Checking in for European Capital of Culture 2022

Starting from September 10, 2021, passengers have been arriving and departing at the world’s only air gates of art and will continue to do so until the end of 2022, to celebrate the year of the European Capital of Culture in Kaunas.

Virginija Vitkienė, CEO of Kaunas 2022, believes it is essential to remember Fluxus is the sign of creativity, playfulness, unconventional approach and art without rules or borders: “Kaunas airport agreeing with our offer clearly shows how inclusive, stimulating and attractive the key ideas of the Kaunas – European Capital of Culture 2022 are,” she said.

George Maciunas, the founder of Fluxus, was born on November 8, 1931, when Kaunas was the flourishing temporary capital of Lithuania. The period of the First Republic is now a source of inspiration for contemporary Kaunas. Thus, as a UNESCO City of Design, member of the UNESCO Creative Cities network and the European Capital of Culture 2022, Kaunas is inseparable from Fluxus and the legacy of George Maciunas.

For decades, the Fluxus Cabinet, filled with art and statements from around the world, has been open in the Kaunas Picture Gallery. A stone’s throw away, at the intersection of three streets, is a unique George Maciunas square. The latter is the starting point of the annual Fluxus Festival’s main event, a massive and creative climb up Parodos Hill. The festival, together with the Fluxus Labs project focused on community art, is part of the program of Kaunas 2022.

As 2022 is around the corner, Kaunas and Kaunas district are becoming one big European stage: they will host more than 40 festivals, a comprehensive year-long exhibition programme, more than 250 performing arts events, including 50 premieres and a rich musical programme with some 250 concerts.