CAC Reading Room is open Tuesday–Saturday, 12.00-19.00
Free admission.

May 19, 2009 the Contemporary Art Centre (CAC) Vilnius launched the “CAC Reading Room”, a new and dynamic space for reading, talking, and the presentation of social, educational and contemporary art events designed by the Amsterdam-based collective of architects and designers Anouk Vogel, Johan Selbing, and Bart Guldemond.

The design of the space based on the concept of an “indoor garden” won a competition for young designers/architects that the CAC staged in 2008 and was developed over the course of the last year since the winners were announced. The ground-floor Reading Room updates the popular "CAC Info Lab" that operated in the foyer of the CAC since 1999 that, in turn, was updated as part of a special white-on-white installation for the entrance spaces devised by Lithuanian architect-and-artist Valdas Ozarinskas.

CAC director Mr. Kestutis Kuizinas announced that he is “excited that the CAC has found a way of continuing to develop and grow in these financially challenging times and to expand the range of experiences that the CAC can offer the visiting audience. There has always been a lack of international publications about contemporary art available for sale and in libraries in Vilnius – despite the curiosity of the Lithuanian cultural community – and its natural that the city‘s leading exhibiting institution should be leading the way in this regard. The dynamic design of the space also continues a tradition that the CAC has established for pushing boundaries of architecture and display in its spaces and exhibitions. I am also pleased that the furniture designed for the space was specially fabricated in Lithuania and the hand-decoration adorning the chairs was made in association with students from the Vilnius Art Academy, which continues the CAC‘s practice of combining leading-edge international and local art and design in its programs”.

In association with the launch, the CAC has updated and expanded its library and extended the number of magazine and journal titles in the collection. Special focus has been on making an extensive culture theory and philosophy section including the Verso Radical Thinker‘s imprint plus a range of artist‘s books and experimental publications. The CAC also turned to a number of local and international art critics and curators to suggest titles for acquisition. Besides those “Recommended Readings”, one can find here the library of the historiographic project “Left Books/Books as Biography”, see or manipulate the selection of “Open Books”, or return for new instalments of the “One Book Exhibition” series that features unique artists’ books.

All publications stored in the Reading Room can be found via the online catalogue.

Various events that take place in the Reading Room (presentations, talks, workshops, performances) are announced in the CAC’s calendar of events.


A special CAC Interviu issue dedicated to the relationship between art and print accompanies the opening of the CAC Reading Room. The issue explores: the influence printmaking had on modern and contemporary art, and vice versa; coincidences between the publishing and art markets; a history of avant-garde publishing in Lithuania and Central and Eastern Europe in the pre-war era. The artist‘s project by Linas Jablonskis’ has transformed this issue of Interviu into a Polish and Russian language magazine, as has the issue’s design created by Lina Ozerkina and Joe Miceli, to take the reader back to the times of the prohibition of Lithuanian press.


CAC Reading Room is supported by:

The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania
Mondriaan Stichting
Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Lithuania
The Lithuanian Foundation for the Support of Culture