Žygimantas Kudirka is a writer, artist and performer in the fields of interactive fiction, immersive installations, artificial language poetry and avantgarde rap trying to find the universal dialect that could be understood by plants and animals and babies and the future links of evolution.

His works touch on the topics of ecology, longevity, sexuality and body image and often take on unexpected forms: alternate reality audio guides, radio plays created for the car interior, hacking the media or interactive experiences.

Has published an interactive poetry book, released seven music albums, makes constant appearances in contemporary art shows (incl. Baltic Triennial and Venice Biennial), has won multiple awards in the fields of music (incl. Alternative music artist of the year), advertising (incl. Cannes Lions Silver), visuals (incl. Music video of the year) and literature (incl. Best European slam poet).

Has participated in hundreds of local events in native tongue, performed abroad in English and artificial languages: Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, Ireland, UK, France, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Israel, Hong Kong.

Some recent works:

"Who Are You?" (2021): Holographic performance ponders possibilities of regeneration of both lizards and humans (Baltic Triennial 14).

"Total Alienation" (2022): Video installation examines humanity's endless quest for extended life, from ancient myths to future possibilities of body-hopping.

"Brave New Body" (2022): Experimental opera explores the possibilities of eternal life with a probiotic utopian twist in the end.

"The Very Very Very Last Supper" (2023): Play at Lithuanian National Drama Theatre uses eight dinners set in the future to explore nutrition, the Anthropocene, and human ignorance.

EDUCATION

B.A. in linguistics. Got 100/100 score for thesis on dystopias in 2010.

Participated in five annual experimental engineering camp eeKūlgrinda established by Robertas Narkus 2014-2018.

Got professional artist status in 2016.

Graduated from 5th Edition of Rupert Alternative Education program in 2017.

Was granted by Lithuanian Council for Culture in 2018.

Finished month long residency in PAF (Performing Arts Forum), France in 2018.

Finished two artists residencies in Nida Art Colony, Lithuania in 2019.

Was granted by Lithuanian Council for Culture in 2020.

Became a member of Lithuanian Interdisciplinary Artists' Association 2020.

Graduated MA Photography and Media Arts in Vilnius Academy of Arts, 2022.

Finished five playwright residencies “Futures that Will Never Happen” in The Centro Dramático Nacional (Madrid), KVS (Brussels), The Maxim Gorki Theater (Berlin), The Lithuanian National Drama Theatre (Vilnius), 2023.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Brisote w/ CA Conrad (2018): https://artnews.lt/brisote-47027 

Videomasks: masks for the invisible man’s cinemateque (Aikas žado, 2018)

Ghost bag by Laura Kaminskaite (2018):

http://www.blunt.cc/files/various/Ghost_Bag_by_Laura_Kaminskaite_1.pdf

Visual poetry collection “Raidziu paveikslai” (2019)

Lithuanian photography annual (2019)

Experimental engineering camp revisited: EeK 2014-2018 (2019)

RECENT EXHIBITIONS

XIII baltic triennial @ CAC, Vilnius, Lithuania (2018)

Circus of grace @ Antano Mončio namai-muziejus, Palanga, Lithuania (2018)

Experimental engineering camp eeKūlgrinda 5 @ Kartena, Lithuania (2018)

Waiting for Another Coming @ Contemporary Art Centre (CAC), Vilnius, Lithuania (2018)

Materials from the Archive @ Empty brain resort, Vilnius, Lithuania (2018)

XIII baltic triennial @ Kim?, Riga, Latvia (2018)

Waiting for Another Coming @ CCA, Warsaw, Poland (2018)

Vilnius Takes Over w/ Felicita (PC Music) @ Rich Mix, London, UK (2018)

Collaborative writing workshop in Tel Aviv, Israel (2018)

Performance w/ mermaid Emilija Skarnulyte during Future generation art prize @ Palazzo Ca’Tron, Venice biennale, Italy (2019)

Solo performance @ La Biennale di Venezia, Italy (2019)

Installation @ group ehxibition XVII a, Autarkia, Vilnius (2019)

