The project Aspects of Presence, a collaboration between the Contemporary Art Centre (CAC), Vilnius, the Akademie der Künste, Berlin, and the Goethe-Institut in Lithuania, takes the current deployment of the German Brigade to Lithuania as a starting point. This deployment is part of NATO’s strategy to reinforce its eastern borders in response to Russia’s ongoing military aggression against Ukraine. Over the coming years, approximately 5,000 soldiers, alongside civilians and families, will relocate to Lithuania, with the brigade expected to reach full operational readiness by 2027.
Focusing on the brigade’s presence in Lithuania, the project opens up discussions on the broader context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its global implications. This deployment marks a significant geopolitical shift, reflecting profound transformations and historical continuities. The invasion of Ukraine reveals itself as deeply entangled with political negligence in ecological and economic policies, uncritical cooperation with authoritarian regimes, particularly in the energy sector, and the increasing influence of opaque (dis)information technologies. It also brings to the forefront shifting perceptions and global entanglements, cultural conflicts, and anxieties that extend far beyond the military sphere.
Through artworks, discussions, and texts, Aspects of Presence explores how contemporary life is affected by militarisation, reflecting on what led us here and the future that lies ahead. The project seeks to create space for artists and audiences to engage with the complexities and contradictions of this ongoing geopolitical shift.
The project unfolds in three stages: a symposium at the Akademie der Künste in Berlin, an exhibition at CAC Vilnius, and ultimately, a publication.
Symposium: 5–6 June 2025, Akademie der Künste, Berlin
Exhibition: October 2025 – January 2026, Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius
Publication: Summer 2026
Aspects of Presence is a project by the Goethe-Institut in Lithuania, the Contemporary Art Centre (CAC), Vilnius and the Akademie der Künste, Berlin.
Title image: © Oleksiy Radynski