On Friday, 9 October, the Contemporary Art Centre (CAC) opens ‘Gatherings‘, a solo exhibition by artist and composer Lina Lapelytė, in which works created at different points in her career come together in a single space for the first time.
Its title also points to the importance of togetherness and a sense of community in her work. How might our relationships with one another change if we listened more closely to those around us and to our surroundings, and viewed our everyday rituals, rules and coincidences through a poetic lens?
Interconnectedness, ageing, vulnerability and loss are recurring themes in Lapelytė’s work, in which the personal and political are closely intertwined. In the exhibition, the question of ‘with whom’ is answered anew with each work: most of Lapelytė’s projects are created through direct collaboration with other artists or by incorporating texts by various writers, poets and artists. Each time the works are presented to the public, the question of ‘when’ also becomes significant. Works created between 2011 and 2015 are being presented again in 2026, prompting us to ask whether we are living in the future we imagined.
Friday’s exhibition opening programme will begin with ‘Mud Works (Clay Musical)’, a performance that premiered in Milan just two weeks ago. Over five hours, singers will gather to shape little cubes from terracotta while delivering songs based on contemporary poetry, as the clay gradually transforms from a pliable material into a solid form. Professional vocalists perform the work, with opportunities for the audience to join in along the way.
You’re welcome to take part in the performance or simply watch at any time between 3 and 8 pm. The exhibition will be open for visitors to explore throughout the performance. Following its conclusion, we’ll gather for the opening remarks.
Over the weekend, join exhibition curators Virginija Januškevičiūtė and Aistė Liuka Jonynaitė for guided tours of the exhibition.
OPENING PROGRAMME:
9 October
3 pm | Exhibition opens to visitors | Main Hall, North Hall
3 pm | Performance ‘Mud Works (Clay Musical)’ | Atrium, 2nd floor | Duration – 5 hours
A ceramics workshop takes the form of a kind of picnic, bringing singers and visitors together to shape small terracotta cubes – or simply to observe others and listen. As they work, the singers perform songs based on contemporary poetry. The gathering unfolds as a five-hour ritual, returning again and again to grief, isolation, fragility and a looming sense of loss.
Piece by piece, song by song, the space gathers traces of shared activity and time spent together. The cubes look almost identical, yet upon closer inspection it becomes clear that they were shaped by different hands. What first appears to be an anonymous form in fact holds the time and effort of each contributor.
The shapes are then fired. The material solidifies. Clay becomes something new. The songs continue, while shaping gives way to stacking. A shared form emerges from elements made together. The singing seems never-ending. The process is also the outcome – there is no culmination, only a state of suspension.
From mud to clay; from fluidity to shape; from soft to solid; from particle to structure – all to the rhythm of song, in a sustained process of transformation and hope.
Originally commissioned and produced by Milano Triennale and Contemporary Art Centre (Vilnius) in the framework of the PIT – Perform, Inform, Transform: Participatory Performance in Art Museums project, co-funded by the European Union and the Lithuanian Culture Institute.
8 pm | Exhibition opening remarks | 1st floor
10 October
5 pm | Guided tour of the exhibition with curator Virginija Januškevičiūtė | In Lithuanian | Meeting point – Ground floor Lobby
11 October
3 pm | Guided tour of the exhibition with curator Aistė Liuka Jonynaitė | In Lithuanian | Meeting point – Ground floor Lobby
From 9 October, you will find a bookshelf curated by Lina Lapelytė in the Reading Room.
Photography and/or filming may take place at the event, so please be informed that you may be seen in photos and/or videos of the event. These photos and videos can be published on social networks or media.