Saule Suleimenova and Maithu Bùi

Friday, 10 July 2026 

6:00 PM

Rupert invites you to the opening event for the 2026 edition of Mutual Empathies, and introduces the participating artists Saule Suleimenova and Maithu Bùi.

Mutual Empathies is a programme initiated by the Rupert Centre for Art, Residencies, and Education and the Goethe-Institut Lithuania, and this year is additionally supported by the Lithuanian Council for Culture. Each edition connects two artists from distinct contexts for parallel residencies and public programming. Mutual Empathies encourages artistic connections that would not otherwise take place, creating new responses to global society’s countless ecopolitical questions.

For the 2026 edition, two mid-career artists with interdisciplinary artistic research practices are invited for simultaneous residencies in Vilnius. The invited artists, one based in Germany and the other in Kazakhstan, will collaborate with a curatorial fellow based in Lithuania, who will support the artists’ research and help design the final presentation taking place on 14 August.

Mutual Empathies identifies and supports artistic research positions addressing the complex impacts of changing climates taking place around the world. These projects reflect an urgent need to ask—and attempt to answer—difficult ecopolitical questions: What is the climate’s impact on urban environments? What role can culture play in navigating current and future challenges from the perspective of cultural practitioners? Can artistic and political practices work together to create new ways of living together?

The programme is led by JL Murtaugh (curator, Rupert, Vilnius) and Anna Maria Strauß (director, Goethe-Institut Lithuania). Artist nominators for this and upcoming editions of Mutual Empathies include Inga Lace (chief curator, Almaty Museum of Arts), Nick Yu (independent curator, Hong Kong), Sofia Dati (curator, WIELS), Mijoo Park (independent curator and head of 2026 Gwangju Biennale Academy ICC), Helen Turner (artistic director, E-WERK Luckenwalde), and Dr. Bettina Korintenberg (director, ifa-Galerie, Berlin and Stuttgart).

Saule Suleimenova (b 1970) is an artist working at the edge of many mediums, incorporating deconstructions of painting, photography, drawing, installation, and public art to create a meaningful social impact. In addition to her visual work, Suleimenova organises educational, ecological and social events focused on resistance, collective memory, and promoting the empowerment of the historically disadvantaged. After receiving her MFA from the Kazakh National University of Arts, Suleimenova went on to graduate from the Almaty State Academy of Architecture and Civil Engineering in 1996 with a degree in architectural design. Her recent projects include the 2025 Bukhara Biennial, UZ; the 2025 Kyiv Biennial, Warsaw PL; Jeonbuk Museum of Art, Jeonju SK; the 2020 Lahore Biennale; Manifesta 11, Zürich CH; Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah AE; along with many other international projects.

Maithu Bùi (b 1991) is an artist based in Berlin. Bùi’s practice investigates dispositions and relational proximity through shared history of violence, science, and technology. In their work, incorporating video, installation, mixed media, and writing, Bùi translates negotiations of life into spatial and situated encounters, with a particular interest in how resonance, speech, and agency emerge. They completed their MFA in 2023 at UdK (Berlin DE), following earlier education in Computational Linguistics and Philosophy at Ludwig Maximilian University (Munich DE). Their recent projects include ‘Bells and Cannons’ at CAC, Vilnius; the 12th Berlin Biennale, KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin DE; Bundeskunsthalle Bonn, DE; Kunsthalle Bratislava, SK; aashra Ashkal Alwan, LB; Museum der bildenden Künste, Leipzig DE; E-WERK Luckenwalde, DE; and Akademie der Künste, Berlin DE.

10 July 2026

18:00

Mindaugo 15, Vilnius

The 2026 edition of Mutual Empathies is financed by the Lithuanian Council for Culture and Goethe-Institut Lithuania. Rupert’s programmes are supported by Vilnius City Municipality. Rupert’s partner is INVL Family Office.

Photo credit: Markus Amon. Photo of Maithu Bùi.