The Lithuanian cultural presence that began making waves in Tampere this spring continues with new highlights at the Tampere Theatre Festival and Photographic Centre Nykyaika. The Lithuanian Culture in Tampere 2025 programme, a collaboration between the Lithuanian Culture Institute and five local festivals, has already brought world-class short films, contemporary dance, and guitar artistry to local audiences. Next, the spotlight turns to dance theatre designed for babies and children with special needs, as well as to some of the most intriguing talents in Lithuanian contemporary photography.
The programme launched in March with the Tampere Film Festival and was followed in early summer by the Tanssivirtaa Tampereella Contemporary Dance Festival and the Tampere Guitar Festival. It continues in August at the Tampere Theatre Festival and Photographic Centre Nykyaika.
”The Lithuanian Culture in Tampere 2025 event series is not only about showcasing our vibrant cultural scene, but also about opening a dialogue between our countries – and this dialogue will certainly extend beyond this year. We are introducing a generation of Lithuanian artists born and raised in an independent Lithuania, who have been able to work creatively without fear of censorship or the need to prove that their voices matter,” says Julija Reklaitė, Director of the Lithuanian Culture Institute.
Dance Theatre for Babies and Children with Special Needs at the Tampere Theatre Festival
Dansema Dance Theatre, an internationally acclaimed company specializing in children’s dance theatre, brings its World Without Eyes performance to the Tampere Theatre Festival under the direction of its founder Birutė Banevičiūtė. The performance is designed for babies, visually impaired and blind children, and children with special needs. Having toured in over 30 countries, Dansema is now making its Finnish debut.
“There are no rules for the babies attending our performances – they can move freely on stage together with professional dancers. The children can also touch the dancers and, in doing so, engage in movement themselves. I want to create experiences for children without limitations, and that’s the principle behind the 20+ dance works I’ve created,” says Banevičiūtė.
Young audience members experience the performance through sensing the dancers’ movements, feeling the airflow they create, and touching various textures of the set and costumes. The interactive performance offers a safe environment, with participation entirely voluntary. The performance on Saturday, August 9, is intended for children with special needs aged 1–6, while the Sunday, August 10 performance is for babies aged 6–18 months.
Prominent Lithuanian Photographers Exhibit at Photographic Centre Nykyaika
Opening on August 9 at Photographic Centre Nykyaika, the exhibition features works by two of the most exciting figures in Lithuanian contemporary photography: Tadas Kazakevičius (b. 1984) and Ieva Maslinskaitė (b. 1999). Kazakevičius presents his internationally acclaimed documentary photo series, while Maslinskaitė’s works explore photography as a living process in collaboration with microorganisms.
In his series Soon to be Gone, Kazakevičius captures the vanishing Lithuanian countryside at a time when urbanization and migration threaten the continuity of traditional communities. In Sakartvelo Diaries, viewers are transported to Georgian village roads, markets, and remote settlements where tradition and modernity intertwine. Both series are inspired by the golden era of American documentary photography in the 1930s.
In Maslinskaitė’s In a Pupa series, photography is reimagined as a shape-shifting organism, with bacteria and fungi actively participating in the image-making process. She cultivates microbes on large-format film negatives, allowing them to organically alter the images. The series includes photographs where microorganisms transform the surface of the image, as well as sculptures where fungi grow from the pages and spines of books. These works challenge our notions of photography as a permanent, controlled medium.
The exhibition offers a rare opportunity to explore the work of two rising Lithuanian artists with distinct but complementary approaches – both demonstrating photography’s diverse potential as a medium for artistic expression.
The exhibition runs from August 9 to September 7, open Monday–Friday from 12:00 to 18:00 and Saturday–Sunday from 12:00 to 16:00 at Valokuvakeskus Nykyaika (Kauppakatu 14). Free admission.
More Information on the Lithuanian Culture Programme in Tampere
Programme presented by the Lithuanian Culture Institute: Lithuanian Culture in Tampere 2025
In co-operation:
- Lithuanian Culture Institute
- Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Finland
- Lithuanian Photographers Union
- The Lithuanian Film Centre
- The Lithuanian Short Film Agency – Lithuanian Shorts
- Lithuanian Dance Information Centre
- Tampere Region Festivals
- Tampere Film Festival
- Tampere Dance Current Contemporary Dance Festival
- Tampere Guitar Festival
- Tampere Theatre Festival
- Photographic Centre Nykyaika
Article photo: Dansema Dance Theatre – World Without Eyes / Tampere Theatre Festival, photographer: Laura Vanseviciene
