Opening of Jonas Lukšė’s Exhibition: “The Genocide of Kaunas Residents 1939–1954”

You are invited to the opening of the exhibition “The Genocide of Kaunas Residents 1939–1954” by architect and artist Jonas Lukšė, which will take place on June 10, 2025, at 4:00 PM at the Tuskulėnai Memorial Conference Hall.

Jonas Lukšė was born in 1940 in the village of Žiurliai, Anykščiai district. In 1948, he and his family were deported to Transbaikalia, where, a year later, he lost his father due to starvation and exhaustion. From the age of twelve, he worked in harsh forest labor, and his education was postponed for many years. After returning to Lithuania following nine years in exile, he faced difficulties due to the lack of opportunities to study and work, and for a time worked in the tundra.

While serving in the Soviet army, he attended evening school and studied at the Moscow University of Folk Art. After completing his military service, he returned to Lithuania in 1964 and worked as an artist at a housing construction plant in Kaunas. A year later, he enrolled in the S. Žukas College of Applied Arts, and later studied for six years at the State Art Institute. After graduation, he began working at the Cultural Heritage Protection Inspectorate, where he remained for 25 years.

After retirement, he applied his knowledge and experience to drawing various historical and cultural sites. His works have been featured in exhibitions such as “Military Heritage of Panemunė,” “Cultural Heritage of Žaliakalnis,” “Hillforts,” “Architect K. Reisonas,” “Interwar Kaunas Architecture,” “The Genocide of Traupis,” “On the Trails of Lithuanian Partisans,” “Traces of Jewish Culture in Kaunas” and others. Four of these exhibitions became the basis for published works on Kaunas’ sanctuaries, the cultural heritage of Aleksotas, Kaunas woodcarving, and the Kaunas Fortress Atlas.

The exhibition will be on display from June 9 to 22, 2025.