Lithuania

Last update: May, 2022

In 2022, the Lithuanian Register of Cultural Property contained information about 25 892 immovable cultural heritage objects (individual and complex objects and cultural heritage sites) and about 8 454 movable cultural properties. The register is constantly updated and revised. More than 8 000 cultural heritage objects are on the list of state protected cultural heritage objects approved by the Minister of Culture, and 2 422 cultural heritage objects are declared national cultural heritage objects by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania.

Table 7: Number of state protected cultural heritage units and monuments of cultural heritage in 2017–2021

Source: Statistics Lithuania

According to the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, the State is responsible for the protection of Lithuania’s monuments of history and art as well as other cultural monuments and property. The purpose of protecting cultural heritage in the Republic of Lithuania is its preservation and transfer to future generations.

Legal acts of the Republic of Lithuania distinguish between immovable and movable cultural heritage. The protection of immovable cultural heritage is guaranteed by the Law on Protection of Immovable Cultural Heritage (1994). This law defines cultural heritage as “the cultural property inherited, taken over, created and transmitted from generation to generation and significant from ethnic, historical, aesthetical or scientific point of view”.

The legal act regulating the protection of movable cultural property is the Law on Protection of Movable Cultural Property (1996). Movable cultural property is defined in this Law as “material creations and other objects which are movable based on their designation and nature, hold cultural value and are listed in the State inventories of movable cultural property”. Immovable and movable cultural property is inscribed in the State Register of Cultural Property. 

The heritage policy in Lithuania is shaped and implemented by the Ministry of Culture, the Department of Cultural Heritage, the National Commission for Cultural Heritage, and municipalities. The Ministry of Culture organises state administration for protection of movable and immovable cultural heritage and is in charge thereof. The Department of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture performs the functions of the protection of immovable cultural heritage and movable cultural properties assigned to it by laws and other legal acts; these functions include maintenance and management of cultural properties, maintenance of accounting and control of cultural heritage, as well as presentation of cultural heritage to society. The Department also contributes to the formation and implementation of national policies in the area of protection of cultural heritage. The Department is a founder of the state-funded institution the Centre of Cultural Heritage, which collects and accumulates information on cultural heritage as well as conducts historical and physical research. Another state institution, the Cultural Infrastructure Centre acts as a commissioner of the reconstruction and modernisation works needed for the cultural objects and other institutions under the Ministry of Culture.

The National Commission for Cultural Heritage is the expert and adviser to the Parliament, the President of the Republic, and the Government regarding national policy issues on the protection of immovable cultural heritage. The activities of the Heritage Commission are regulated by the Law of the National Commission for Cultural Heritage (2004). The main mission of the Heritage Commission is to participate in the formation of a policy and strategy for the protection of cultural heritage, to inform the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania, the President and the Government about the problems regarding heritage protection, and to prepare draft legal acts related to heritage protection.

Despite this extensive institutional system for the protection and maintenance of heritage, heritage policy is the most challenging area of cultural policy in Lithuania due to insufficient state funding and frequent changes in legislation. For example, between 1997 and 2022, a total of 24 editions of the Law on the Protection of Immovable Cultural Heritage were drafted. Such frequent changes to the Law make the implementation of this Law as well as its alignment with other laws very complicated. Funding for the Heritage Maintenance Programme performed by the Department of Cultural Heritage has decreased in recent years, although state budget revenues have increased. According to the National Commission of Cultural Heritage, in 2021, resources needed for reimbursement of the costs of cultural heritage maintenance works to the managers were 4-5 times higher than the allocated state appropriations for the Heritage Maintenance Programme.

