On Friday 20 October at 6pm, the National Gallery of Art (Konstitucijos pr. 22, Vilnius) will host the JCDecaux Award exhibition “In Exchange to Ages”, organised by the Contemporary Art Centre and the JCDecaux OOH network – Out-of-Home digital and static advertising for the urban outdoor environment. The exhibition, presenting the work of emerging artists, interweaves folklore, gossip, electricity, weather forecasting, coding, and the ratio of metal to soluble minerals, while the expression of artistic ideas ranges from sculpture to performance.

Following an open call, which received more than 100 applications from emerging artists, curators Kotryna Markevičiūtė and Ona Juciūtė selected more participants than previous years and will present six artists in the exhibition: Joelis Aškinis, Tata Frenkel, Sandra Golubjevaitė, Urtė Janus, Mykolas Valantinas and Miglė Vyčinaitė. The curators noted that the ideas behind the selected artworks easily shaped the vision of the exhibition, with interesting interconnections that reflect various time experiences differently.

Discussing their intentions behind the exhibition, the curators say: “From the moment you say a word or a fantastic image is conjured up in your head, when an HTML code is generated in the browser, when you enter the electromagnetic field of other bodies or a rain cloud forms over your head, to indefinitely long civilisational shifts or geological processes. In this exhibition, the artworks stumble on one another, meet in silent dialogue, scatter across the National Gallery of Art and enter into the nearby collection of art. Through the fragmented narrative we have invited viewers to exchange knowledge and beliefs that shape our daily reality into experiences lingering in the flow of different times and temporalities.” – the curators say, explaining their vision of the exhibition.“

The JCDecaux Award is an annual cycle of exhibitions initiated in 2016 by the Contemporary Art Centre and the JCDecaux to promote the artwork of emerging Lithuanian artists, raising its profile in Lithuania and abroad, and expanding the public interest in contemporary art. Each year, the project’s curators receive applications through an open call, evaluate them and select participants to receive financial and institutional support for the creation and presentation of new artworks. The one-off award of €4,000, granted by the JCDecaux, is awarded by an international jury to one participating artist or collective based on the originality, relevance and artistic expression of their artwork. The public are also encouraged to express their preference. The artist most appreciated by the public will be given the opportunity to present their project within the JCDecaux OOH network of public advertising spaces.

The exhibition runs until 3 December 2023 at the National Gallery of Art (Konstitucijos pr. 22, Vilnius). Opening hours of the National Gallery of Art: Tuesday & Wednesday 11am–7pm, Thursday 12–8pm, Friday & Saturday 11am–7pm, Sunday 11am–5pm.