The Jurbarkas Region Festival will kick off with an exhibition of artist Šarūnas Šimulynas' work, titled "Eternal Travelers Finally Return."

The year 2024 has been declared the Year of Šarūnas Šimulynas—a sculptor, graphic artist, painter, novelist, and poet—in the Jurbarkas district.

The Jurbarkas Region Festival will take place on August 22-25, 2024.

The festival will officially begin on August 22 at 6:00 PM with the opening of Šarūnas Šimulynas' art exhibition "Eternal Travelers Finally Return" at the Jurbarkas Exhibition and Concert Hall (Vydūno St. 21, Jurbarkas). The spacious former Church building, now the Jurbarkas Exhibition and Concert Hall, will display his graphics, sculptures, and paintings. The artist's work will be introduced by Dr. Vidas Poškus, an art historian and the director and exhibition curator at the Vilnius Academy of Arts "Titanikas" gallery.

Šarūnas Šimulynas, born in Veliuona, raised in Kaunas, and creatively active in Vilnius, spent his life traveling, but has finally returned to Jurbarkas and beloved Veliuona. What greater gift could this restless soul, who roamed many continents, receive from his fellow countrymen? Defying the saying "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country," Šarūnas returns with his artistic legacy to his homeland. The year 2024 marks not only his 85th birth anniversary and the 25th anniversary of his passing but also his remarkable return.

A retrospective exhibition of the artist's work—spanning sculpture (wood, bronze, mixed media, stone), painting (oil, canvas, cardboard), and graphics (lithography, ink, paper)—will be held in the Church building of the Jurbarkas Regional Museum. The artworks on display were created between 1965 and 1998, providing an overview of three decades of his prolific artistic career.

The exhibition presents the artist in a broad context. Along with the exhibition in Jurbarkas, a concurrent show in Veliuona showcases an extensive collection of over seventy works drawn from private collections and the family archive.

The exhibition will run from August 22 to October 1.

Opening: August 22 at 6:00 PM.

Location: Exhibition and Concert Hall (former Church building), Vydūno St. 21, Jurbarkas.

Exhibition curator: Regina Šimulynienė.

Organizers: Veliuona Cultural Center.

Sponsors: Jurbarkas District Municipality, Jurbarkas Regional Museum, Vinco Grybas Museum, Veliuona Community. Media sponsors: Jurbarkas district newspapers "Šviesa" and "Mūsų laikas."