Artist Jenny Kagan, daughter of Joseph Kagan and Margaret Strom grew up in the UK surrounded by stories of pre-war and wartime Lithuania. In the exhibition “Out of Darkness” she shares the stories they told her about their survival in Kaunas during the Holocaust.

The setting of this exhibition, created through images, music, projections, and other elements, draws viewers into a very personal and at the same time universal story, inviting them to explore their emotions and experiences in the presence of memory, light, and darkness.

“They met in the ghetto in 1943.  She was only 18 years old. It is a story of oppression and persecution, of unimaginable loss and terror, and yet ultimately it is also a story of love and a story of survival,” says Kagan. “While those around them perished, they escaped the ghetto and survived the war in hiding, with the help of their Lithuanian saviors.  You are invited to navigate your own journey through an atmosphere-laden landscape, where faces float in the darkness, suitcases open to reveal magical interiors, hidden corners invite you in and stories unfold.”

The exhibition “Out of Darkness”, like the other initiatives of Kaunas 2022 Memory Office programme, is an attempt to bring back to Kaunas the fates and stories of our predecessors – the Kaunasians of different ethnicities. To recall the achievements and contributions of those from whom we inherited this city.

The story told by Jenny Kagan seems even closer and more relevant to us in the face of today’s war. It raises the question of our choices – unfortunately, not in the abstract sense, but in the present tense.

What do I do when war comes? Do I choose left or right? If I must, which side do I send the other to? Do I open the door to the one who is being persecuted? Do I close my eyes and remain a passive observer? We hope that everyone will find their own answer in this exhibition.

Opening hours

Wed, Fri–Sun 11:00–18:00

Thurs 11:00–19:00

The exhibition will be open for visits to 30 Oct 2022.

Organizer: Kaunas 2022