Museum Night” in Šiauliai Will Unite History, Art, and Civic Engagement

On May 23, 2026, Saturday, events of the international project “European Museum Night” will take place in Šiauliai to mark International Museum Day. This year’s theme, “Our Stories of Civic Engagement,” invites visitors to reflect on community initiatives, expressions of civic responsibility, and moments in history when people chose not to remain indifferent to important events and values. For the first time, the Šiauliai Cultural Center is joining the international project and will invite visitors to the recently opened Peliksas Bugailiškis House (Žemaitės St. 83). It should also be noted that this year’s Museum Night is included in the programme of events celebrating the 790th anniversary of Šiauliai.

Organizer – Šiauliai Aušra Museum. Events are free of charge.

Šiauliai stands out in that European Museum Night is organized as a joint programme involving the city’s museums and cultural institutions, initiated by the Šiauliai Aušra Museum. The event continues to grow each year, and this year’s programme features a record number of partners.

Throughout the evening and night, as many as 23 museums and institutions across the city will open their doors free of charge, offering programmes specially prepared for the occasion, including educational activities, exhibitions, performances, guided tours, film screenings, and live storytelling sessions. This year, visitors are also invited to explore the newly opened Peliksas Bugailiškis House (Žemaitės St. 83), which presents the life and legacy of one of the most prominent figures of the Šiauliai region – lawyer, public figure, local historian, and advocate of museum development, Peliksas Bugailiškis. Visitors will have the opportunity to discover an exhibition dedicated to his life and work and experience the authentic environment where cultural initiatives and ideas of a free Lithuania once flourished.

The main focus on the theme of civic engagement will be presented at the Photography Museum, although a wide range of activities will also take place in other museums and cultural spaces throughout the city.

The organizers note that public transportation services will be extended for the event, with some of the city’s most popular bus routes operating until 1:00 a.m. Additional information about bus schedules is available on the official website of Busturas.

More information about European Museum Night events can be found on the official websites of Šiauliai City Municipality and Šiauliai Aušra Museum.

For more information, please contact Edita Smindriūnaitė, Head of the Exhibitions Department at the Šiauliai Cultural Center, mobile: +370 656 13 886, email: edita.smindriunaite@siauliukc.lt.

Photos by Rolandas Parafinavičius and Liubov Yarmoshenko.