kaip tu

September 15–October 12 2025, former ‘Lietuvos spauda’ kiosk, at the intersection of Kauno g & Švitrigailos g.

Project team: Augustas Lapinskas (architect/producer), laura fernández antolín (costume), Sholto Dobie (sound), Saulė Gerikaitė (photographer), Kerolaina Linkeviča (typography). The performance was made in part with a scholarship from the Lithuanian Culture Council.

The community of Vilnius is invited to participate in a 1-1 performance, with the simple task of answering the question: 'Is this person as Lithuanian as you?'. Ask me whatever you need to make your judgement, and I will answer honestly. Once you have made your decision, vote by pressing one of the two buttons: Yes (T) or No (N).

This 1-1, durational performance engaged the people of Vilnius in a dialogue to examine what the modern Lithuanian national identity is made up of, the way contradictory individual values coexist in a community, and the everyday methods of policing behaviour that does not fit into those values (especially via the gaze). By using my identity as a trans-national, non-binary, queer person—as a stand-in for an ‘atypical’ Lithuanian, one who doesn’t even speak the language properly, but still tries to—every attempt to answer the question, ‘Is this person as Lithuanian as you?’, became inherently political. After each button was pressed, game-show-like sound effects (jingles combined with audience reactions) blared through the speakers outside for an uncomfortably long period of time.

‘kaip tu’ asked participants to reckon with the historical moment Lithuania finds itself in, having exited a largely hegemonic and culturally isolationist period yet without the full integration of ‘European’ or ‘Western’ values having taken place, especially across generational and social lines. This is all happening against the looming threat of Russian aggression where the social and political instinct is to make a monolith out of Lithuanian national identity, leading to a rise of populistic and nationalistic sentiment, and exclusion framed as necessary collateral damage for the sake of safety. If we are to fight, what, or who are we fighting for?

The kiosk, where the performance happened, is a relic of post-independence Lithuania, and as such, it is an iconic symbol of Lithuania’s heritage. They have all but disappeared from the city, having been replaced with modernised counterparts. In this way, they encompass the ongoing process of cultural transformation and globalisation experienced on a wider scale in Lithuania. Take the street corner this one used to occupy (it has since also been removed): looming behind it are the sparkling office buildings of tech companies (Lithuanian ‘unicorns’, such as Vinted and NordSecurity); in front of it sits a repurposed Soviet-era factory and a gas station; to the side, apartment blocks and an active construction site. The growing expat community in the area has also led to many Arab cuisine restaurants opening in the vicinity. As such, this spot is a melting pot of the past, present and future of Vilnius.

Interview about the performance published on Echo Gone Wrong

Feature from LNK about the performance and the homophobic attack that took place on the first day