Ed Carroll & Vita Gelūnienė are Kaunas-based artistic team working with local communities. Ed originates from Ireland where he was part of the Civil Arts Inquiry team established by City Arts, Dublin, and is currently the convener of the Blue Drum Agency, a cultural rights and community culture platform in Ireland. Vita was born and lives in Kaunas. She was Executive Director of Kaunas Biennial (2006-2009) and maintained a dedicated education and artistic practice. In 2009 Vita and Ed initiated the Friendly Zone Project cycle in Lithuania and focused on the peculiar nature of public space and community. They led the Creative Europe cultural study called City (Re)Searches (2012-2014), which examined the changing nature of community culture. Since 2014, the couple have worked on community engagement art projects around the small-scale site “Cabbage Field – Laboratory for Citizen Initiative” in their own neighbourhood. The Cabbage Field was awarded special recognition by the jury of the International Award Agenda 21 Culture in Mexico in June 2016.
Vita Gelūnienė Ed Carroll (b. 1960, Dublin) work independently. Their field of research focuses on community culture and cultural rights. Community culture is the time, energy and commitment invested by local residents to making their homes, neighborhoods and lives more sustainable. Cultural rights regards developing a lens for the recognition and freedom to express community practice.