This spring Kazys Varnelis House-Museum in collaboration with Italian Cultural Institute in Vilnius and Vilnius Academy of Arts invited calligraphers to participate in the first edition of Vilnius Calligraphy Competition and Exhibition. Right after it seemed that the hardships caused by COVID-19 pandemic were almost over the strength and solidarity of our civilization is being tested once again. In the wake of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, the organizers encouraged artist to reflect on these difficult times.

Thus, we looked back at the origins of European culture and proposed to write down a Latin quote by Roman philosopher Seneca: 𝘕𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘶𝘮 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘮𝘶𝘴, 𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘮 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘮𝘶𝘴 – It is not that we have so little time, but that we have lost so much. This phrase reminds us of the fragile nature of humanity, bound by the threads of responsibility to others, complex decisions and their consequences. In the hands of artists these ideas spring into an inexhaustible stream of creativity.

The winners will be selected and awarded by an international jury in late September.

The exhibition will be opened until October 30th.

Organizers: Kazys Varnelis House-Museum, Italian Cultural Institute in Vilnius and Vilnius Academy of Arts. Partner – Polish Institute in Vilnius.

Illustration: Greta Suraučiūtė. Inversija Nr.1. 2019