{"id":2739,"date":"2012-06-05T22:57:48","date_gmt":"2012-06-05T19:57:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.light.lt\/?p=2739"},"modified":"2012-06-06T02:32:15","modified_gmt":"2012-06-05T23:32:15","slug":"noorderlicht-to-be-continued","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.light.lt\/en\/noorderlicht-to-be-continued\/","title":{"rendered":"NOORDERLICHT. To be continued"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"Noorderlicht,<\/a>

Noorderlicht, Leeuwarden, Fries museum. 2008<\/p><\/div>\n

Admiration of international image community and provinciality of Metropolis are the two poles that affect numerous PHOTO FESTIVALS of today.<\/h2>\n

The recent decision in the Netherlands to no longer finance NOORDERLICHT has been one of the hottest topics of the world-wide image community.<\/p>\n

I visited NOORDERLICHT exhibition only once, not as KAUNAS PHOTO festival (Lithuania) director, as I usually travel to festivals, but as contributing curator and a selected artist in 2008 in the exhibition \u201cBEHIND WALLS: Eastern Europe before & Beyond 1989\u201d.<\/p>\n

I can firmly say, that the exhibition about Eastern Europe by NOORDERLICHT was probably the most impressive, comprehensive group exhibition I’ve ever seen.<\/p>\n

Being a director of KAUNAS PHOTO festival, based in the second-largest town of Lithuania, I have a couple of insights to share.<\/p>\n

My own trip to the opening of NOORDERLICHT show “Behind the Walls” was kind of an epical journey. 5 AM, Kaunas > car ride to Vilnius airport > 7:30 AM flight to AMSterdam > 9:30 AM several trains and >> at midday I am in Leeuwarden, located in an “uncomfortable” spot of the Netherlands.<\/p>\n

Regardless of the effort to get there, a really rewarding experience awaited me at the exhibition opening. Hundreds of people packing the museum building. Creative layouts of the exhibition. Tens of artists present at the opening. Exhibition itself – could almost be looked at as a small encyclopedia of the Eastern European social image. The only two aspects of discussion among fellow artists & curators was that most people travelled far to get to the show, but they were neither presented to the audience, nor to each other. And secondly, some famous curators argued that the choice of artists was sometimes opportunistic, Eastern Europe being richer than the selection on the walls. Well, but that’s probably the Nordic European way to do things\u2026 And then, having visited tens of photographic festivals, knowing their fa\u00e7ades, and often also the kitchen, I can frankly say that I can hardly name few editions of festivals as perfect or ideal, but NOORDERLICHT for sure, was HUGE, GREAT, AMAZING, INCREDIBLE, etc.<\/p>\n\n\t\t