Subjective mapping of the Eldership of Garliava Neighbourhoods
Autumn 2019
On the occasion of ‘Kaunas - European Capital of Culture 2022’ Subjective Editions has been invited to collaboratively map one eldership from inside out and capture cultural phenomena, measure the complexities and unveil the inhabitant’s treasures. During a local residency with 3 workshops at 3 locations in the neighbourhoods of the Garliava Eldership in Lithuania, creative inhabitants were invited to contribute their visual voices; in maps, infographics, photo series and other cartographic explorations. Collectively they showed what the eldership means at this moment of time.
Presentations in the Kaunas 2022 headquarters and welcoming by the particpants of the folk choir at the Ilgakemis Cultural Center, August 2019
A group of over 50 inhabitants were invited by the Juragiai Community home, the Ilgakemis Cultural Center, and the Third Fort, to share their personal memories, the several meanings of living in the region today, their daily activities, their emotions, hopes and concerns. They’ve opened their homes, generously shared their possessions, satisfied our curiosity for their personal objects and revealed their domestic and family environments. These personal views brought to our attention the juxtapositions of a Soviet gone-by era and the traces left behind, while expressing a spirit of renewal and transformation that seems to welcome modernity, foreign influences and the newer generation’s enthusiasm of current Lithuania.
Workshop at Juragiai Community home, September 2019
Hugo Herrera Tobon: “The people around here seem to establish familiar relationships with their neighbours, and unite either for leisure activities, or to voice their problems, make petitions, or to create a wide array of events. There is a sense of pride in their ancestors, their memories, and their monumental history and heroes. But also the Juragiai Radio & Television Tower is so significant for the community in the recent history of the Lithuanian independence. Both ancient heritage and modern culture are maintained and expressed through the many traditions and crafts, gastronomy and drinks, rituals and celebrations, literature and poetry of the Eldership. This seemingly simple land unvolds a multitude of fertile layers once you dig a bit through its soil and its soul.”
Exhibition at the Juragiai Radio & Television Tower, 11-20 October 2019
All in all, the contributions and stories behind the images and works in this atlas, reflect on the history, visualise the current reality, and open up new landscapes of thought for the future. Furthermore, we hope that this compendium of images will somehow serve to bring to the viewers’ attention the richness of the Garliava Neighbourhoods. Specificcaly, the works can become a departure point to reflect upon the contrast of rural and urban current live in Lithuania as a whole, and ultimately to revise on how the social, cultural and political realities of global dynamics are shaping both the local and national contexts.
Acknowledgements
The Subjective Atlas of the Eldership of Garliava Neighbourhoods is produced by Kaunas - European Capital of Culture 2022, in partnership with Subjective Editions, curated and edited by Hugo Herrera Tobón. Special thanks to: Juragiai, Ilgakiemis, Sąnašos communities, Kaunas district Samylai cultural centre, Ilgakiemis Leisure Hall and III Fort team, Radio & Television Tower of Juragiai, Virginija Tamašauskienė, Agnė Rapulskytė, Ovidijus Jurkša and Antanas Zumaras. Thanks to: Kauno Kolegija, University of Applied Sciences, and to our design assistants: Vilma Bagdonavičiūtė, Ieva Rainytė, Milda Švėgždaitė, Paulina Tubiūtė.
