On May 28 (Thursday), 5 p.m. conversation with the authors of the exhibition and the accompanying publication “The Former Capital” – photographer Rob Hornstra and writer Arnold van Bruggen will be broadcasted live on Kaunas Photography Gallery Facebook account. The conversation will be held in English, later the Lithuanian translation will be added to the recording.

One month ago our first region exhibition The Former Capital was postponed due to Corona. We immediately recreated the exhibition in the virtual world using the digital exhibition platform Artsteps. So far, 14K people visited our online exhibition space. Then suddenly the positive news arrived that the ‘real’ exhibition was allowed to start. And so the exhibition was reconstructed from the virtual world into the real world. The exhibition in Kaunas Gallery will last until 14 June 2020. The one at Artsteps infinite (to visit via our website www.theeuropeans.fm).

One month after the launch of our first region publication The Former Capital, only a few copies of the Special Edition are still available. Make sure you buy it before they are all gone! It’s an incredibly beautiful mainly handmade signed and numbered edition including print of your choice (!) at a very reasonable price. And yes, last but not least, you big time support the continuation of our new project The Europeans Project!

We are genuinely surprised by the success of our first virtual exhibition. In one month, more than 8,000 people visited the exhibition. If you also want to visit the exhibition, click on the link (desktop) or download the artsteps app (which also allows you to look in VR).

Article about our online exhibition (in Dutch): “Met een VR-bril op heb je het ­gevoel dat je er echt bent, maar de ervaring zonder bril is ook de moeite waard. Door de cursor te bewegen kun je door de galerie ‘lopen’ en foto’s aanklikken voor extra ­informatie. Op een tafeltje staan twee boeken uitgestald: een speciale en een budgeteditie van dit eerste hoofdstuk van het project, te koop in de webwinkel. Buiten is er een steegje dat naar de zee leidt. Het is een grappige verwijzing naar The Sochi Project die alleen online mogelijk is; midden in Litouwen kijk je uit over de Zwarte Zee.”

Of course I don’t want to discourage you from ordering the first regional publication of The Europeans through my online store, however, in case you live in America or Canada it might be more convenient to buy from the US bookstore photoeye.com.

Our virtual exhibition is de Volkskrant tip of the day for an online doses of art and culture: The Europeans is the intended successor to the renowned The Sochi Project, which among other things developed new ways of presenting documentary photography. For The Europeans, local partners, newspapers and galleries were sought all over Europe. In Lithuania, the first regional publication The Former Capital was to be launched this week, at the same time as the opening of a similar named exhibition in the Kaunas Gallery in Kaunas, the country’s second largest city. This will not happen, but the makers have now created the exhibition online, by virtually recreating the gallery space, including the square in the heart of Kaunas, where the gallery is located.

The Former Capital is the first regional publication of The Europeans, the new multi-year project by Arnold van Bruggen and Rob Hornstra. The Former Capital is a region where in the wake of newfound independence, nationalism and militarism are on the rise. The search for a strong, own identity is strengthened by a stagnating economy and the consequences of depopulation. The surge of globalism, open borders and a new morality often clashes with those clinging to the values of the conservative class.

An endless number of art events have been cancelled worldwide due to the Coronavirus. Also the launch of our regional publication / exhibition The Former Capital - programmed on April 2 - was postponed. Transport of exhibition and books was already on its way.

After digesting the setback and with help from our partner Kummer & Herrman, we decided to work hard on recreating the exhibition online, exactly like we imagined it to be. When you put on VR glasses, you almost feel like you’re there. But without VR glasses you can also go inside.

And so the launch of the publication and exhibition The Former Capital is still a reality on the intended day. A local audience can now still visit the exhibition. However, also the rest of the world can take a look. The Coronavirus is forcing us to follow new paths. Who knows this may lead to beautiful and surprising insights.

You can visit our exhibition from behind your computer screen by following the link below or via the Artsteps app on your phone and in VR.

As many of you know by now, Arnold van Bruggen and I have embarked on a new multi-year venture entitled The Europeans. In the coming years we plan to document about twenty heartland regions and in the past few months we have made an incredible amount of new work. Now our first official presentation moment is approaching: The launch of the first regional publication including exhibition on 2 April, of course in the region where the work was created: The Former Capital!

And you can help us. This weekend is the last moment to adopt the first chapter AND get your name mentioned in the special hardcover edition of the upcoming first chapter publication ‘The Former Capital’.

By adopting a region you make it possible for us to pursue this multi-year project, but also you help us to fulfill our ambition to keep the sales price of the trade edition accessible to a broad audience.