Art and Politics of Public Space: Vilnius, First Half of the 20th Century

This talk explores the ideological transformation of Vilnius’s cityscape between 1895 and 1953, a period marked by the succession of seven political regimes: namely, the Russian Empire (1895–1915), the German Empire (1915–1919), the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic and Litbel (1920), the Republic of Lithuania (1920 and 1939-1940), the Republic of Poland (1919–1939), the Nazi Germany (1941–1944), and the Soviet Union (1940–1941 and 1944–1953).

Focusing on both realised and unrealised projects, as well as the creation and destruction of political and mnemonic markers, this talk will examine the images of themselves that different states sought to project in the urban context of Vilnius. Through this lens, it will illuminate how art and politics intersected to shape a public space, providing a compelling visual and historical narrative of Vilnius in the first half of the 20th century.

Image credit: The erection of the monument to Governor General Mikhail Muravyov, photographer Aizic Cinowiec, 1898. The Lithuanian National Museum of Art