Event description
Four stained glass windows by Filomena Ušinskaitė from the legendary children's café "Pasaka", which operated in Kaunas between 1960 and 1996, became the exhibition's portal to the world of childhood in the late Soviet era, full of contradictions and contrasts. The art and design objects, exhibited together with documentary material, everyday objects and people's vivid stories, invite us to search through the archive of personal memories and juxtapose them with the complex collective historical memory. The three floors of the gallery are the conceptual layers of the exhibition, forming a seamless experiential journey from the courtyard of a metropolitan housing estate to a small provincial town. The first floor presents the history of the legendary children's café "Pasaka" and the restored stained glass windows, whose subjects serve as symbolic references to both happy (holidays by the sea, favourite sweets) and gloomier (life in a children's home, memories of exile) experiences. The second floor is dedicated to the "March of Discipline". It explores the Soviet system that controlled childhood in the fields of education, medicine and sports. The child in this grip is only a project for the future, a future perfect citizen. On the third floor, artists, designers and writers who are free from propaganda, as well as reflections on childhood in works of art, create works for children. The Kaunas Picture Gallery (K. Donelaičio g. 16, Kaunas) will be open until 27 July 2025.