"S(w)inging gardens" exhibition and documentary
The Centre for Civil Education of the Office of the President of the Republic of Lithuania and the Lithuanian National Commission for UNESCO will celebrate the International Intangible Cultural Heritage Day on the 17th October by opening and presenting a newly created exhibition and documentary “S(w)inging gardens”. The exhibition and documentary are dedicated to the Sodai straw garden making, which was inscribed in the UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2023.
The visitors of the exhibition will listen to the stories of straw garden makers and the symbols of the straw gardens being revived in audio and video recordings as well as in projections and objects installations.
Are the lives of humans and gardens similar in some way? Could it be that the rye is just as vital to the life of a straw garden as it is to a human? Is the journey to one’s destination — the earthly or eternal home — not alike for a person and a garden? Isn’t the act of settling into a new home just as significant in a person’s life as in that of a straw garden? Is death and rebirth not a natural aspect of both a garden’s and a human’s existence?
The visitors will be invited to immerse themselves in a tranquil space filled with light, and shadows, a space discovering a personal connection with the Sodai straw gardens, their makers, and the abundance of symbols.
The exhibition will be opened to the visitors until July 2025.
Exhibition organised by: The Centre for Civil Education of the Office of the President of the Republic of Lithuania and the Lithuanian National Commission for UNESCO
Project funded by: Lithuanian Council for Culture and the Centre for Civil Education
Curators and authors: Aurimas Lukminas and Milda Valančiauskienė
Creative team: Tolyn Gilyn (artistic solutions consultants, co-authors of the exhibition and concept), Milda Valančiauskienė (co-author of the exhibition, concept, and audio texts), Saulius Valius (co-author of the exhibition and concept, architect), Iveta Jasiūnaitė-Milerė (graphic designer), Birutė Kapustinskaitė (author of video projection texts), Martynas Norvaišas (video projection creator), Andrius Šiurys (composer), Asta Valiukevičienė (consultant), Vida Sniečkuvienė (straw garden maker, folk artist, consultant), Marija Liugienė (straw garden maker, folk artist, consultant), Zita Kumpelienė (straw garden maker, folk artist), Raimundas Blažaitis (wood crafter, folk artist), Jurgita Juškevičienė (editor), Okas Language Solutions (english translation).