On Friday, November 7, 2025, at 5:00 PM, the opening event of the contemporary art and fashion festival VIRUS’30 will take place at Šiauliai Art Gallery.
The evening will feature the opening of Jūratė Kazakevičiūtė’s experimental textile exhibition Ties and Kęstutis Svirnelis’s kinetic sculpture exhibition Civilized Absurd.
The exhibitions will be on view until December 13.
The evening will also include an electroacoustic performance by Arma Agharta.
Opening DJ – Arturas Vai.
JŪRATĖ KAZAKEVIČIŪTĖ’S EXPERIMENTAL TEXTILE EXHIBITION TIES
The exhibition Ties brings together more than twenty years of Jūratė Kazakevičiūtė’s creative work into a single living fabric, where personal experiences intertwine with philosophical reflections on the human place in the universe.
Sculptural objects and print works become connections between inside and outside, between human and nature, between memory of the past and the ever-changing present. Born from personal experiences and archetypal imagery, the artist’s works speak of the cyclicality of life, the endurance of roots, and the kinship between plants and humans.
Ties invites the viewer to listen closely to their own connections with the world – to sense how every experience, emotion, or thread of memory becomes part of a greater whole, weaving us into one network of life.
KĘSTUTIS SVIRNELIS’S KINETIC SCULPTURE EXHIBITION CIVILIZED ABSURD
Kęstutis Svirnelis lives and works in Germany. After completing his sculpture studies at the Vilnius Academy of Arts, he earned a Master’s degree at the State Academy of Art and Design in Stuttgart. The artist, who creates kinetic objects and installations, explores themes of capitalism, consumerism, liberalism, democracy, humanity, and the individual’s role within systems.
He describes his works as “reflections” and says he creates absurd art for an absurd world. French philosopher Albert Camus, in The Myth of Sisyphus, wrote extensively about absurdity, but noted that it could not be grasped in ordinary environments. In contrast, Svirnelis claims to materialize absurdity – albeit carefully and with restraint.
At first encounter, his works may provoke laughter: they appear playful and, on the surface, quite clear. Yet the artist insists that each piece remains open to interpretation, personal stories, or emotional responses. Sometimes the only hint or reference is found in the title. If one does not perceive the world of absurdity, it is better to stay within one’s own and interpret the works through one’s personal scale of values.
ARMA AGHARTA – ELECTROACOUSTIC PERFORMANCE
Armantas Gečiauskas is an experimental sound and performance artist. His creative projects Arma Agharta and the earlier Brūzgynai strike against the planes of performativity, spontaneity, and visuality. His work swarms with piercing drone buzz or lo-fi sound clusters, provocatively oscillating between farce and “serious” performance.
Each of his audio performances immerses the listener in a thicket of mystical hums, meditative ambient clearings, and primal bursts of energy. His ascetic creative drive storms through ritualistic action and powerful energy discharges using analog devices, vintage equipment, strange objects, and vocal noise.
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Dear visitors, by attending the exhibition openings, you acknowledge and agree that the events may be filmed or photographed, and the images may be published on the Šiauliai Art Gallery website, in the media, or on social media platforms.
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Festival organizer – Šiauliai Art Gallery
Funded by – Šiauliai City Municipality, Lithuanian Council for Culture
Main media partner – Lithuanian National Radio and Television
Partners and Sponsors: UAB Sixteen media, Cupernican, wãpsva LT Design House, Soya Asia, Shopping Center Saulės miestas, UAB Laurema graphics, Tešla ir dešra, Simo Limonadai, SOVLI Toyota Center in Šiauliai, Meno niša, Šiauliai Aušra Museum, Šiauliai State Drama Theater, UAB Rūta, Šiauliai Vocational Education and Training Center of Technologies, Šiauliai Athletics and Wellness Center, Estonian Academy of Arts, Latvian Academy of Arts, Vilnius Academy of Arts, Lviv Fashion Week, Independent Art Project Space Garažas, UAB Grafų baldai, Public Institution Aksida, Šiauliai Industrialists’ Association.
Festival designer – Marius Žalneravičius




