Exhibitions

Inter-war Lithuania is often depicted as a state with deep Catholic traditions and high moral standards. Harsh censorship was in effect here and sales of obscene books were prohibited. Yet, were Lithuanians really afraid of nudity, had only marital sex and knew nothing about either syphilis or love for hire? The red-light district in Kaunas City, legal prostitution, the abundance of sexually transmitted diseases, and kiosks full of multiple types of condoms suggest that people from the past were not that different from us, and in some cases, even surpassed the present.

The exhibition dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Open Air Museum of Lithuania expositions highlights the importance of wood in our lives, and by extension, in our museum. Lithuania has always had a substantial wood culture, which is why wood has become the foundation of this museum. Over several decades, the museum has amassed an exceptional collection of wooden buildings, including homesteads and individual buildings.

The republican exhibition of ethnographic still-lifes of folk artists is the result of traditional, annual, and comprehensive cooperation between the Open Air Museum of Lithuania and the Union of Lithuanian Folk Artists.

This year The Open Air Museum of Lithuania celebrates its 50th anniversary. In June 1974, it was opened to visitors. When the museum was opened, seven homesteads were arranged. They consisted of various purpose buildings, small architecture, gardens, and apiaries.

 A bedspread is the top covering of a bed. Bedspreads were sewn from fabric specially woven for them, for everyday or festive occasions.

The exhibition displays crosses carved by wood sculptor and restorer Algirdas Šalkauskas (b. 1953), which are located in the Kaišiadorys district. Over his life, A. Šalkauskas has produced more than 80 wooden crosses, chapels, monuments and decorative sculptures. In his works, the author takes inspiration from traditional forms and interprets them in his own way, adding personal touches as well as new details. A. Šalkauskas has participated in folk art exhibitions in Lithuania, the USA, Great Britain and Germany. His crafts are not confined to Lithuania alone but have spread all over the world.

Beyond the forests, beyond the rivers, among the ravines and hills, there is an old wooden manor house. Not tall, but long and wide, with a big porch, leaning on white stems, full of lovely corners, cozy and warm, a faithful host to all our joys and sorrows. In front of it, a large sleepy pond with mysterious depths, gilded in the evenings by the moon and the stars, and a garden that is singing, inhaling, dreaming. The garden lovingly holds the pond and the manor house – its faithful companions close to its broad chest, and whispers to both of them some unending tales, some mysterious matters, some long, eternal sorrows. And they listen in turn – silent and thoughtful.