KAUNAS BIENNIAL|ONCE UPON ANOTHER TIME…

The 13th Kaunas Biennial "Once Upon Another Time..." offers a reflection on current global situations by exploring stories of human resilience and adaptation. The exhibition investigates myths and fictions associated with transformation, as well as lived personal and communal tales of survival. Folktales, fables and legends exist in every culture around the world. These stories serve to entertain, educate and even instill moral values. In recent times, chronicles of real and imagined events have evolved to include historical, cultural, political and even personal references.

The sharing of stories enables humans to connect with each other. Stories convey multiple meanings and perspectives rooted in diverse worldviews and can also link the present to the past, as well as to the future. The bilingual exhibition title evokes a fairytale albeit with a twist: it signals both the idea of “another” time and that a story can help change us and the way we live. Here, visitors encounter contemporary art in unusual places, to explore Kaunas’ architectural and lived history. The exhibition venues are animated in renewed and surprising ways through the telling of stories connected to the places, museum collections and people’s memories. Through their compelling and resonant narratives, the artists’ works consider how human beings can adapt when faced with different forms of adversity.