Portal to Kaunas
Multiscreen audiovisual installation for the European Capital of Culture 2022
It is an audiovisual installation created in 2022, when Kaunas was the European Capital of Culture together with Esch-sur-Alzette. Through four synchronised screens and unique soundtracks, the project revealed the city's contrasts: from the quiet corners of nature to the dynamic rhythm of urban life. Displayed in the underground mines of Luxembourg, the installation invited viewers to see Kaunas through the eyes of the creators - as a city where silence and chaos form a seamless, poetic whole.
Execution
Visual Narrative: Over 100 hours of footage capturing Kaunas’ hidden rhythms – dawn-lit architecture, bustling markets, nocturnal energy, and whispering groves.
Sound Design: Original compositions by Pijus Krapševičius layer ambient textures (rustling leaves, church bells) with urban cacophony (construction, nightlife), creating an emotional map of the city.
Site-Specific Impact: Exhibited in Esch-sur-Alzette’s underground mines, the raw industrial space amplified the installation’s dialogue between human-made and natural environments.
Legacy
"Portal to Kaunas" transcends documentation – it’s an invitation to see the city as a living organism. By framing mundane moments (a tram’s screech, a child’s laughter, raindrops on the Nemunas) as poetic acts, the project challenges viewers to rediscover beauty in urban complexity.
Video Installation Screens
Four screens have been set up in the Esch-sur-Alzette coal mine to display these video and audio recordings.
Our team
"Portal to Kaunas" was born from a collective vision, blending the perspectives of six artists who captured the city’s contrasts through their lenses. Natas Darulis (director and editor) shaped the raw footage into a rhythmic narrative, while cinematographers Deimantė Petkevičiūtė, Mykolas Deveikis, Nojus Armonas, Ūla Lekečinskaitė, and Angelė Alešenkovaitė scoured Kaunas to film its hidden textures—from crowded tram stops to misty riverbanks. Sound designer Pijus Krapševičius composed immersive audio layers, transforming urban noise and natural silence into an emotional score. This synergy of disciplines—filmmaking, sound art, and curation—resulted in an installation where each contributor’s voice harmonized with the others, like instruments in an orchestra.
Esther Bryce
Founder / Interior designer
Lianne Wilson
Broker
Jaden Smith
Architect
Jessica Kim
Photographer
Natas Darulis
Industrial Designer / Graphic Designer / Cinematographer / Video Editor
Deimantė Petkevičiūtė
Artist / Videographer
Mykolas Deveikis
Architect / Videographer
Nojus Armonas
Architect / Videographer
Esther Bryce
Founder / Interior designer
Jaden Smith
Architect
Ūla Lekečinskaitė
Interior designer
Angelė Blažauskė
Designer
Pijus Krapševičius
Sound Designer
Rimantas Giedraitis
Architect
Our coordinators
The installation’s success relied on the strategic guidance of coordinators Rimantas Giedraitis and Saulius Paliukas, who bridged artistic ambition with logistical reality. They secured the unconventional exhibition space in Luxembourg’s underground mines, negotiated partnerships between Lithuanian and Luxembourgish cultural institutions, and aligned the team’s creative process with the European Capital of Culture program’s goals. Their expertise in cultural management transformed a conceptual idea into a tactile experience, ensuring the project resonated both locally (as a love letter to Kaunas) and internationally (as a commentary on urban duality).
Saulius Paliukas
Artist / Videographer
Organisers
