On February 16, 2026, an exhibition dedicated to the life of Jonas Šliūpas opened in the exhibition hall of the Lithuanian Alliance of America (LAA) in New York (USA), symbolically marking the day of the restoration of the Lithuanian state. The exposition introduces J. Šliūpas’s activities, ideas and contribution to the fostering of Lithuanian identity in Lithuania and abroad. The exhibition invites us to look at his personality as a courageous, principled and ahead of his time public figure. “I had the idea to create an exhibition about J. Šliūpas ever since I became a member of the LAA. This man is undervalued in Lithuanian history. During his life, he stirred up sleeping Lithuanians both in tsarist Lithuania in the 19th century and here in America. His work to educate Lithuanians and distinguish them from Poles was enormous,” said Danius Glinskis, chairman of the Lithuanian Alliance of America.

During his life, J. Šliūpas founded many societies, published newspapers, wrote educational books, and gave many lectures on various topics, striving for the ordinary Lithuanian to become more independent and take responsibility for his future. Ideologically, J. Šliūpas evolved from an ardent socialist to a nationalist, and on this path he actively spread the ideas of freethinking.

The main axis of the exhibition composition is a timeline, which begins with the date of birth of Simonas Daukantas – from J. Šliūpas’s point of view, one of the most important figures in the Lithuanian national revival. The timeline is arranged with dates with names that mark the events that took place in the hero’s life at that time. Above the line is information with quotes from the biography, and below it – J. Šliūpas’s own authentic descriptions of those events. All this is enriched with photographs illustrating the mentioned historical moments. The exhibition presents maps reflecting the main stages of J. Šliūpas’s life: one depicts Tsarist Lithuania, the second depicts America, and the third depicts life in independent Lithuania. The maps are connected by strings symbolizing journeys across the oceans – J. Šliūpas crossed the Atlantic Ocean ten times and the Pacific Ocean once. The exhibition separately presents the importance of the monthly magazine “Aušra” (“The Dawn”) and highlights the period of his life in Palanga. Visitors are presented with newspapers he published, societies he founded, books he wrote and published, and also a family tree of J. Šliūpas with the author’s own comments about his relatives.

The Lithuanian Alliance of America is one of the oldest and most historically significant Lithuanian public organizations in the United States of America, founded on August 15, 1886, at the initiative of Jonas Šliūpas. Initially operating as the Union of All Lithuanians in America, since 1896 it became known by its current name. It was the first organized Lithuanian effort to create national symbols, cultural networks, and support structures abroad, when Lithuania was still occupied by Tsarist Russia.

The exhibition is held to commemorate the 140th anniversary of the Unification of Lithuanians in America. It also presents a significant asset – the historical LAA flag, restored after almost three years of painstaking work by the Lithuanian National Museum. The more than century-old flag was restored with extreme precision, preserving authentic colors, embroidery, and even historical imperfections, and upon completion of the work, its copy was solemnly handed over to the community this year as a living symbol of the connection with Lithuania. In addition to the specially exhibited flag, the exhibition presents what was announced about the founder of the organization in the 1936 LAA anniversary album, as well as texts about Dr. Jonas Šliūpa from the 1925 newspaper “Tėvynė” (“Fatherland”).

“During the opening, I guided the visitors of the exhibition through the entire life of Šliūpas in the context of Lithuanian history with explanations and readings. After that, when talking to them, it was interesting to understand that many had heard of, but had no idea who Šliūpas was, what an interesting and colorful personality he was. Someone mentioned that he would be the best and most interesting hero for a series in Lithuania showing his life path. One guest was surprised that he was not among the signatories,” remarked Danius Glinskis, the chairman of the Lithuanian Society of the Lithuanian People’s Liberation.

The exhibition will close on a symbolic day – March 11. During the event, it will be discussed what kind of Lithuania J. Šliūpas dreamed of and saw, and it will also be considered to what extent his vision has come true in today’s state. It can be said that many of his ideas have become reality, although the vision of a common state of Lithuania and Latvia that he cherished has remained unfulfilled.

The exhibition was prepared by the Lithuanian Alliance of America, with the consultation of Mindaugas Surblys, the cultural activities manager and museum curator of the National Museum of Lithuania.