Documentation of the Earth Bonds symposium

The event was kicked off with two keynote lectures at Composers’ House (A. Mickevičiaus st. 29, Vilnius) by R&D Strategic Lead of Serpentine Galleries, Victoria Ivanova, and TBA21–Academy Curator Sofia Lemos. Taking place in the iconic modernist building designed by Vytautas Edmundas Čekanauskas that exemplifies the relation between urbanity, architecture and environment in Žvėrynas’ former hunting grounds, the keynote lectures delineated two key threads of the symposium: environmental concerns as well as technological and organisational infrastructures.

The symposium raised questions on how advanced technologies like blockchain and DAO can remodel our perception of the environment and reconfigure the operations of art institutions. New, emerging-technology-based futures, environmental concerns, institutional forms and the alignments of these complexities with the idea of sustainability within volatile geopolitical realities was further explored in depth through the workshop programme led by Trust (Lina Martin-Chan and Calum Bowden) and Gallery Climate Coalition (Aoife Fannin) at Rupert.

On the third day of the event, 22 April, when the World celebrated the annual Earth Day, the audience was invited to reconvene at Rupert’s premises in Valakampiai and wrap up all the emerging thoughts and practices in the concluding discussion of the symposium. Following the rhythm of the dusk settling in, an artistic programme unfolded together with artists Jasper Griepink, HASHIA, Jenna Sutela, Barnett Cohen, Marissa Lee Benedict and David Rueter, and Ngoc Nau

Earth Bonds’ performance programme explored spaces of confabulated survival, where ongoing memories of economic anxiety are supplanted by sympoietic tales of kinship. The artists who was performing utilised Rupert’s infrastructure and its serene surroundings, addressing creative tensions between technoscience and naturecultures. Grasping soil and sifting through decentralised particles, the event guided the audience through worlds in motion. 

Barnett Cohen 
𝖗𝖔𝖙𝖙𝖙𝖙𝖙𝖙𝖙𝖙𝖙𝖙𝖙

Performers: Jevgenijus Kovalčukas, Kristina Morta Paškevičiūtė, Adelė Šuminskaitė
Curator: Tautvydas Urbelis
Styling: Elena Marija Veleckaitė
Looks: Marija Petraitytė
Production manager: Eglė Kliučinskaitė
Light design: Justas Bø
Sound engineer: Antanas Dombrovskij
Translation: Eglė Pundzevičiūtė
Text design: Tanya Rubbak

Special thanks to Viktorija Šiaulytė, Rugilė Miliukaitė, Karolina Augevičiūtė, Augustė Verikaitė, David Rueter, Marissa Lee Benedict & JenniLee.

HASHIA
⌈⌉ ⌴ ⌇

Concept / Direction: HASHIA
Sound Scenography: HASHIA
Music Score in ACT 1 / ACT 2: HASHIA
Music Score in ACT 3: Noyus Juška
Performers / Singers: HASHIA, Noyus Juška, Unė Talmantaitė
Score / Choreography: HASHIA, Noyus Juška, Unė Talmantaitė
Dramaturgy: Noyus Juška
Styling: Giedrė Sofia Barščevičiūtė
MUA: Unė Talmantaitė
Hair: Jogailė Laurišonytė
Production manager: Eglė Kliučinskaitė
Light design: Justas Bø
Sound engineer: Antanas Dombrovskij
Coordinator: Augustė Verikaitė 

Marissa Lee Benedict and David Rueter 
Metrica

Production manager: Eglė Kliučinskaitė
Light design: Justas Bø

Jenna Sutela
HMO nutrix / Secrete Garden

Spatial design: Eglė Pundzevičiūtė
Production manager: Eglė Kliučinskaitė
Light design: Justas Bø
Sound engineer: Antanas Dombrovskij

Ngoc Nau
Ritual Object 1

Production manager: Eglė Kliučinskaitė
Light design: Justas Bø

Jasper Griepink
OAKbaLLZ and EELskin (Murky Murky, Little Witch Bitch)

Performer: Jasper Griepink
Concept / text: Jasper Griepink
Installation: Murky Medicine Swamp by Jasper Griepink
Music support: Kamilė Dambrauskaitė
Costume design: Jasper Griepink, Jacob Kok, Simon Pineiros Leone
MUA: Justė Vaškevičiūtė
Production manager: Eglė Kliučinskaitė
Light design: Justas Bø
Sound engineer: Antanas Dombrovskij

Thank you: Mondriaan Fund, Amsterdam Fund of the Arts (AFK).

***

Director: Viktorija Šiaulytė
Curator: Tautvydas Urbelis
Coordinator: Rugilė Miliukaitė
Production manager: Eglė Kliučinskaitė
Light designer: Justas Bø
Sound engineer: Antanas Dombrovskij
Communication: Karolina Augevičiūtė
Project coordinator: Simona Šulnytė
Interns: Augustė Verikaitė, Eglė Pundzevičiūtė
Design: Lorenz Klingebiel, Eva Dumoulin
Type design: Sascha Bente
Translator: Paulius Balčytis
Copy editors: Dovydas Laurinaitis, Evelina Zenkutė
Video documentation: Silvestras Polinauskas, Giedrius Ilgūnas
Photo documentation: Andrej Vasilenko

Special thanks to Julija Reklaitė, Darius Žakaitis, Linas Ramanauskas, Robertas Narkus, Tech Zity, E-WERK Luckenwalde, LUMA Arles, guests from Estonia and Iceland. 

Earth Bonds is financed by the Lithuanian Council for Culture. Supported by Vilnius City Municipality, Nordic Culture Point and Tech Zity. Partner: Lithuanian Composers’ Union, “Vichy” aquapark. 

The symposium is part of the long-term project the sustainable institution, implemented together with partners E-WERK Luckenwalde (Germany) and LUMA Arles (France).

the sustainable institution is co-funded by the European Union, Teltow Fläming, Musikfonds and the Lithuanian Cultural Council.

The views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the other granting authorities. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.