Performance ‘50 miniatures composed of dreams, ideas, proposals, quotes, facts, one-sentence poems, things I witnessed and things I imagined’ for Jonas Mekas: let me dream utopias @ Rupert, Vilnius, Lithuania (2019)

Performance ‘Xtrrnal memory’ for 9th Inter-format Symposium on the Fluidity of Humour & Absurdity @ Nida Art Colony, Lithuania (2019)

Installation “Objectum sexuality” for international group exhibition Life Intense, Nida Art Colony, Lithuania (2019)

Interactive installation for exhibition 2090 @ Lokomotif gallery, Lithuania (2019)

Premier of solo performance “Readings for plants, animals and babies and the future links of evolution” @ CAC, Vilnius (2019)

Remote performance “Kudirka for Kudirka Library” @ online (2020) 

Sound performance “30 days of quarantine” @ virtual festival Corpi Sonori: Sugihara house (2020) Bluetooth performance at What’s The Point? @ Low gallery, Riga, Latvia (2020) 

Kaunas – European Capital of Culture 2022: Modern elderships. Alternative Reality Audio Guide (2020) 

Video work Bless you – created for a series of new works of art virtually presented to the Lithuanian Interdisciplinary Art Union (2020) 

ing! The Low gallery slogan – slogan and installation with motion detector for Latvian gallery Low gallery group exhibition LOW MOON (2020) 

Žygimantas Kudirka & felicita (UK) - Who are you?: the holographic performance/interactive installation + exhibition @ Atletika, Baltic Triennial 14: The Endless Frontier (2021)

Audiovisual performance Vilniaus Energija @ Jauna Muzika, Arts Printing House (2021)

Performance "Bless you" at the Jonas Mekas event @ Kompozitorių namai (2021)

Solo performance during the opening of the cinema festival Kino Pavasaris @ Kaunas Drama Theatre (2022)

Video installation for 3 screens and 3 talking objects Total alienation @ Demo Loft (2022)

Sound object / installation "Van 2 o" @ Nemuno 7 (2022)

Radio play "The Bear Next Door" @ BBC radio 4 (2022)

Corporate dystopia / probiotic ecotopia Great New Body by Zygimantas Kudirka x Arturas Bumšteinas @ NOA (New Opera Action), Arts Printing House (2022)

5 alternative reality audio guides in collaboration with Gediminas Jakubka, Pijus Džiugas Meižis, DJ JM, Miša Skalskis, Lubomir Grzelak

Audiovisual performance “Kudirka AV” @ Frameless, Volkstheater, Munich, Germany (2023)

Solo exhibition “Total alienation v 2.0” @ Medūza gallery (2023)

Corporate dystopian / probiotic ecotopian opera Brave New Body by Žygimantas Kudirka x Arturas Bumšteinas @ Lithuanian National Drama Theatre (2023)

Performative lecture @ Mediaramos symposium, VDA, Vilnius (2023)

MAINTENANT READINGS in New York Public Library, NY (2023)

Live audioguide performance for Rupert residency residents @ Vilnius (2023)

Corporate dystopian / probiotic ecotopian opera Brave New Body by Žygimantas Kudirka x Arturas Bumšteinas @ Klaipėda Drama Theatre (2023)

Series of collaborative writing workshops @ LTMKS (2023)

Collaborative writing workshops for teachers @ Sodas 2123 (2023)

Theater play The very very very last supper @ The Lithuanian National Drama Theatre (2023)

COLLABORATED WITH

felicita, Lubomir Grzelak, Arturas Bumšteinas, Egle Kulbokaite and Dorota Gaweda, Emilija Skarnulyte, Styrmir Örn Guðmundsson, Martin Kohout, Gediminas Žygus, David Bernstein, Valentinas Klimašauskas, Laura Kaminskaite, Robertas Narkus, DJ JM.

WARMED UP

ZEBRA KATZ, CITIES AVIV, ANGEL HAZE, XXYYXX, GASLAMP KILLER, SAUL WILLIAMS, MOUSE ON MARS, DEAN BLUNT, MYKKI BLANCO, GHOSTPOET, FELICITA, FÉLICIA ATKINSON.