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Virgilijus Šonta. Untitled. 1991. MO Museum collection

The photographer Virgilijus Šonta (1952–1992) would have turned 70 this year. From March 25 to April 23, his works are presented in the photography exhibition “Šonta. From the Archives”. The show, hosted at the “išgirsti” queer space, questions what constitutes an artist’s archive, who and how gets to decide what is presented for public gaze, who and how is given a voice to speak about memory, which archives get picked as sources for big event narratives.

Images in the show ponder the issues of freedom, identity, and gaze. It is also part of the Lithuanian queer archive. Memory, alongside sexuality, is therefore a crucial topic. The plural form in the show’s title points to a multiplicity of possible testimonies of both the post-socialist transition and non-heterosexual existence, emphasising, but not separating or marginalising, queer experiences.

The exhibition will run from March 25 to April 23, 2022, open on Fridays and Saturdays at 4–7 PM. Venue: išgirsti, Darbininkų g. 8–1 (apartment building, one flight up from the entrance), Vilnius. More information: www.isgirsti.lt/erdve.

Curators: Augustas Čičelis, Viktorija Kolbešnikova, Adomas Narkevičius.

Works in the exhibition are part of the MO Museum collection. The event is organised with support from the US Embassy in Lithuania and the Active Citizens Fund, EEA Financial Mechanism.