Artscape - social campaign

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Know or Get to Know? Experiment with Lithuanian fairy tales

Unaccompanied minor refugees arrive and forced to live in migrant accommodation centers in Lithuania. They are left without their childhood and fairy tales, experience cultural and social isolation. Know or Get to Know? campaign invites you to know different cultures and take a look at them through the eyes of a child. The campaign aims to talk about the reduction of exclusion in society and to encourage people to allocate 1.2% of their income taxes and thus contribute financially to the activities of various Lithuanian NGOs.

The social campaign was created by Marios agency for Artscape arts agency. Three well-known characters of Lithuanian fairy tales and mythology - Jurate and Kastytis, Egle the snake queen and Thunder - became the main heroes of the visuals.

Artscape speaks the language of art, so we chose original illustrations to express the idea. A naive stylistics was chosen deliberately - it intertwines the childlike naivety and the ethnographic style of typical folk art. This idea is a kind of experiment: a way to imagine how Lithuanian mythology could look like through the eyes of children from lands far away from Lithuania. What would happen if usually white gods and heroes of fairy tales were to be imagined by those, whose traditions and worldviews are very different? The meaning of this experiment is much deeper than just creativity.

Art might become a medium where different cultures meet, it can help us talk and understand each other. It is very important and meaningful to take care of those who are easily forgotten in the background of dramatic events - the war in Ukraine, economic and social upheavals.

For children growing up in migration centers, this is the only childhood they have. They seem to be stuck in a situation, the adaptation in Lithuania seems to have started, but how it happens depends on us a lot. This is why reciprocity is so important. For those children, self-expression, respect, recognition, acceptance of their culture can be life-changing. Through artistic projects, we not only get to know them, but also accept their uniqueness. A beautiful result that makes sense for everyone can be born from this dialogue.

In 2022 during Artscape creative missions almost 600 art-oriented educations took place with the participation of refugees from Africa, Ukraine and other countries. Allocating 1.2% of their income taxes to Artscape organization, Lithuanian residents will contribute to its activities and help create professional creative and educational environments that respond to social, political and economic challenges for extremely vulnerable groups.