The annual 'Gdańsk in Vilnius' festival is organised as part of the partnership between Gdańsk and Vilnius. This year, incidentally, marks the 25th anniversary of signing a partnership agreement between the Lithuanian capital and the city by the Motława River. Representatives of the University of Gdańsk attend the event - dr Tomasz Snarski and the Zygmunt Kamiński University of Gdańsk Song and Dance Ensemble 'Jantar'.
This year's festival will include concerts, exhibitions and a special meeting with President Lech Wałęsa in Vilnius. This will be followed by another edition of the 'Vilnius in Gdańsk' festival in Gdańsk.
It is worth highlighting the special participation of artists from the University of Gdańsk in this year's event. On Friday, at 6 pm, the Zygmunt Kamiński Song and Dance Ensemble of the University of Gdańsk 'Jantar' will perform at the Polish Culture House in Vilnius. During the concert, students from the University of Gdańsk will present the most vibrant dance choreographies ('Rzeszów', 'Kashub', 'Spisz'). What is more, the artistic programme of the concert includes a joint performance with Vilnius ensembles - the Vilnius University Song and Dance Ensemble and the 'Wilia' Song and Dance Ensemble. Modestas Taškinas and Sasa Kuraszkiewicz will present Polish national dances in the solo parts.
As 'Jantar' organisational manager Adam Czerski emphasises: - 'It is with great pleasure that we participate in the festival "Gdańsk in Vilnius". We consider the invitation of Jantar to participate in this event as an appreciation of the level of performance and our contribution to the cultivation and promotion of Polish folklore. We are delighted to have the opportunity to perform with ensembles active in Vilnius. We will certainly take the opportunity to establish new relations, which, apart from artistic performances, is always an essential element of our trips. We thank you for the invitation to participate in the festival and look forward to presenting ourselves in front of the Vilnius audience.'
Also participating in this year's events in Vilnius is dr Tomasz Snarski from the University of Gdańsk, who is also the artistic director of the 'Vilnius in Gdańsk' festival and an animator of cultural and scientific cooperation between Gdańsk and Vilnius. Last year, his volume of poetry was published in Lithuania, entitled. 'Žiemos visada bus baltos', translated into Lithuanian by Birutė Jonuškaitė.
Dr Tomasz Snarski is also this year's winner of the Cultural Scholarship of the City of Gdańsk in the field of literature, as part of which he is carrying out the project 'NeMo. Between the Neris and Motława', writing a book on Danzig-Vilnius identity. Dr Tomasz Snarski emphasises: - 'This year Vilnius is celebrating the beautiful 700th anniversary of the city. The participation of the University of Gdańsk in Gdańsk-Vilnius initiatives is a lovely testimony to the development of cooperation between our cities. It is about involving the young generations. Any cultural cooperation is precious. Personally, I particularly appreciate the involvement of the UG Academic Cultural Centre 'Alternator'. I sang in the University of Gdańsk's Academic Choir many years ago, so I am sure that our academic community will present the best of its work in Vilnius and put a lot of heart and genuine commitment into the event.'
In addition, the University of Gdańsk Law Library is presenting an exhibition organised on the 700th anniversary of Vilnius entitled. 'Wróblewski. Vilnius. Miłosz'. It shows photographs of contemporary Vilnius by Romuald Mieczkowski, as well as private and library collections related to the city. The figures of two prominent 'Vilnius lawyers', namely Bronisław Wróblewski and Czesław Miłosz, were also recalled.
At the exhibition, in addition to photographs of Vilnius, we will see, among others, a copy of Czesław Miłosz's law graduation diploma and a book by dr Tomasz Snarski entitled 'Wróblewski', dedicated to the figure and scientific achievements of Bronisław Wróblewski, published in 2020 in the Horyzonty Filozofii Prawa series. In addition, posters and publications related to the interdisciplinary festival 'Vilnius in Gdańsk', held annually in September and organised as part of the cooperation between Vilnius and Gdańsk as twin cities, were presented. Bronislaw Wróblewski was one of the most eminent Polish penal scholars, a lecturer at the Stefan Batory University in Vilnius. He is regarded as the founder of the first theory of criminal policy in Polish science and introduced the concept of penology into Polish science. On the other hand, Czesław Miłosz, one of the most acclaimed Polish writers of the 20th century and a Nobel Prize winner in literature, graduated in law from Stefan Batory University (which is rarely remembered), and it was to Bronisław Wróblewski that he attended lectures on criminal law. Years later, he recalled his professor as 'a real scholar who lectured on the history of penal institutions, starting from primitive societies. It was exciting.' The author of the photographs presented at the exhibition is Romuald Mieczkowski - Polish writer, poet and publisher, editor-in-chief of the quarterly 'Znad Wilii' and organiser of the International Poetry Festival 'May on the Vilnia River', the 30th edition of which will be held in Vilnius this year. The boards with photographs of the exhibition were made thanks to the support of the Olivia Business Centre in Gdańsk. The curators of the exhibition are Anna Stasiewicz-Jakubik and dr Tomasz Snarski. It will be on display until August 31, 2023.
Dr Tomasz Snarski talks about the events in Vilnius at Info Vilnius for TVP Vilnius:
https://wilno.tvp.pl/69791590/gdansk-w-wilnie
About the volume of poetry 'Żmuty' by dr Tomasz Snarski read here.
