ENCOUNTER. Fluxus Night & Day (with Kaunas European Capital of Culture 2022)

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On May 6 and 7, the program “Fluxus: united through culture” will take place at the Espai d’art fotogràfic photography school in Valencia.

During these two days the attending public will be able to enjoy a varied program presented by partner Kaunas – European Capital of Culture 2022 agenda. Fluxus was a visual arts movement that declared itself against the traditional artistic object as merchandise and that had its heyday in the sixties.

Founded by the Lithuanian artist and typographer George Maciunas, the Fluxus movement linked creators from different disciplines, both in Europe and North America. Joseph Beuys, John Cage, Nam June Paik or Yoko Ono were some of its most active members.

On Friday 6th at 19h we will celebrate the ‘Fluxus Night’ with beautiful screenings the documentaries ‘Zefiro Torna’ (1992), by the experimental filmmaker Jonas Mekas, and ‘ George’ (2018), by the American Jeffrey Perkins which will be followed by the invitation to Kaunas, the Fluxus festival this September.

Fluxus Night programme

19h — Kaunas European Capital of Culture 2022 presentation. Presentation of Fluxus, the program “We, the People” and Fluxus Labs, that promote the sense of community through culture. Program’s motto: Culture that unites, community that creates. Invitation to Fluxus Festival (Sep 2022 / Kaunas, Lithuania).
Lithuanian cheese tasting. Wine tasting by Bodegas Arráez.
20:30h — Documentary screening: “Zefiro torna”, by Jonas Mekas (35m).
21:30h — Documentary screening: “George” (2018), by Jeffrey Perkins (2h 27m).

The following day, Saturday 7th (from 10:30h), will be the opening of the exhibition ‘Frozen light of Jonas Mekas’, by the American photographer Hollis Melton, with the collaboration of the Consulate of Lithuania in Valencia and the Espai d’Art Fotogràfic itself. This exhibition of photographs, never before presented in Spain, brings together a series of portraits of supporters of Fluxus and friends of the couple formed by Mekas and Melton. It contains unpublished images of Salvador Dalí, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Andy Warhol and George Maciunas, among others. The day will continue with the screening of several films signed by Jonas Mekas, the centenary of whose birth we are celebrating in 2022 (see schedule).

Fluxus Day programme

10:30h — Fluxus Labs Workshop. Presentation of the Fluxus project created by Julija Račiūnaitė’s e Inga Navickaitė-Drąsutė. Call for communities, organizations and individuals of various sectors: the city of Valencia to come.
11h — Screening of ’As I was moving ahead occasionally I saw brief glimpses of beauty’ Part I, by Jonas Mekas (2 hs).
13h — Opening of Hollis Melton photography exhibition ‘Frozen Light of Jonas Mekas’. Book presentations: ‘I had nowhere to go’ and ‘Scrapbook of the sixties. Writings 1958-2010’
15h — Screening of ‘As I was moving ahead occasionally I saw brief glimpses of beauty’ Part II, by Jonas Mekas (2 hs).
20h — Presentation of the film ‘Back from NY’, by Ramunė Rakauskaitė at La Filmoteca (DocsValència festival) with the attendance of its producer, Arūnas Matelis.

València World Design Capital 2022, includes these activities in its program with the aim of keeping the spirit of Fluxus alive, which in its 1962 manifesto called on all of society to freely participate in the creative experience. On Saturday May 7th, we will launch a statement to all Valencian citizens, inviting them to create a piece of visual, musical or scenic art, around concepts related to the identity of the city of Valencia.

“Fluxus: united through culture” is a project co-created by València World Design Capital 2022, Kaunas European Capital of Culture 2022, Consulate of Lithuania in Valencia and Espai d’Art Fotogràfic.

With the collaboration of Bodegas Arráez and Žemaitijos pienas.