Vilnelė Odyssey: Naujoji Vilnia, Markučiai and Paupys

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Three temporary installations, created by various artists and installed by the Vilnius Museum, invite the inhabitants of the Naujoji Vilnia, Markučiai and Paupys areas to meet, get to know each other, and plan the future of their districts together.

Residents know exactly how the public spaces in their neighbourhood work, what they lack, what should be preserved, and what should be rejected. A neighbourhood community can influence the management of the neighbourhood. Write joint letters, send them to your elders (seniūnas in Lithuanian), and remind them of your suggestions if you don’t get a reply : ) The politicians will represent you at the level of local government.

Markučiai and Paupys: rasu.seniunija@vilnius.lt (Lina Rimkevičienė)

Naujoji Vilnia: naujosiosvilnios.seniunija@vilnius.lt (Jurijus Gridiuško)

Vilnelė Odyssey is part of the ULYSSES European Odyssey project. In this project, the Vilnius Museum, together with 17 partners in other European countries, celebrates the centenary of James Joyce’s novel Ulysses (written as an interpretation of Homer’s The Odyssey). Published in 1922, the novel celebrates public space as a condition of civilisation and a guarantee of democracy.

Vilnelė Odyssey is also part of the Vilnius 700 programme.

Naujoji Vilnia

A new public space has been created in an area where the contrasts of Naujoji Vilnia are felt particularly strongly. After crossing the Bridge of Crayfishes’ Sauna*, from the well-looked-after and frequently visited part of the park, we enter a large industrial area at the centre of Naujoji Vilnia full of empty buildings. It is separated from the banks of the River Vilnelė by fences and engineering structures. The installation invites residents to discuss how closed factory sites can be opened up, and what new functions they might perform.

* The name given to the bridge during a workshop on 10 June this year.

The authors of the installation The Knot are three architects, Aurelija Kniukštaitė, Kotryna Bajorinaitė and Jonė Virbickaitė.

Markučiai

A new public space is being created on the site of the former Blue Danube restaurant, symbolically bringing the low, gushing river closer to Markučiai. Until the end of June, we invite the residents of the district to submit ideas for what the temporary installation should be. The artists will consider your suggestions, if possible. Markučiai does not yet have a district centre where people can pass the time together. Perhaps the new installation will encourage the creation of such a space.

The authors of the project Markučiai Station are the architects Evelina Vasiliauskaitė and Margarita Kaučikaitė.

Paupys

Last year, the residents of the surrounding neighbourhoods put into practice an idea to build wooden platforms on the beach at Paupys. It soon became clear that there is a serious lack of shade on a hot summer’s day. The new gazebo not only reduces the sun’s heat (we hope the climbing plants will grow quickly), but also reminds us of the district’s past. The area formerly known as Paplauja was probably the first industrial area in Vilnius. In the 19th and the early 20th century, it was where the wheels of water mills turned, weavers’ looms clattered, and furriers and brewers worked; and various factories continued to operate there in the second half of the 20th century.

The installation Nest of Industry was created by the artist Vladas Suncovas.

The project of Aurelija Kniukštaitė, Kotryna Bajorinaitė and Jonė Virbickaitė in Naujoji Vilnia. Photo by Gintarė Grigėnaitė

The project of Evelina Vasiliauskaitė and Margarita Kaučikaitė in Markučiai. Photo by Pijus Girdziušas

The project of Vladas Suncovas in Paupys. Photo by Gintarė Grigėnaitė

The project of Evelina Vasiliauskaitė and Margarita Kaučikaitė in Markučiai. Photo by Gintarė Grigėnaitė