MO MUSEUM ANNOUNCES THE OPENING DATE

MO revealed that the new museum of modern and contemporary art will open its doors this year October 18th. The opening programme will invite everyone to cooperate and to create the museum together.

Less than two years after the construction began MO Museum is opening its doors. The museum will invite Vilnius locals and city guests to a new cultural space that will have not only exhibitions but also plenty of events dedicated to people of various ages and interests.

The opening event will last four days, weekend included, so that everyone can find time to visit and celebrate the new cultural space. MO invites people to connect, to cooperate, and to create the museum together. The goal of MO Museum opening programme is to bring modern thinking people and different art disciplines together.

The museum building and the art collection cost its founders Danguolė Butkienė and Viktoras Butkus nearly 20 million euro, but they view it as a gift to everyone. V. Butkus hopes that MO will be a place where you can meet friends, see art and leisure in a new light. “Many years after the development of the museum began it is finally approaching the finish line. We want to see the museum filled with people”– said Viktoras Butkus.

When asked what his thoughts on the museum construction process are, D. Libeskind said: “I am pleasantly surprised, that the construction is happening so quickly and I am happy that the museum is opening already in 2018. I can‘t wait for the opening of this cultural space“.

“It is very important to us that the architect Daniel Libeskind was here at the announcement of the museum opening date. We will do our best that architecture, activity and friendly atmosphere fuse and enrich each other in MO museum. We want MO to become an attractive place that one wants to come back and stay longer”– said MO director Milda Ivanauskienė.

D. Libeskind is a world famous architect and is known for his architectural masterpieces that include Jewish Museum in Berlin, Felix Nussbaum Haus in Osnabrück, Military history museum in Dresden and The Wohl Centre in Tel Aviv. D. Libeskind is also the master site planner of the World Trade Center Memorial in Manhattan, New York City.

MO Museum (formerly known as Modern Art Center) was established in 2009 by Danguolė and Viktoras Butkus as a public institution and a “museum without walls”. Our mission is to assemble a collection of modern and contemporary Lithuanian visual art that is accessible to both Lithuanian and foreign art lovers. The MO collection spans works created from 1960 to the present day.

Museum has assembled a significant collection of artworks from the Soviet period that at the time were ideologically unacceptable and therefore ignored by major Lithuanian art museums following official state policies on art. Currently, the MO collection represents 226 artists including 4 500 paintings, drawings, prints, sculpture, photography, and video works. The collection of a national importance is being constantly updated with new and relevant pieces of Lithuanian art.

With a choice of no-permanent-exposition Museum is engaging dynamic experience presenting a Principal exhibition at the Grand Hall every half a year accompanied by four exhibitions at a project space. Opening of the Museum will present pivotal highlights of the Collection where the focus is carefully set to the national identity and Lithuanian art scene development of the last 60 years.

Rytis Šeškaitis photography.