September traditionally marks the start of the autumn cultural season, but it has never been this rich with choices in Lithuania’s second city, Kaunas. Layered with architectural heritage and contemporary highlights, the city offers a true feast of culture, including culinary fairs and cultural showcases. From the labyrinths of contemporary art to the heights of electronic music, the calendar is dazzling with opportunities and surprises. We invite you to plan your weekends in a city that is, once again, ready to reinvent itself.
Kicking Off at the Fairs
For the fifth time, Kaunas Artists’ House invites you to the Kaunas Culture Fair, where you can plan your entire event season (and purchase tickets at very attractive prices). This year, the fair will take place on September 5-6 in Nepriklausomybės (Independence) Square right next to one of the city’s landmarks, Soboras (Church of St. Michael the Archangel).. The list of participants includes cultural organisations and initiatives from Kaunas, as well as guests from all over Lithuania. There’ll be premieres, excursions, concerts, and discussions – we promise you’ll stay longer than you planned.
However, you will have to tear yourself away from this fair, as another one awaits in the colourful Šančiai district, full of historic wooden architecture. This time, it’s a gastronomy fair, or more precisely, a craft beverage show. “Over 100 different flavours will be swirling in your glasses, which you can pair with select street food and the best beats,” promise the local brewers from “Genys,” who have been organising this fiesta of flavours for several years now. This event kicks off on the afternoon of September 6th and goes on until very late.
The first weekend of autumn also brings the International Kaunas Carillon Music Festival, an event that is almost invisible, yet perfectly audible throughout the city centre. During the festival, you can hear the most celebrated classical works, alongside jazz and pop melodies, all ringing out from the carillon bells.
Fluxus Revelry
In Kaunas, a city that breathes a creative, free, and playful Fluxus spirit, autumn has kicked off with a championship of climbing Parodos Hill for eight years now. It’s an event where there are no losers. If you create a costume that unleashes your inner beast, you’ve already won. All that’s left is to choose: fur or feathers? Hooves or tentacles? But in all seriousness, the FLUXUS festival takes place after dark on September 13th, and you simply have to be there.
Labyrinths of Contemporary Art
In mid-September, Kaunas will delve into a deep reflection on transformation and the future, driven by two of the city’s most powerful festivals, the Kaunas Biennial and Audra, each in its own way. Let’s start with what one of the most anticipated annual events not only in the city but in the entire Baltic region has to offer: the Kaunas Biennial. It is the largest, longest-running, and most-visited contemporary art festival in Lithuania, always surprising with its choice of curators, themes, venues, artists, and core values.
The curator for the 15th Kaunas Biennial, starting on September 12th, is Adomas Narkevičius, a representative of the younger generation of contemporary art. His exhibition, “Life after Life,” will take over the historic “Stumbras” distillery, usually closed to the curious, and other city spaces. It will aim not only to explore themes of transformation and uncertainty but also to experiment with the biennial format itself. “Life after Life” will open its doors to various art forms and genres, regardless of whether they are typically considered contemporary art. The jubilee 15th festival, running until November 23rd, will pose a fundamental question: if the global biennial format no longer meets the needs of contemporary reality, what artistic form could our contradictory present take in an exhibition that neither tries to “fix” it nor run away from it?
The Biggest Party in the Region
The region’s most powerful contemporary city festival, “Audra,” returns this year completely revamped. Previously a mid-summer event filled with electronic music parties, live concerts, contemporary art, and other creative activities, it will now take place from September 18-21. The date is no coincidence; the festival organisers are paying homage to the 150th anniversary of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, Lithuania’s greatest artist of all time. So this year’s “Audra” is not just about the parties, although there will be plenty of those, transforming the century-old “Pergalė” metal factory and the postmodernist M. Žilinskas Art Gallery into clubs. The DJ list includes nightlife stars like Prosumer and Ellen Allien. The programme also features an international exhibition at the Kaunas Picture Gallery, the unique “Edible City” concept, and exclusive music and art performances throughout the weekend. The Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra is already rehearsing nightlife hits – that’s right, the “808 Orchestra” that tore the roof off during the “Kaunas 2022” programme is back.
And It Only Gets Better
The surging current of culture in Kaunas won’t stop later in the autumn. After all, Kaunas’ theatres are preparing to launch their seasons with premieres. Additionally, early October will bring the 35th, and therefore very special, Aura International Dance Festival. Throughout October, the International Photography and Media Art (IPMA) Festival will take place; in just a couple of years, it has become a huge hit and reinforced Kaunas’s image as an attractive destination for visual arts. This year’s exhibitions and events will visit a forgotten location right in the city centre. For now, it’s a secret! And on October 12th, the first-ever Kaunas Book Fair will take place. But first, all eyes on September, right?
Anytime
In every season, every week, Kaunas awaits with the oldest historic cinema in Lithuania, “Romuva,” where a contemporary repertoire meets classic gems. Moreover, Kaunas’s restaurants, several of which are included in the prestigious Michelin Guide, adjust their menus with the seasons, and tales of the city’s hospitable bars and inventive bartenders travel far and wide. All that’s left is to choose the cosiest hotel or apartment, and the best autumn weekend is guaranteed.
