ConTempo attracted a record number of viewers: “This festival encouraged us to step out of our comfort zone”

The ConTempo festival, which brought European dance, circus, and theatre stages to Kaunas and the Kaunas district, has ended. More than 11,000 viewers witnessed the enchanting and unexpected performances, many of which were shown in Lithuania for the first time.

Happening for the sixth time, ConTempo visited 27 different spaces in Kaunas and the Kaunas district this year. Sports halls, churches, libraries, museums, hangars, and many other venues not necessarily suited for performances opened their doors to participants and viewers.

“I remember that over six months ago when searching for unconventional spaces for performances, we had to convince their owners that it was worth allowing the participants in and trusting us. Now, after the festival’s hustle and bustle has settled, the dismantling is done, and all the keys have been returned, I feel that we are welcome again. This is a great compliment to us,” says ConTempo producer Klaudija Aleksandravičiūtė.

The festival began with an artistic action that flooded the city with thousands of balls and a few premieres by Lithuanian artists, drawing nearly 1,000 viewers. The subsequent week’s program, created by European artists, also garnered significant attention. In total, spectators had the opportunity to see 56 performers, including dancers, acrobats, actors, and musicians.

According to the festival’s director and program curator Gintarė Masteikaitė, the growing number of viewers and interest demonstrate the festival’s necessity and relevance. ‘Most of the paid events were sold out very quickly, and we saw a record number of viewers at the free events. It warmed my heart to see so many people attending not just one, but several different performances, exploring new spaces and travelling from one district town to another. Interestingly, we had a significant number of new viewers who discovered the festival only this year,” says G. Masteikaitė.

“The ConTempo festival welcomed 14 troupes, including not only artists but also their managers and technical staff. ‘This was indeed a large group of people who stayed in Kaunas for several days to a week, with most of them being in Lithuania for the first time. It’s also gratifying that we had art critics and international professionals who visited our city, watched the festival performances, and interacted with the artists and festival team. We received numerous positive comments from the troupes about the organization, understanding, empathy, and simply the ability to listen to the artists and provide assistance when needed to set up their work in a new space on short notice. We felt the same from the audience,’ says K. Aleksandravičiūtė.”

In total, over the 8 days of the festival, there were around 50 events – amounting to 32 hours of performances. Artists from 10 European countries presented their work, with some making their debut performances in Lithuania.

“We realized the significant impact ConTempo has on growing the cultural audience. It’s a festival that pushes not only the audience and participants but also us, the creators, out of our comfort zones. We are very pleased with the positive feedback from the participants – we received compliments on the well-chosen locations and the high professionalism of the team. Planning next year’s program and its implementation will be a considerable challenge because we want to make it even better. The festival will definitely take place in early August next year, and we can promise you now that you will be pleasantly surprised by some of the performances,’ G. Masteikaitė reveals the future plans.