Scena, 2003

Deimantas Narkevičius’ celebration of the Contemporary Art Centre in Vilnius, Lithuania, is in line with other works in which he records the transition of a Soviet society into a democratic state, while revealing history as a construction of myths often far removed from the facts and as an exercise in counter-memory. In Scena, a building extolling the 1960s constructive and functional modernity takes centre stage. It was designed to house the pavilion for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. Originally known as the Arts Exhibition Palace, official art exhibitions were held there until the early nineties, when it became a centre for contemporary art. Narkevičius celebrates its independent programming, unprecedented in Lithuania, and its disregard for the tyranny of visitor numbers and the goal of reaching the masses. A sense of freedom, according to the artist, linked to its architecture. The open space, the dimensions and a minimalist aesthetic of social public architecture have turned it into a catalyst for new generations of artists.