City as a Feminist: talks and workshops in Vilnius

Maria Lindmäe
Mar 28
1 min read

Updated: Apr 10

image of graffiti with tect "graffiti is gay" — Picture and presentation by Laima Nomekaite

In the end of February I was invited to participate in the Nordic Summer University's winter session that was organized by the European Humanities University in Vilnius. The all-women event titled “City as a Feminist: Care Infrastructures and Cultural Heritage” took place on February 27-28 at the Vilnius Belarusian Museum. It consisted of talks on care mobilities and on the (lack of) representation of women artists in public space, as well as of outdoor workshops that allowed us to explore the city space from a gender perspective.

Apart from establishing a wonderful network of women researchers and artists across Europe, I was happy to launch the VELOCARE project and get some colorful insights on the history of public toilets (see image below), in addition to discussing gay graffiti culture through performative writing after a few pints of beer in the city's not-so-gentrified underground bars.

woman presenting history of public toilets — Wholes in medieval city walls to deposit unwanted bodily waste. Presentation on (the lack of) public toilets for women by Vesna Jusup.

I had not been to Vilnius since I was a teenager and I luckily managed to wander around the city a little bit and the beauty of it surprised me in a very positive way. Below are a few photos of my visit.