On September 6, the project “Unsleeping Districts” to revitalize public spaces and promote community spirit begins in Vilnius. During the project, which will last for a couple of weeks, residents of as many as five Vilnius districts will be able to participate in free events.
Residents of Pilaitė, Žirmūnai, Lazdynai, Naujininkai and Trakai Vokė districts will be invited to cozy evenings outdoors, where they will enjoy graphic design workshops, excursions, interesting conversations and open-air screenings of the latest Lithuanian films.
The goal of the project “Unsleeping Districts” is to create cultural phenomena further outside the center of Vilnius and prove that even in so-called sleeping districts, it is possible to spend free time in an interesting, active and meaningful way. It is here that active and focused communities live and create.
“It is nice that with the help of the city municipality and the real estate developer “EIKA” we have had the opportunity to expand the cultural map of Vilnius a bit. We invite all Vilnius residents to visit the more remote corners of Vilnius. In case of bad weather, the events will take place in the buildings of the project partners located near the planned event spaces. We simply encourage you to dress warmer and come to the events with your loved ones, neighbors or just a four-legged friend,” says Eglė Belozaraitė, one of the project initiators, a representative of the interactive arts and project platform “Kūrybinė Industrijų dokas”.
The “Sleepless Neighborhoods” festival begins on September 6 at 7 p.m. at the Trakai Vokė Manor, where young talents from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre Vaidas Bartušas (countertenor), Viltė Gineitytė, Emilė Ribokaitė (sopranos) and others will invite you to an unusual musical experience in the concert “Late Junctions”.
The festival’s event program includes a graphic design workshop, during which every Vilnius resident will be able to make a postcard and bookmark with the symbols of Vilnius’ districts, as well as screenings of the latest Lithuanian films: director A. Stonis’s film “Woman and the Glacier”, L. Lužytė’s “Forever Together”, D. Ulvydas’ “Emilija from Laisvės alėjos” and many other activities.
The project unites various initiatives and institutions of the city of Vilnius. The events will be attended by the creators of Vilnius tours “Gatvės gyvos”, the percussion studio “Afrikos būgnai”, the art workshop “Beepart”, the Vilnius City Municipality Central Library, etc.
The festival will visit Lazdynai on September 7, Žirmūnai on September 13, and Naujininkai on September 14.
The festival’s closing event will take place on Saturday, September 16, in Pilaitė, near the Beepart art workshop. Here, community members are invited to their neighbors’ “pie bars”, where the sustainable community education center “Miesto labaratorija” will present its activities, and children will be able to participate in workshops and games. The evening will end with an open-air screening of Lithuanian short films. The program includes such films as G. Žičkytė and M. Alberdi’s latest film “I’m Just a Guest”, K. Kaupinis’ films “Budėjimas” and “Triukšmadarys”, and M. Kavtaradzė and Vytautas Katkus’ “Igloo”.
You can find the full event program here. here.