Exhibition “Book Dragon: A Fantastic Story About the Beauty of Books”

  • 2026 03 18–09 27

  • II–VII 10 AM–6 PM (holiday opening hours can be found on the branch’s webpage)

  • Kazys Varnelis House-Museum

  • Didžioji St. 26, Vilnius

  • Exhibition

  • Adults – 7 Eur, discount ticket – 3,50 Eur

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Hello, everyone! My name is Ugnius, and I come from an old and distinguished family of dragons. Not long ago, I discovered a hidden treasure in my family home – a pile of the most wonderful books. Leafing through them, I became so enchanted that I taught myself to read! Do you enjoy reading too?

To me, every book is a true work of art. With my sharp claws, I carefully run across the pages testing the strength of the paper or parchment. By the light of a flame, I admire the gilded edges and colourful illustrations. With great curiosity, I study the letters of different alphabets and their typefaces. I sometimes tug at the threads along the spine checking whether the bookbinder’s needle has stitched the pages together firmly enough. A good book must be both beautiful and durable!

In this exhibition, you will discover how a good book comes to life: what materials it is made from, how it is printed, illustrated, and bound. You will find that the history of books is a fascinating one. Did you know that books were once extremely rare and expensive objects?

After all, you are a guest in the home of a true book lover – the bibliophile Kazys Varnelis. Over the course of his life, he collected more than 9,500 books! The most beautiful and interesting of them are on display in this exhibition.

The exhibition opens on 18 March 2026 at 6 PM and will run until 27 September 2026.

Photos by Silvestras Samsonas, National Museum of Lithuania

More about the exhibition: press here.

Partner
Vilniaus apskrities Adomo Mickevičiaus viešoji biblioteka

Media partner
JCDecaux

Exhibition Creative Team

Concept author and Curator
Indrė Urbelytė

Co-curator
dr. Jolita Liškevičienė

Architect and Graphic Designer
Justinas Dadonas

Project Lead
dr. Daiva Vaišnienė

Communication and marketing coordinators
Aušra Kaminskaitė
Aušra Straševičienė

Educator
Ula Lukrecija Matulaitytė

Restoration maintenance coordinator
Lina Kregždienė

Translator
Raminta Bumbulytė

Acknowledgements:
Graphic Art Department of the Vilnius Academy of Arts
Lithuanian National Museum of Art
M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art
Vilnius Graphic Art Centre
Šiauliai Aušros Museum
Lithuanian Audiosensory Library
Surgailiai family
Kęstutis Grigaliūnas