Agniete Lisickinaite

Agniete Lisickinaite is an independent contemporary dance artist, a choreographer and a teacher. Since 2016, she has been a member of the Contemporary Dance Association and the chairwoman of the mentioned organization since 2020. Agniete. is a well-known social activist and artistic actions creator, especially for her latest project Hands up. In 2021 Agniete. Lisickinaite. was awarded the Young artist prize of the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture, and in 2022, the Lithuanian Contemporary Dance Association awarded Agniete. best choreographer of 2021. In 2019, together with her creative partner Greta Grineviciute, they founded an organization Be company. Organization works in a field of contemporary dance, artistic social activism and cultural education. Important mission of Be company is to help emerging dance artists by producing their works. Agniete. Lisickinaite. is also a teacher who gives lectures at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre for students of contemporary dance, and leads regular lessons for professional dancers organized under the Contemporary Dance Association.

How to protest
“Protest art acts as an important tool to form social consciousness with small, but progressive change in our society. “Personal is Political”, Carol Hanisch said in 1969. How can we activate ourselves nowadays, when we are facing endless critical global disasters and full-scale injustice? Through movement, writing and spoken word, this workshop takes you deep into the core of how we can use art as a form of protesting. What is your personal purpose? What do you want to fight for? The main axis of Agniete Lisickinaite performance and practice Hands up examines the dialectical qualities of protest. All protests have one common feature - two sides that are distinct, yet inseparable. Inseparability draws on the idea that there are conflicting interests at play, which depend on, and cannot be separated from, one another. The two opposing interests are inseparably connected through the material conditions that protestors and those in power represent; and the interests of those in power dominate the interests of the protestors. The attributes conflicting and inseparable make these interests a dialectical matter. If we are seeking to make a change with our protests, first of all we have to listen and hear what the other part is saying. The aim of this workshop is to dive into basic forms of artivism and political art and to discover how each of us can apply these elements in our creative practices. After introduction of my own artistic practices and through a series of practical exercises we will together develop an artistic protest action in public.”