10 March - 28 May, 2010. The Lithuanian Embassy in London presents an exhibition "Awakening: Posters of Democratic Change 1989-1991", dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the re-establishment of the State of Lithuania. Opening of the exhibition: Wednesday, 10 March, 6.30 - 8.30 pm. Introduced by Margaret Timmers, former curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum, who initiated and supervised a research and documentation project on pro-democracy posters in 1989 and 1990. During the evening will be screened the new film by the Lithuanian filmmaker Domantas Vildziunas "The Real Sound of the Rebirth of the Nation, 1989-1993" (2009). Please register for the event by e-mail culture@lithuanianembassy.co.uk or phone 020 7935 9872.
The events of 1989 to 1991 in Central and Eastern Europe which led to the end of Moscow's domination of the region and, ultimately, to the dismantling of the Soviet Union itself, were recorded in close detail and supplied with agitational material. Designers produced dozens of posters to record priorities of time and principal narratives: 'blank spots' in official history, democratic values, rise of independent media, new restitutional and innovative cultural processes.
Posters were designed not only by professional artists, but also by amateurs, the client and the consumer of such mass production emerged. Artists created posters, printing houses printed them, and people posted them in the streets, carried them during demonstrations and meetings.
The main commissioners, Lithuanian independence movement Sajudis and the Communist Party of Lithuania, mostly worked with professional artists who sometimes worked for both sides: Jonas Varnas, Kazimieras Paskauskas, Gintaras Gesevicius, Albertas Broga, Jokubas Zove., Romas Dubonis, photographer Zinas Kazenas and others. They brought their style, formed by the Lithuanian school of Soviet poster design, to Sa;ju-dis. Posters created by professional artists, their aptly chosen metaphors, the unexpected twists of thought and inventive compositions used to create huge interest. Such posters were discussed by people who sometimes even enlarged them and carried to demonstrations.
Whilst these posters clearly capture the drama of history, what do they offer their viewers today? According to David Crowley, "Certainly they can help us better understand attitudes and views found in these independent Central and Eastern European states today. Traces of the vigorous nationalism which shapes much political life are found in the array of symbols on display, many of which had once been prohibited under the communist authorities. Others remind us of the respect for the rights of the individual on which democracy depends, a value which is still much defended by democrats in post-communist Europe today."
Posters were selected by Professor Juozas Galkus, exhibition presented in collaboration with the Lithuanian National Museum.
10 March - 28 May, 2010. Lithuanian Embassy in London, 84 Gloucester Place, London W1U 6AU. Open Monday - Friday from 10 am to 5 pm.