VILNIUS REGION FOLK ARTISTS – ART CREATORS COMMUNITY
LITHUANIAN FOLK ARTISTS’ UNION VILNIUS COMMUNITY
2025 CREATIVE ACTIVITY REPORT
EVALUATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF RESULTS
The Vilnius Region Folk Artists-Art Creators and Lithuanian Folk Artists’ Union Vilnius Communities 2026 creative program (hereinafter – the Program) aims to nurture and promote Lithuanian folk art, create conditions for community members to ensure continuity and dissemination of traditions. Encourage creators’ initiatives and ensure accessibility of cultural heritage to various groups of society. In implementing the program’s objectives, all planned results were achieved, and activities were carried out on time and with quality. The results of the activities have a long-term cultural impact that continues beyond the conclusion of the 2025 activities.
a) Strengthening of cultural heritage (exhibitions, educational activities, paintings donated to the National Art Museum and Rokiškis Regional Museum enrich museum collections, ensure heritage preservation and accessibility to the public).
b) Transmission of folk art traditions to the younger generation – joint creative camps – an activity with lasting value, as it promotes the continuity of traditional techniques.
c) Promotion of social inclusion – participants of various age groups are involved in the activities;
c) Analytical and methodological added value, where research conducted on public attitudes toward folk art provides a foundation for future strategic planning in the field of folk art, etc.) d) The publication “Monika Bičiūnienė” will have long-term documentary value, contributing to the preservation of folk art history, particularly the genre of primitive painting. The 2025 Program created sustainable, long-term cultural value and contributed to ensuring the vitality and continuity of folk art traditions in the future.
In 2025, the Vilnius Region Folk Artists-Art Creators Community consistently pursued the goals and objectives set out in the Program, implementing all planned activities. Organized 3 competitive exhibitions: the 4th competitive exhibition “Traditional Vilnius Region Verba” – 45 participants, the jubilee competitive folk art exhibitions of the Vilnius and Utena regions “Golden Wreath”, with 275 participating artists. During the competitions, evaluation committees were organized, and laureates were selected in accordance with the “Regulations.” Laureate award ceremonies are organized, during which diplomas, monetary prizes, and souvenirs are presented to them. During the event, an artistic program takes place, and greetings and gifts are presented by district municipal administrations, museums, and cultural centers. The national primitive painting exhibition dedicated to the memory of Monika Bičiūnienė attracted great interest. The exhibition featured 57 painters from various locations in Lithuania. This is a continuing project that encourages self-expression of self-taught painters and new trends. The exhibition was displayed in a special location, in the spaces of the Užutrakis Manor estate palace, where the paintings shone with unique content and the most beautiful colors. Together with project partners – Trakai Crafts Center and Molėtai Regional Museum – we organized two creative camps. It should be noted that both camps were attended by children, youth, and adults. The transmission of embroidery and paper-cutting traditions from the older generation is a success and a hope that folk art will endure. Completed the commissioned research “Lithuanian Market Participants’ Attitudes Toward Folk Art and Products Created from National Heritage.” The quantitative and qualitative research was conducted by Vilnius College. During surveys and group meetings, the attitudes of companies and organizations operating in the market toward folk art and national heritage products were presented and examined. The research insights and issues were presented to the Ethnic Culture Protection Council and the Lithuanian Culture Council. Currently prepared for print and sent to the printer is the book “Monika Bičiūnienė,” newly expanded – 208 pages. publication, for which the best preserved images of the famous primitivist were provided by the National Museum of Lithuania, the Lithuanian Art Museum, and the National Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis Museum. Educational programs for Lithuanians abroad were implemented: in Luxembourg – at the Lithuanian school “Avilys” – margučiai, verba; for participants of the Cyprus and Greece Lithuanian gathering – woven sashes and straw gardens; at the Estonian Lithuanian community gathering – verba and woven sashes. Together with the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Ukraine, an exhibition of margučiai and verba was organized in Ukraine, in Kolomyia, at the world’s only Easter egg museum; an exhibition of verba and margučiai in Puńsk, and an exhibition of 4 young folk artists (age – up to 30 years) “Youth Breakthrough in Folk Art” was held at the Stained Glass Gallery of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania. Community members traditionally (for the 10th time) participated in the Jagiellonian Fair in Lublin, the “Kaziukas Fair in Vilnius,” and the Vilnius city festival “Vilnius Days.” Regional folk art exhibitions were organized in Utena, Visaginas, Molėtai, Širvintos, Trakai, Elektrėnai, and Ignalina. Members independently organized over 20 individual exhibitions, educational programs, and training sessions.
In 2025, Collaboration in the work of the Lithuania-Poland project conference “Verba – Ambassador of the Region” becomes a tool of cultural diplomacy, representing the region at the national and international level. Through active collaboration with the Vilnius District Municipality, the Lithuanian National Culture Centre, and other cultural institutions, responsibly participated in preparing documents for the inclusion of the “Verba Binding Tradition” in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List. The result of this process – Lithuania submitted an official application to UNESCO, seeking international recognition and protection of the verba binding tradition. (Both communities are listed in the UNESCO application.)
It can be stated that both communities successfully implemented the creative program, whose goal is to nurture and promote Lithuanian folk art, ensure continuity and dissemination of traditions, and accessibility of cultural heritage to various groups of society. All goals and objectives set out in the Program were achieved on time and with quality, and the results of the activities created long-term cultural value and established preconditions for continuing ethnic culture projects in the future. Information about the events is published on the website, the community’s Facebook page, in the Vilnius and Utena regional district press, on the www.vilniaustautodaile.lt website, on community members’ Facebook accounts, and elsewhere.
Prepared by Chairperson Ramutė Kraujalienė
The report was approved at the board meeting on January 29, 2026.