Historical overview

 

Historical overview

Užupis art incubator project also reflects on integration into the mainstream culture and society and internationalisation of the former socially secluded suburb of its inhabitants: the poor.

 

Typically inhabited by the small merchants who trade in wax, candles and kerosene, for centuries Užupis was not considered as a popular destination in Vilnius. Several upper middle class houses were built in the neighbourhood in the beginning of the 20 th century, merely due to the lower prices of the land in comparison to other locations in the city.

 

But architecturally and socially the neighbourhood remained fragmented, dissonance and scattered. No wonder Feliks Dzerzhinski, one of the masterminds of the 1917 socialist revolution in Russia and the later head of the Russian Secret Service found a fertile ground for his revolutionary activities and clandestine print-plant in this area in 1895-1897.

 

During the WW II and soon after the war Užupis became depopulated, as its Jewish community of small scale merchants perished during the Holocaust. Another outflow of the autochthon population of this neighbourhood took place in 1947-1959, when the Polish population was allowed to repatriate from the then Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic in two huge emigration waves.

 

Houses left empty were occupied by criminals, tramps, prostitutes and immigrants from the other parts of the Soviet Union. Until Lithuania's declaration of independence in 1990, it was one of the most neglected areas in the city, containing many run-down houses with no utilities.

The sad atmosphere of neglected streets and the dilapidated houses with the soot smoking from the stoves during the heating season matched well with the sad population of the neighbourhood, consisting of underdogs and dregs of society.

Yet due to its close location to the Vilnius Art Academy and a blind eye turned by the Soviet regime to Užupis, as it was not representative of the new era of the triumphant socialism, it became a common gathering place for the artists and bohemians. Some of them were squatting in the abandoned buildings of Užupis and many had studios and workshops in this part of the town.

 

Along with the liberation of the real estate market more artists moved into Užupis, having purchased some modest accommodation in the neighbourhood. They started refurbishment of their flats and some cosmetic changes of the area, thus creating a spirit of change and determinism of turning the area into a better living space.

 

Impromptu concerts, art performances and fashion shows started taking place amongst the ruins and drab of the neighbourhood. As a rule they all bore a mark of the different, unofficial and vibrant culture recognising no boundaries and limitations of space, old-fashioned (and often still Soviet) conventions  and limitations.

 

Neighbours usually congregated in the first café by the bridge, thus creating a functional network of activists, who were able to arrange the art happenings and events without much preparation or financial resources, as Užupis was considered a liberal place where artists (many of them personal friends of the inhabitants of the neighbourhood) performed for free attracting and welcoming wide audiences, regardless of the fact whether they were living in or outside the area.  

 

The Užupis art incubator was founded in 2002 and since then is a leading umbrella organisation for the multifarious local and international, mainly European activities. In everyday life of the artists members of the incubator are the core and the masterminds of all societal and intercultural projects carried out in the neighbourhood that unite business and culture, encourage the public debate and restate the universal humanist ideas in the tiny open space laboratory of the human soul.

 

Created to last

Užupis Art Incubator project is not self-oriented. It is open to other people and respecting their identity and the inner self. We do propagate respect to a human being and creativity as well as the concept of brotherhood, reaching out across the national boundaries and propelling people to share what they have – organisational capabilities, art or just funds for the use of public benefit and beautification of the public spaces. Today we perform together with an entire generation of youngsters who were born or reached their teen years in this place and we know that the Republic of Užupis has a future. “We believe that this is a model of our common European home”, says Romas Lileikis.