The street art paintings that have appeared around Kaunas Old Cemetery have been drawn there for a reason. These artworks have been inspired by local stories that tell about the rich history of the former cemetery.

Local stories that “Memory Office” – programme of Kaunas 2022 – collected from city history enthusiasts and people living near the park have been turned into sound and visual art projects, displayed during the CityTelling Festival: a cantata “Peace, peace…” performed by the Choir of Stories, Jenny Kagan’s interactive light and sound installation “On the Breeze”, and TepTep Music app “Crossroads of Four Confessions”.

A few stories collected have also been turned into street art paintings drawn by artist Tadas Šimkus:
The events spanning 1956 to 1958 inspired by the Hungarian Revolution;
Local residents Ina’s and Vilija‘s mystical stories about the time when the cemetery was being relocated;
The story of Henry Parland, a Finnish-Swedish writer, who is buried in the cemetery.

These street art paintings have been included in interactive game “Find and Seek” (author – Gytis Dovydaitis): https://istorijufestivalis.eu/ramybes-misles/

Street art paintings will remain in the city after CityTelling festival.

About the artist

Tadas Šimkus graduated from the Faculty of Kaunas at Vilnius Academy of Arts with a BA degree in Graphic Design. He is an active street artist and one of the founders of the Kaunas Street Art Festival NYKOKA.

Project initiated by Kaunas 2022 programme “Memory Office”.