KUNO Biennial 2023: Shared Imaginations

12 Oct. – 18 Nov. 2023

People are natural storytellers and gatherers of tales. It’s an innate part of human nature to imagine individually and together. But can our collective imaginations still foster a sense of togetherness today or are these connections as mythic as our ancestors’ tales? In myriad ways, we try to link ancient myths with their contemporary reinterpretations which shift from sacred to comedic, from finite to meta. Those stories and tales travel through different periods and social layers –shared imagery that speaks to issues of authority, deception, and transparency.

We are constantly in search of vessels to care for and contain the great myths, tall tales and the archetypal characters that inhabit folklore. As such, we gather common ground tools to decipher the meaning of iconographic imagery and its bearing on our lives. The artworks in Shared Imaginations show how those myths and stories lead us to virtual shapeshifters, individual remnants and shared vessels.

The exhibition Shared Imaginations brings together a wide-ranging collection of works in response to the concept of shared imagination. It is the result of an open call, to which students from all the fine art academies in the KUNO network, were invited to apply.

Participating artists: Adelina Allberg, Asta von Apfel, Aurelija Bulaukaitė, Jack Faber, Daniele Di Girolamo, Siri Hammarén, Moa Hjärtström and Charlie-Vince Jakobsson, Deepa R. Iyengar, Marija Gabrielė Karputė, Dominika Kemilä, Elza Lapiņa, Natalija Lokcikaitė, Theodor Öhrn, Raghad Resres, Ang Siew Ching, Sofie Sjöö, Tine Suaning Leone, Ingeborg Tysse, Katrín Guðmunds Sigrúnardóttir (Katrín Sirru), Mirjam Varik, Yuliia Yeromina

Curators: Marija Martinaitytė, Vytautas Vasčiūnas, Vincentas Zienka

Curatorial advisor: dr. Julija Fomina

Graphic design: Valentin Duduk

Architecture: Povilas Marozas

Exhibition is organised by Vilnius Academy of Arts and funded by KUNO and Nordplus