An Artist from Brodas'

‘If you were a child of Brodas, you remain one for life’ V.K.

Vytautas Kernagis (1951–2008), an actor, a pioneer of sung poetry in Lithuania, a composer and performer, a director of events and a television host, referred to himself simply as an artist. The origin of the Kernagis phenomenon is the multi-layered nature of his personality and talent. Everyone finds something in his work that resonates with them personally. Kernagis brought meaning and quality to creative fields that during the Soviet period were marginalised or trivialised. He succeeded in reshaping attitudes towards sung poetry and light music, and in creating an innovative and intellectually engaging persona as an event director and host.

The beginning of Kernagis’ creative story is inseparable from the legendary Vilnius Brodas, which was then called Lenin Avenue, and today is called Gediminas Avenue. In the 1960s and 1970s it was a gathering place for creative and free-thinking young people. Kernagis lived near Brodas on Kaštonų Street, which was then called Zigmo Angariečio Street, for nearly 30 years. His room in his parents’ flat was the epicentre of his life and work, and of this exhibition. The main themes of the exhibition revolve around his reconstructed room: Brodas, his life on stage, the cabaret ‘Tarp girnų’, ‘Dainos teatras’, the events he hosted and directed, the television shows he launched at the beginning of independence, travel, and humour.