In a world often clouded by political divisiveness and cultural complexities, events like the recent gathering organized by the John Adams Institute where I attended a discussion on "Merchants of the Right: Gun Sellers and the Crisis of American Democracy" by Jennifer Carlson, followed by a captivating spoken word performance by Jackie Ashkin, serve as poignant reminders of the multifaceted nature of our society.

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Last week marked a significant occasion as I had the pleasure of participating in a two-day visit of Edmundas Jakilaitis to the Netherlands, an event curated by the Embassy of Lithuania in the Netherlands. [read more…]

Embracing the Tapestry of Life: A Journey of Creativity, Community, and Celebrating Every Chapter with Word Up [read more…]

I grew up with no Christmas.
It was forbidden. Everything associated with religion, family and Christmas peace, according to the Soviets, was supposed to disappear, but it never did. They tried to convince that Christmas is a pagan holiday celebrated only by dark people and that educated communists do not engage in such nonsense. I grew up with Christmas that was a very different experience. [read more..]

The magic truly happens in the "behind the scenes" moments. It's the connection forged with my subjects, the shared laughter, the whispered stories, and the unspoken bonds that become an integral part of the visual tale. These moments are the heartbeat of my artistry, the raw emotions that infuse life into every frame. […]

Past few weeks have been a journey. Out of my comfort zone mostly, out of the usual crazy schedule to an even more timed existance. I received an invitation to speak at a Forum “Culture + Ecology” and I walked into my fear. [read more…]

Today signifies the conclusion of the enchanting and thought-provoking "Seeing the Unwritten" exposition. It was a very special experience being able to witness the making of and the living of exposition by the Programmers of the Future which was a part of the greater project of EYE film museum.

So grateful to be able to capture some beautiful moments at a workshop organized by Film Forward about Black Hair on Set on March 12th 2023 at MACA in Amsterdam.

Human nature is magnificent, inspiring, sometimes scary and most of the time very inspiring. For the past year I have been watching with aw and observing stories unfolding for and to people with brave hearts. […]

Some photo moments captured at friends and neighbours drinks at MACA at NDSM Amsterdam.

Being a day away from crossing the line of one year since the war started in Ukraine, since unexpecting people heard bombs falling, since millions of people faced the change of their lives that can never be repaired. I am so humbled by kind and graceful approach [..]

Some moments from a beautiful and cozy dinner with colleagues from LOADS Amsterdam on the 23rd of December 2022.

Spoken word poetry came into my life in a big way maybe in 2010. More than a decade ago. I have been inspired, moved and intriqued that much, I actually dared to create an event for it. That was 2011. In 2015 it morphed into Word Up through which and thanks for Kevin Groen, I have been introduced to a beautiful space in Amsterdam - Labyrinth. It’s run by Lindsey and Sam - a beautiful duo that created home for poets, outcasts, storytellers, musicians and just souls looking for inspiration, soul food - literally and figuratively… [read more]

A few days ago I was at a premier of a burlesque documentary by Colina van Bemmel that was followed by a show featuring also the amazing women portrayed in the documentary.

I have never been one for sitting still. And I had plenty of situations to do so. Throughtout my life, past years. Past pandemic.

I have never known how to do that really. I suppose people now call it ADHD or other letters. I call it curiosity, restlessness.. I call it show me more. I call it, what’s next. I call it and now what….

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Some moments from this years Global Lithuanian Leaders Pro Club Summit in Oslo, Norway
September 30th - October 2nd, 2022

Last week I have spent some time together with Nicholas evaluating the MyGen finals of the students at Amsterdam Fashion Institute. It was an experience both interesting, full of vulnerability and inspiration. It also gave me some ideas to speak more about the power of presenting and how you can really get a good glimpse into someone within 7 minutes of presentation and 8 minutes of asking them follow-up questions. So here are my takeaways from the experience that might help anyone with presenting or speaking in public…

Do I deserve to feel anything? To react? More and more I find myself pondering about that. In the beginning, it was just small glimpses, moments or even fractures of those moments. This week someone asked me how I was I responded that I find it super difficult to respond to that question ever since the war (in Ukraine) started…..

I was born in the USSR. I had a great childhood. I felt loved. I felt treasured. I felt like my world was full of sunlight, magical moments delivered by my parents, grandparents and all the people in the community. I still remember a cake I had when I was 6 years old which had bunnies on it and green grass. I was so happy. So seen. I spent days doing crafts, making clothes. I spend days reading books. I read fairytales from the whole wide world, I read Shakespear, I read a lot to the point where I actually started volunteering at a local library because I loved organizing books so much. I also don’t only say this was my childhood without pain. There was fair share of that too….

Reflecting on the workshop I held in Rotterdam this week for the lecturers of Hogeschool Rotterdam. Really happy that gender is also a language that we are developing to make the world more inclusive, connected and inspiring.