International Center of Cultures in Krakow (Poland) in collaboration with Lithuanian Photographers’ Association will open the photography exhibition "Lithuania. Two centuries of photography" on the 15^th of June, 2023. According to the curator of the exhibition Adam Mazur, this is the first monographic exhibition of broadly understood Lithuanian photography in Poland, so it is important to present both iconic figures and classic photos, as well as opening up to less obvious phenomena, as well as phenomena that go beyond the medium of photography itself.

The exhibition talks about Lithuania and its inhabitants, about history and memory, about aspects that shape the Lithuanian identity. "Lithuania. Two Centuries of Photography" provides a broad historical overview: the oldest photographs on display were created in the 19th century, the newest - in 2020. In addition to the canonical works of recognized masters, the exhibition also exhibits the works of the younger generation of artists. Photographs are exhibited together with original albums and books. The exhibition is not a typical chronologically framed retrospective. Here, attention is divided into conceptual segments, which are visualized by parts: "Atelier", "A week in Vilnius", "Photographer's wanderings", "Silence", "Self-portrait", "Personal memories" and "Diverse Lithuania".

The selection of works demonstrates a diversity of content and form. However, they are united by the search for visuality in everyday life, poetics, and melancholy. The photographs are exhibited in such a way as to reveal the interrelationships, dependence, continuity, and difference between generations of artists. Classic photography masters such as Józef Czechowicz, Jan Bułhak, Antanas Sutkus, Algimantas Kunčius are juxtaposed with representatives of the "new Lithuanian school" - Tadas Kazakevičius, Andrej Vasilenko or Valentyn Odnoviun. Among the authors traditionally attributed to the field of photography, there are participants in the field of contemporary art - Artūras Raila, Mindaugas Navakas and others. World-renowned contemporary artists such as Dorota Gawęda and Eglė Kulbokaitė, whose works combine performance with photography and literature, or Indrė Šerpytytė, who examines the history and memory of Soviet-era Lithuania in her works, are also presented.

The exhibited photographs are full of motifs that are characteristic not only of Lithuania, but also related to the common experience of the inhabitants of Central Europe. After all, Vilnius was an important city for both Poles and Belarusians, and the dramatic experience of the Soviet occupation in this part of the continent was shared by people from many countries. The exhibition "Lithuania. Two Centuries of Photography" is a photographic story about the complex history of Central Europe. This problem has been addressed before, in exhibitions organized by the International Center of Cultures, such as "Photobloc. Central Europe in photo books” (2019) and “More than Bauhaus. German photography between the wars and Polish parallels” (2021).

The exhibition will accompanied by a publication of a Polish-English, richly illustrated catalogue. Later, it is planned to publish the catalog in Lithuanian-English languages as well.

Artists participating in the exhibition: Violeta Bubelytė, Alfonsas Budvytis, Jan Bułhak, Balys Buračas, Józef Czechowicz, Dorota Gawęda and Eglė Kulbokaitė, Mindaugas Kavaliauskas, Tadas Kazakevičius, Stanislovas Kazimieras Kosakovskis, Algimantas Kunčius, Alvydas Lukys, Aleksandras Macijauskas, George Mačiūnas, Jonas Mekas, Mindaugas Navakas, Valentyn Odnoviun, Remigijus Pacėsa, Paulius Petraitis, Ramunė Pigagaitė, Artūras Raila, Romualdas Rakauskas, Vilma Samulionytė, Gytis Skudžinskas, Vytautas V. Stanionis, Antanas Sutkus, Indrė Šerpytytė, Algirdas Šeškus, Rolandas Šimulis, Virgilijus Šonta, Domicelė Tarabildienė, Benediktas Henrikas Tiškevičius, Gintautas Trimakas, Andrej Vasilenko, Rimaldas Vikšraitis.