Celebrating Europe at Kaunas Gallery
As part of the European Prospects programme, Kaunas Photography Gallery curated the "Celebrating Europe" exhibition, which took place at Kaunas Photography Gallery and Meno Parkas gallery in Kaunas between 5th and 20th of September. Kaunas Photography Gallery received over 150 proposals from around Europe, also a few works from the United States and Australia. All the artists shared their personal outlook and observations about the way an enlarged Europe is seen today, the footprints all these changes have left in the daily routines of people, things that concern the artists and what they care about, as well as how all these viewpoints and thoughts are reflected through their personal photo essays. In the exhibition eighten artist were presented – 15 photography series and 2 video works. Almost all of them came to Kaunas for an exhibition opening.
“Celebrating Europe” artists: Eugenia Maximova (Bulgaria/Austria), Artur Urbanski (Poland), Katrina Kepule (Latvia), Maria Kapajeva (Estonia/ England), Petrut Calinescu (Romania), Robert Rutoed (Austria), Alan Knox (Scotland), Paul Cabuts (Wales), Vesna Faassen and Lukas Verdijk (Belgium), Boryana Katsarova (Bulgaria/ France), Eugenijus Barzdžius (Lithuania/ Denmark), Anargyros Drolapas (Greece), Blazej Marzak (Poland/ Scotland), Rudolfas Levulis (Lithuania), Paula Gortazar (Spain/ England), Julien Mauve (France), Vytautas Michelkevičius (Lithuania)
At the same time between 5th and 6th of September Kaunas Photography Gallery invited photographers to participate in the European prospects international portfolio reviews. Curators and galleries’ directors, art critics, publishers and photo editors were brought together for two days to do reviews for established and emerging lens-based artists. In the portfolio review participated 45 artists from more then fifteen different countries.
You can see a video of the portfolio review here.
The list of the European Prospects portfolio reviewers:
David Drake / director, Ffotogallery / Cardiff (Wales);
Jean Marc Lacabe / director, Galerie de Chateau d’Eau / Toulouse (France);
William Ewing / independent curator, Director of Curatorial Projects for the international publishing house Thames & Hudson;
Phillip Prodger / Head of Photographs/ National Portrait Gallery / London (England);
Shane Lavalette / director, Light Work; Publisher/Editor, Lavalette; Photographer New York, USA;
Louise Clements / director, FORMAT festival, Derby (England);
Zhenia Sveshinsky /director, Image Matter/ Amsterdam (Netherlands);
Julia Durkin / Auckland Festival of Photography (New Zealand);
Angel Luiz Gonzalez / director, PhotoIrelan, Dublin (Ireland);
Rudolf Steiner / curator, Haus am Gern / Biel/Bienne (Switzerland);
Mario Peliti / Peliti Associati /Rome (Italy);
John Demos / Phototheatron / The Athens House of photography / Athens (Greece);
Matthias Bullinger, Gisela Diringer/ Bild Kultur / Stuttgart (Germany);
Elizabeth F. Spungen/ executive director, The Print Center / Philadelphia (USA);
Valentina Kiselyova / director, Y gallery/ Minsk (Belarus);
Wojciech Nowicki / Curator of Krakow Photomonth Festival 2015 (Poland);
Agnė Narušytė / art critic, Vilnius, Lithuania
Alvydas Lukys / head of Photography and Media department in Vilnius Academy of Fine Arts, Vilnius, Lithuania
Gintaras Česonis / director of Kaunas Photography Gallery, Kaunas, Lihuania.