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Exhibition "Culture/Have You Been?"

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The former "Ateities" secondary school in Visaginas has been revitalized into an outdoor gallery. Once abandoned, it now hosts the photography exhibition "Culture/Have You Been?" by local photographer Jevgenija Cholodova, opened on August 2, 2023. The exhibition reflects on the building's fate and promotes using culture for urban revitalization.

Visaginas, initially designed as a companion city to the nuclear power plant, aimed to house 60,000 people. After the Chernobyl disaster and Lithuania's EU accession, the population dropped from 33,000 to 18,000, leaving neglected infrastructure behind. The closure of schools led to the "Ateities" school becoming abandoned.

The Visaginas community has embraced the building, and discussions about its future continue.

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Unique places
Visaginas
Visaginas Tourism Development Center

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In Visaginas, culture is breathing new life into an old school building by installing a photography exhibition in its windows. The abandoned building, which has been devoid of children's laughter and daylight for over a decade, now invites visitors to become part of this unusual outdoor gallery. On August 2, 2023, a photo exhibition by local photographer Jevgenija Cholodova, titled "Culture/Have You Been?", was displayed in the windows of the former four-story "Ateitis" Secondary School. This exhibition invites people to reconsider the fate of the abandoned building and explore the potential of art and culture in its revitalization. The project opens up new perspectives on how culture can be leveraged for urban renewal. At the beginning of its history, Visaginas was a city focused on growth. Originally designed as a satellite city for a nuclear power plant, it had the ambitious goal of becoming home to 60,000 people. The population grew rapidly, leading to a constant demand for schools and kindergartens, and the city was the region's largest employer. The crane, a symbol of fertility and prosperity, became the unofficial symbol of Visaginas. At that time, stagnation and decline seemed impossible, but they became a reality: the Chernobyl disaster

led to the shutdown of two of the four reactors, and joining the European Union forced the closure of the remaining two. The population dropped from 33,000 to 18,000, and spaces and infrastructure that were once filled with people became empty, leaving unfinished and abandoned buildings. The abandoned infrastructure is the most telling example of how Visaginas has been affected by post-atomic decline. This process triggered restructuring, which also impacted education—out of seven schools, two were closed, and the remaining ones were converted into secondary and high schools. The first "Sedulina" Secondary School was fortunate, as it was taken over by the Visaginas Cultural Center. The school was successfully transformed into a cultural institution with concert, choreography, exhibition, and conference halls, as well as studios. Meanwhile, "Ateitis" School was closed in 2005, its windows boarded up, and it became a ghost school. Some people believe that demolishing the building would be the best option to deter vandals and make way for new infrastructure opportunities. Nevertheless, "Ateitis" School still lacks a clear vision, and the city community has accepted it as part of their landscape with which they have already grown accustomed.

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2025-11-17

Exhibition "Culture/Have You Been?"

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