BEATRIČĖ KLEIZAITĖ‑VASARIS ART AWARDS
Dear friends of the Angel Museum—artists, patrons, and supporters — you are warmly invited on July 22 at 5:30 PM to the Angel Museum (Vilniaus St. 11, Anykščiai) for the commemorative event marking the 100th anniversary of our benefactor Beatričė Kleizaitė‑Vasaris’s birth. During the evening we will honor the winners and participants of the Beatričė Kleizaitė‑Vasaris Art Awards competition and celebrate the Angel Museum’s fifteenth birthday.
A concert program will be presented by Judita Leitaitė (mezzosoprano), Beata Andriuškevičienė (piano) and Virginija Kochanskytė (actress and event host).
The national competition for angel-sculpture artworks—part of the Beatričė Kleizaitė‑Vasaris Art Awards and organized by the Anykščiai Arts Centre—has attracted 28 sculptors from across Lithuania.
Their submissions are now on display in the Angel Museum’s exhibition space. Visitors are invited to view the works and vote for their favorite; the sculpture receiving the most votes will be awarded the Audience Choice prize.
Throughout 2025, in honor of the bright memory of our cultural patron —an émigré to the United States and a tireless promoter of Lithuanian art—there will be exhibitions (and accompanying events) featuring renowned Lithuanian diaspora sculptors and painters: Vytautas Kašuba, Adomas Galdikas and Vytautas Ignas.
There are two museums in Lithuania founded on collections donated by Beatričė Kleizaitė‑Vasaris:
Angel Museum, Anykščiai Arts Centre (Vilniaus St. 11), Beatričė Kleizaitė‑Vasaris Art Gallery, Marijampolė (Meilės Lukšienė Education Centre, P. Butlerienės St. 5), showcasing Lithuanian diaspora art In addition, thousands of émigré artworks she brought from the U.S. are held in the National Art Museums of Vilnius and Kaunas, “Alka” in Telšiai, the Samogitian Art Museum in Plungė, and other institutions.
By her will, Beatričė Kleizaitė‑Vasaris bequeathed €25,000 to the Anykščiai Arts Centre specifically to fund this national competition, which unfolds in two phases: main competition in 2025, the centennial of her birth and educational “angel” theme competitions in 2026, 2027, 2028, and 2029.
The author of the striking, original book Angels, Beatričė Kleizaitė‑Vasaris, envisioned this competition of angel‑themed sculptural works as a way to inspire professional artists to explore this theological and aesthetic subject—and for the piece awarded the main 2025 prize to become part of the Angel Museum’s permanent collection.
A national jury will evaluate all submissions and, by July 22, 2025, select the winners: a €7,000 main prize and two encouragement awards of €2,000 and €1,000.
Comprising esteemed art experts, the jury will judge entries on originality, creativity, artistry, and aesthetic quality; any works not meeting the competition requirements will be disqualified.
All participants are invited to the closing ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of Beatričė Kleizaitė‑Vasaris’s birth, to be held on the Angel Museum’s founding day—July 22, 2025. There, the jury’s decisions will be announced and prizes presented. The exhibition will remain open at the Angel Museum until September 15, 2025.
For further details, please visit the Anykščiai Arts Centre on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anyksciumenucentras/
Partners: Anykščiai District Municipality, Lithuanian Artists’ Union.
Media Sponsors: regional news portal anyksta.lt and the newspaper Anykšta.