Lietuvos Literatūros ir Meno Archyvas
- Lithuanian Archives of Literature and Art
- Kultūros archyvai
- Archives of Culture
Address
Phone
+370 5 267 7682
Fax
History
Established in 1968, the Lithuanian Archives of Literature and Art (also known as the Archives of Culture) preserves documents that are related to the art, literature, theatre, music and culture of Lithuania.
Archival and Other Holdings
Lithuanian Archives of Literature and Art preserve and accumulate records belonging to state institutions, popular organizations and private persons, reflecting the development of culture and art in Lithuania. Most records are from 20th century. Several documents found in the fonds of private persons date back as far as the 15th century.
A separate structural unit within the archives, the Library of Archives of Literature and Art stores more than 177,067 publications from the 18th century to the present.
There are 5 groups of documents preserved in the Archives:
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Documents of culture management institutions, including cultural and cinematography institutions, ministries, committees and other institutions of the Lithuanian SSR (1940–1991).
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Documents of literature institutions, including art creators’ associations and their sections (since 1940); cultural societies (1931–1940); editorial offices (since 1944); publishing houses (since 1940–1993); and personal collections of writers, poets, translators, literature researchers, linguists, journalists (since the 15th century).
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Documents of art institutions, including art creators’ associations, societies and their subdivisions (since 1906); documents of Vilnius, Kaunas, Telšiai art schools (1920–1993); and personal collections of painters, sculptors, textile artists, graphic artists, folk artists, textile artists, cartoonists, wood carvers, architects, photographers, art critics (since the middle of the19th c.). There are some more collections assigned to this group: a collection of postcards with the views of Vilnius and its vicinities dating from 1907 to 1985, a collection of Lithuanian ex-libris (bookplates) collected by J. Šapiro between 1923 and 1970, the collection of the Sledzinskis family photographs (of the three Sledzinskis brothers who were painters, their friends, their family members), and others.
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Documents of music institutions, including art creators’ associations and their subdivisions (since 1940), cultural societies (1911–1941), educational institutions in Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipėda (since 1920), and groups of music performers (since 1940). There are also private collections of composers, pianists, organists, violinists and other musicians, singers, choirmasters, conductors, musicologists, music teachers, choreographers, ballet-masters (since second half of 19th century).
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Documents of theatre and cinematographic institutions, including art creators’ associations (since 1946); cultural societies (1905–1994); theatres in Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai, Panevėžys, Marijampolė (formerly – Kapsukas), and Telšiai (since 1809); Board of Film Censors (1932–1940); film studios (1945–1999); and personal collections of theatre, cinema and opera directors, actors, opera singers, theatrologists, theatre teachers, cinema researchers as well as other collections (since the second half of the 19th c.).
At present, the Archives hold over 230,000 files occupying 2,500 linear metres of shelving space.
Finding Aids, Guides, and Publication
The Lithuanian Archives of Literature and Art has an online database that can be found here:
https://archivesofculture.com/en/database/22
Lists of all the Archives' various fonds can be found here:
Opening Times
Monday to Thursday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Friday: 8 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday: Closed
Daily lunch break: 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.