The beloved and anxiously awaited festival is back! On April 22-26, Kaunas citizens and city guests will be invited to experience Asian culture, traditions, contemporary and classical art during VMU Asian Week.

This year’s VMU Asian Week celebrates its tenth anniversary, and this occasion will be conveyed with a diverse program and the abundance of events. The success of the festival is ensured by the Vytautas Magnus University’s Centre for Asian Studies together with the VMU student clubs “Hashi”, “Hallyu” and “Wuwei”. It means, both those who are just starting to discover East Asia and already experts of the region will find something to enjoy.

“VMU Asian Week keeps reminding us how diverse and full of discoveries this region is. Thanks to the active academic community, Kaunas has the unique privilege of getting to know and enjoy the cultures of Japan, Korea, China, and Taiwan, and we feel a great commitment to not only maintain the tradition of the festival but also expand its scope,” said the head of the VMU Centre for Asian Studies, Dr. Arvydas Kumpis.

The format of the festival has been refined over ten years to cover the widest possible field:

  • On Monday (04 22), the opening day of the festival takes place at 11 a.m.; afterwards, everyone is invited to “taste” the languages of East Asia (V. Putvinskio 23), and from 6:00 p.m. there will be a spirited Asian quiz game (Pub “Rebels”, Laisvės av. 21, registration required)
  • On Tuesday (04 23), an Asian food creative workshop (Smuklė restaurant, Daukanto St. 23, registration required) takes place, and at 6:00 p.m. traveler Evaldas Karalius will share his experiences after traveling in Japan and Nepal (Ąžuolynas Library, Hall of Stars)
  • On Wednesday (04 24) the fourth international student academic conference on Asia (V. Putvinskio 23) will take place, and from 6:00 p.m. an impressive evening of modern dance awaits – the performance of the South Korean talent Na Hoon Park and troupe, who will perform for the first time in Lithuania; the Kaunas Dance Theater “Aura” will perform “Garden 4.12°” which was awarded by the Golden Cross of the Theater This year (c. c. Romuva, Laisvės al. 54, tickets sold by bilietai.lt)
  • On Thursday (04 25) from 10:00 a.m. a colorful and eventful Culture Fair will be held (V. Putvinskio 23), and at 6:00 p.m. everyone is invited to familiarize themselves with Japanese, Chinese and Korean national costumes, which have been seen by many, but are often still a bit mysterious (Ąžuolynas Library, Hall of Stars)
  • Career events and meetings will be held on Friday (04 26) (V. Putvinskio 23); the festival closes at 7:00 p.m. in the bar “Hogas” (Kaunakiemio St. 40). The special guests of the evening will be the band Nouvelle, who promised to surprise the fans of Asia!

Parallel events will take place as well – a photo exhibition by Evaldas Karalius “Shikoku 88 temples road” (VMU V. Putvinskio 23, 4th floor), continuous games and other attractions. Stay tuned to find out more!

For more information as well as the registration forms for the events go to the homepage of VMU Centre for Asian Studies, VMU Asian Week Facebook and Instagram pages or simply call the organizers: +370 373 31 323. Lets meet in VMU Asian Week!