On November 6 at 6:00 PM, we invite you to the opening of the exhibition “Archivum archaios” at the Vilnius Museum of Wooden Urban Architecture (Polocko St. 52, Vilnius).

The exhibition, organised by Vilnius University (VU) and the Vilnius Academy of Arts (VDA), will showcase historical natural history collections preserved at the VU Geology and Zoology Museums and the Herbarium, alongside contemporary artistic interpretations of these collections.

The exhibition's title brings together two concepts. The Latin word archivum reminds us that what we preserve and how we interpret collected materials are shaped by our choices. The Greek word archaios takes us back to a time when the natural world had not yet been divided, classified, or named. Together, these concepts invite us to reconsider natural heritage, its preservation and our understanding of it, while exploring how art can offer new interpretations of historical collections.

This is the exhibition's third presentation. It was first shown in spring at the VU Botanical Garden in Kairėnai, followed by a summer exhibition at the VU Observatory of Ideas. This time, it will find a new home within Vilnius' historic wooden architecture.

The exhibition is dedicated to celebrating 245 years of life sciences at Vilnius University and the 10th anniversary of the VU Life Sciences Centre.

Exhibition curators: Rūta Spelskytė and Mindaugas Rasimavičius.

Participating artists: Elena A. V. Reckevitz, Dagnė Petkevičiūtė, Viktorija Balkutė, Vilius Vingras, Rūta Spelskytė, Fausta Lukošiūtė, Aidas Stončius, Kornelijus Zaleckas, Adomas Mažeika, Anna Chostegian, Austėja Zabulytė, Rima Briškaitė, Gintas Kavoliūnas, Paulė Vaitkutė, Kotryna Navickaitė, Raminta Beržanskytė.