Large-Scale Chamotte Sculpture Symposium “Pillars of the Sun” in Šiauliai

June 13–23, 2025, the large-scale chamotte sculpture symposium “Pillars of the Sun” will take place on the shore of Lake Talkša, bringing together professional artists from Lithuania, Latvia, and Germany. During the symposium, four chamotte sculptures will be created, embodying the elements of earth, water, air, and fire. The unveiling of the sculptures created during the nearly two-week-long symposium will take place on June 23 during the ethnographic festival “Midsummer. The Magic of Nature’s Elements.” Later, the sculptures will be relocated to the newly renovated territory of the Rėkyva Cultural House.
Organizer – Šiauliai Cultural Center. Partner – Šiauliai Art School. Funded by – Šiauliai City Municipality.

Chamotte sculpture symposia are a rare phenomenon in Lithuania. The only place where such events are held regularly is Užventis (Kelmė District), where international chamotte sculpture symposia have been organized since 2011, attracting well-known ceramicists from around the world. As there are no other regular or periodic symposia of this kind in Lithuania, the “Pillars of the Sun” symposium in Šiauliai has the potential to occupy an important place not only on the cultural map of the city but also of the country.

The first chamotte sculpture symposium in Šiauliai was held in 2019, initiated by the Šiauliai Art School, which brought the idea from neighboring Latvia. It was repeated in 2020. This year, in 2025, the “Pillars of the Sun” symposium returns, with hopes that it will become a beautiful annual tradition, encouraging creative activity and the emergence of artistic landmarks in the city.

“Meaningful projects should not remain one-time events – they must be continued, nurtured, and developed. We are pleased that this year the chamotte sculpture symposium returns in a new form, uniting the Šiauliai Cultural Center and the Šiauliai Art School in meaningful cooperation. Networking between cultural, art, and educational institutions is an opportunity to share resources, ideas, and visions that become living artworks in the city’s space,” says Šiauliai Cultural Center Director Deimantė Bačiulė.

“The idea to organize a chamotte sculpture symposium came a few years ago when we visited Latvia and saw how strongly the tradition of chamotte sculpture is nurtured there – with a clear vision, continuity, and community involvement. We realized that such a form of art is lacking in Lithuania. This symposium was born from the desire to bring that creative energy home and ignite it in our city. Šiauliai has strong ceramics traditions, but there is hardly a new generation emerging. Creative projects like ‘Pillars of the Sun’ are not only opportunities to create something beautiful but also a chance to share experiences, inspire, and unite artists. Perhaps this will be the spark that grows into a new tradition in the City of the Sun,” says Šiauliai Art School teacher Irena Šliuželienė.

During the “Pillars of the Sun” symposium, four openwork chamotte (clay) sculptures will be created in the public space – on the shore of Lake Talkša – symbolizing the four natural elements: earth, water, air, and fire. These elements are not only natural phenomena but also fundamental to the ancient Baltic worldview, closely related to the Midsummer festival, during which the sculptures will be ceremoniously unveiled and fired. The participating artists – Irena and Vilius Šliuželiai (Lithuania), Živilė Bardzilauskaitė-Bergins (Lithuania), Domilė Ragauskaitė (Germany), Ilze Emse (Latvia), Petras Rakštikas (Lithuania), and Benas Aldakauskas (Lithuania) – will create the four chamotte sculptures embodying the mentioned natural elements. Each sculpture not only reflects the forces of nature but also ties into our cultural heritage and personal interpretations.

The sculpture creators admit that realizing these ideas requires a lot of work and effort, as there are challenges to consider from the outset. “Creating a large-format chamotte sculpture – everything becomes a challenge: proportions differ from the sketch, every centimeter demands responsibility. Everything has to be planned in advance – from structural strength to the safety of the firing process. It’s not just art, but also technical precision and meticulous work,” says one of the symposium participants, artist I. Šliuželienė.

On June 23, from 11:30 PM to 12:30 AM, during the ethnographic festival “Midsummer. The Magic of Nature’s Elements,” the unveiling of the fired sculptures will take place on the shore of Lake Talkša. Later, on June 25, these creative results will be moved to the newly renovated territory of the Rėkyva Cultural House. There, the sculptures will become a permanent outdoor exhibition, open to all – both local residents and city visitors. “The first sculptures to be installed in Rėkyva mark a symbolic starting point – they will not only beautify the renewed environment but also encourage further development of artistic highlights in this district. We believe this is just the beginning – a step toward creating a sustainable, creative, and aesthetically rich city identity,” says Šiauliai Cultural Center Director D. Bačiulė.

The organizers are confident that the implementation of this project not only fosters the uniqueness of the city but also strengthens creative potential, inviting the international community into a creative dialogue.

For more information, contact Erika Novikovė, Cultural Event Organizer, Event Organization Department, Šiauliai Cultural Center. Phone: +370 678 46 145, Email: erika.novikove@siauliukc.lt

Photo by Liubov Yarmoshenko