Svetlana Batura, a lecturer and photographer at the Faculty of Arts and Education of Kaunas University of Applied Sciences, who joined the team of ambassadors of the project Kaunas – European Capital of Culture 2022, says that culture helps to learn to think critically, properly assess the situation, and analyze: “We notice that what is happening today, what we are experiencing by monitoring the situation in neighboring countries is connected”.

According to S. Batura, by agreeing to become the ambassador of the project “Kaunas 2022”, she wanted to contribute to the rise of the cultural level of Kaunas city, public education and related things. “Now the motives have changed a bit, they have been affected by the world around us. Assessing what is going on around me, I think that culture is especially important for society,” said S. Batura.

The ability to evaluate and analyze has always been important, and culture is one of the areas that help to learn this. Maybe it’s just too little emphasis on that?

I totally agree with that. When speaking, communicating, giving lectures to students, I always emphasize that in order to convey a message, we must first find out everything related to that area. We must be able to draw conclusions that are not only relevant to us but also important to others.

That is not widely discussed, but it is the culture that directly or indirectly teaches it. Even when going to an exhibition or inspecting an installation, it is necessary to get acquainted with certain information: to find out who created the installation, what the author’s worldview is, what his goals are. And don’t forget to ask why it was created.

What does creativity mean to you and how much discipline does it have?

Creativity is not a running forward. It’s a constant question of what I can do right now, what, and why I’m curious. You need to do something every day that seems extremely difficult to overcome your inability to act. When you decide to act, you gain the incredible power and faith that you can do everything now. Creativity is freedom.

As for the events, exhibitions and other activities of the “Kaunas 2022” project, I would like to ask if you have participated anywhere and what have you paid the most attention to?

I would like to see everything. So far, it seems like I’ve been wherever I can get. And probably not alone. By interacting with people, I got a general impression, I learned their opinion about the ongoing events, what can be seen in them. From the very first day of the opening, there was a sense of togetherness with the city and the people. There was no such atmosphere in any other celebration of the city. This is the next level.

Even those who did not visit exhibitions before, now come and get acquainted with the works of William Kentridge, find out who Yoko Ono is, become interested in the architecture of modernism. They broaden your horizons, which is very important.

What is happening in Kaunas now is the result of several years of work done in preparation for Kaunas to become the European Capital of Culture. This year we can see the achievements of hard work.

What will change at the end of the European Capital of Culture year?

One can only guess. I think the attitude towards the culture itself will change. It seems to me that everyone will feel the benefits of cultural education. This positive experience is already being passed on, shared with the public.