What is the relationship between your art and human rights issues?

A: I'm currently working on a piece about protest culture. In my artistic research in this context, I try to touch upon the societal issues that are relevant to me - gender equality, minority rights, the rights and responsibilities of those in power and society. Through this work I consider that protest, as such, is a tool of a democratic society to fight for the progress of society. It is just that it is often used in a very destructive way, so the question is what kind of protest baby we want to raise as a symbol of freedom or aggression. We often need a revolution to bring about change, but I think its aim should be to sow a conscious and systematic evolution of society and its social norms.

More about Agnietė here
LIETUVIŠKAI

EGLĖ KAZICKAITĖ & GRETA GUDELYTĖ. Apeiron Theater

What do you think is the relationship between the Lithuanian cultural field and human rights at the moment?

G: It is difficult for me to comment on the general relationship between the Lithuanian cultural field and human rights, because at the moment, when there are a lot of battles about the rights of the LGBT community, about violence against women, or about other socially sensitive topics, I would not say that the attitude of cultural organizations towards this issue is actively and clearly articulated, but you can see individual cultural representatives speaking about the most sensitive issues of the day. It is likely that this sluggishness and silence is related to the general, a rather gloomy cultural background that prevails in the face of the pandemic, when the activity of cultural institutions and creators in general is diminished, due to the limitations of the field of culture itself from their usual expression.
After all, it is usually in the performances or performances themselves

After all, it is usually in the performances or performances themselves that creators, such as theatre representatives, express their positions. Theatrical forms of expression are more familiar to theatre-makers than the journalistic expression of opinion on various social platforms. Unfortunately, the usual format of meeting the audience has not been taking place for some time now, and there is a general mood of confusion in our own theatre. While we are usually a socially active theatre, declaring our values in our performances, talking about the rights of different groups of people, cooperating with social and non-governmental organisations, and not being afraid to clearly express our position on sensitive topics, we are now forced to spend more time on finding influential forms of communication than on shaping the content of the theatre.

Do you think that human rights issues are one of the tasks of culture?

G: You know, I really liked the rules that the New Riga Theatre publishes for staff and audience. They sound like a kind of manifesto for humanity and human rights. In these rules, the artistic director of the JRT, Alvis Hermanis, talks about allowing freedom of speech without any restrictions, about the fact that "the focus of the theatre is the study of the human being in all its expressions. If we allow only the beautiful and orderly side of human nature to emerge, we will never learn anything about the mysteries and abysses of man - which is precisely what interests us in this work and in life." No group of people should be left on the margins of theatrical research under the guise of dubious dogmas. So yes, I think human rights themes are inseparable from other cultural tasks.

E: Everything that does not belong to nature belongs to culture. Human rights are inherently part of culture, so human rights issues are definitely part of the field of culture to which every civilised person belongs. If the question is whether the arts in particular, arts organisations, should set themselves the goal of using the tools at their disposal to contribute to the solution of these problems in society, to raise questions, etc., yes. I think that no matter how you look at it, all the topics in art are always under the big umbrella of "Human Rights", in other words, art is always about human rights, about free choices, about the relationship between law and duty. Does the artist often choose conscious and specific themes that are relevant and poignant in society at the moment - no. Often the choice is to be sleek and compromise as a survival strategy. For me, this is a reference to the fact that we still do not feel free. That in itself means that all is not well with human rights.

How should the voice of culture be heard when it comes to human rights?

E: Peacefully. The voice of culture should be a communicative example for society. We see a lot of divisiveness at the moment, maybe that's why people in the art field seem to be passive at the moment. Human rights issues are not a zone where you want to go with a gun and war paintings on your face. However, I think that in order to make societal progress in the field of human rights, we all have to use the tools that we know best. We at the Apeiron Theatre work openly and consistently on this issue. We have social projects, we are in direct contact with various so-called minority groups, and we are certainly not flattered in our work - on the contrary, we are resisted and encouraged not to fund our projects or to attend "perverse" performances. However, we see meaning in what we do. This is our important direction, this is our voice. When the fierce debate on human rights started, we immediately started thinking, generating ideas on how to make a qualitative contribution to the dialogue, on how to support young people for whom this public debate about them is like knife after knife between their ribs. We will soon start implementing our ideas.

G: Although it is imagined that culture is inseparable from civility, civility is often confused with political correctness. I think theatre people, who are no strangers to rebellious expressions, should avoid being laconic when speaking out on human rights issues and use bold, motivating language that makes a clear statement on one issue or another.

What is the relationship between your art and human rights issues?

E: Close. Long-term. With ups and downs. With ups and downs. Human rights, social issues - these are the fuel of the Apeiron Theatre, resources that will never run out.

G: The relationship between the art we make and human rights issues is direct. Many of our productions have been produced on LGBT themes, domestic violence or violence against women, and we are active in socio-cultural projects that are directly related to the integration of people with intellectual disabilities or other disabilities into society. We are a theatre that openly supports the rights of LGBT people, the rights of people with intellectual disabilities and other disabilities, national minorities and equality in general.

For more information about Apeiron Theater continue here
LIETUVIŠKAI