“For Freedom”, a message for the future

• In Event: Activizing heritage through digitalization, exhibition, and interdisciplinary research

Abstract

In 2018, the Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture (BMLC) opened an ongoing exhibition, “For Freedom” , to commemorate the centennial of the 1918 independence and the recognition that followed several years later. The exhibition examines the creative, strategic, and determined means used by Lithuanian Americans to help wrest freedom for Lithuania. But it also documents a full intervening century of ongoing actions and support to maintain and regain independence. For the Museum and its visiting public, the exhibition demonstrates what is required for a country and a culture to survive. It is a timeless lesson and one particularly apt for today’s challenges and hopes for the Baltic future.
“For Freedom”. Also represents a new direction for the BMLC and, perhaps, other institutions and cultural endeavors. That is, “For Freedom” focuses not on preserving and remembering Lithuania’s culture and past. Rather, it is an examination of the past as a source for continued connection and inspiration in the present and for the future. The presentation we propose will review the exhibition as a relevant message for Baltic peoples and for institutions devoted to Baltic history and culture.

Short Bio

Irena Brokas Chambers is the curator of the “For Freedom” exhibition. Her career and background focus on exhibitions, programs and planning for cultural institutions. She was the director of the Library of Congress’s Interpretive Programs Office, where she developed a series of national and international exhibitions including “Sigmund Freud: Conflict and Culture”, “Revelations from the Russian Archives”, “Beginnings” (an exhibition that revealed how various culture across time and the world portrayed the beginning of the world); “The Dead Sea Scrolls”, “The Work of Charles and Ray Eames, and many more. Throughout her career, she has worked with a wide variety of institutions and audiences, including history organizations, art museums, and local diverse cultural initiatives. Currently, she directs the Artbarn in Amaranth, an artist residency program based in the rural Appalachian mountains of Pennsylvania, and continues her curatorial and writing projects.

Sigita Balzekas is an officer and board member of the Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture. At present, she is directing the museums programs, publications, and public outreach, serving as the interim Executive Head of the BMLC. Her background in journalism, public relations, and publishing focuses on Baltic cultural issues, past and present. She is guiding the BMLC to be an engaged and vital institution for larger and more diverse audiences, acknowledging the need for updating technologies to help make the international outreach possible. She is planning the launch of an intensive review of BMLC goals and mission as the Museum completes sixty years of existence.

Author

• Irena Ursula Chambers, Museum Expert and Curator