujamiestis, and Rupert can function as a cultural bridge, where local and global ideas can coincide.”

During the day, filtered light and warm colours, complemented by communal garden-style seating, create a reflective atmosphere. At night, the glass façade illuminates as a graphic lightbox, proclaiming a message of hope and illuminating the neighbourhood.

About Nazanin Noori

Nazanin Noori is an interdisciplinary artist working across installation, theatre, composition, performance, writing and directing. Her practice explores the intersections of sound, space, sculpture and postdramatic poetry. She received the ars viva Prize for Visual Arts in 2026 and is based in Berlin. Her work has been presented at institutions including KW Institute for Contemporary Art, M Leuven, HKW, Eye Filmmuseum, Transmediale and ICA London.

Visiting the exhibition

The exhibition is open Wednesday–Saturday, 14.00–18.00. The 60-minute audio work will be played at 14.30 and 16.00 on opening days, unless otherwise indicated. The outdoor architectural intervention is visible throughout the exhibition.

Team and Credits: Curator: JL Murtaugh; Production Manager: Augustė Verikaitė; Communications: Kornelija Žvinklytė; Curatorial Assistance: Gyöngyvirág Agocs; Lighting: Justas Bø; Sound: Jokūbas Čižikas; Translator: Paulius Balčytis.

The curator extends special thanks to Gabrielė Golubavičiūtė, Milda Batakytė, Viktorija Šiaulytė, Monika Lipšic and Saskia Fischer. The artist wishes to thank Sebastian Grimm (einklang Hifi), James Ginzburg, Andrea Belfi and André Jürgens.

This project is part of the Ulysses Platform and is funded by the European Union and the Lithuanian Culture Institute. Rupert’s partner is INVL Family Office. Rupert’s programmes are funded by Vilnius City Municipality. Additional support for the exhibition is provided by Coingate.