Municipalities of the Republic of Lithuania also take part in heritage policy. They have heritage protection divisions that perform certain functions for the protection of immovable cultural heritage provided for by law; they also issue the sets of conditions for designing protected structures and structures in the territories of protected objects as well as at protected sites, organise the approval of design documentation for the aforementioned structures as well as grant permits to build, reconstruct, repair or demolish the aforementioned structures in accordance with the procedure laid down by the legal acts of the Republic of Lithuania. In 2020, the National Commission for Cultural Heritage performed an Analysis of the Activities of Municipalities in the Field of Cultural Heritage Protection in 2020. According to the analysis, there is a consistent trend of increasing funding for cultural heritage in municipalities. It has been observed for many years and continued in 2020, as half of the municipalities allocated more funds for heritage than in previous years. Taken as a whole, the overall growth rates of the funds allocated to heritage by municipalities far exceed the growth rate of funding allocated by the Department of Cultural Heritage.

Figure 4. Funds allocated by the Department of Cultural Heritage and by the municipalities for the maintenance of heritage in 1997 – 2020

In 2019, the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture commissioned a study on the cultural heritage protection processes and compatibility of heritage protection laws. The report of the study presents an analysis of laws regulating the protection of cultural heritage and the provision of services, analysis of international documents related to the protection of cultural heritage as well as an analysis of the functions of the institutions involved in the cultural heritage administration process. The findings of the study reveal the inconsistency between the concepts used in the main Lithuanian heritage protection Laws and duplications of functions performed by the Department of Cultural Heritage, municipalities, and Directorates of Protected Areas. Thus, as a conclusion, the study recommends a range of legislative changes and the overall revision of the model of Lithuanian cultural heritage protection.

The recommendations of the study were included in the Policy Concept for the Preservation and Promotion of Cultural Heritage and its Action Plan, approved by the Lithuanian Government in 2020. The concept declares that in order to solve systemic problems of administration of tangible and intangible cultural heritage protection, it is necessary to create an effective, integrated and long-term policy action plan for cultural heritage conservation and promotion, improve cultural heritage protection management, ensure research, dissemination, systematization and preservation of cultural heritage, implement the sustainable development goals in the field of cultural heritage, train cultural heritage protection specialists and researchers, ensure dialogue with communities and investors, involve all social group in decisions on the relevancy of cultural heritage, develop the cultural education of the population, and strengthen financial and non-financial incentives for heritage managers. 

In the last decade, the most discussed issue in the field of heritage policy is the legacy of the Soviet era. The main opposing sides in these discussions are members of the academic community and representatives of various political and patriotic NGOs.  From the point of view of the latter, the Soviet legacy is a glorification of that era and should therefore be removed from the public spaces of Lithuanian towns and cities. The academic community, meanwhile, argues that heritage protection policy should be guided by the principle of the irreversibility of the past and protect the heritage as it is, and not as we would like it to be; cultural heritage must not serve political or ideological interests (see also the chapter 2.9).

Museums

The Lithuanian museum infrastructure consists of national, state, municipal, departmental and private or non-state-owned museums. According to the data of the Ministry of Culture, in 2021, there were 96 public museums in Lithuania that submitted reports to the Ministry of Culture: 4 national, 16 state, 54 municipal, and 23 departmental. According to the data of Statistics Lithuania, in 2020, all these museums together stored 7 569 200 exhibits.

Table 8: Number of exhibits stored in museums in 2020

During 2020, Lithuanian museums were visited by 2 837 798 visitors. Due to the quarantine and restrictions on visits, the number of visits almost halved compared to the previous year (5 588 766 visitors in 2019 and 5 026 217 in 2018).

Table 9: Number of museums visitors in 2016–2020

The policy of museums in Lithuania are shaped and implemented by the Ministry of Culture, the Council of Museums and the Lithuanian Council for Culture. According to the Law on Museums, the Ministry of Culture outlines the strategy of the activity of national and state museums, prepares programmes for the implementation of the strategy and submits them to the Government; prepares drafts of legal acts regulating the activity of museums and submits them to the Government for adoption; coordinates the activity of Lithuanian museums, their participation in cross-border museological  programmes; checks how objects stored at museums are accounted for and protected; provides funds for the key programmes  of museum activity,  restoration and scientific research; appoints, through  a public  competition, and dismisses, the directors of national and state museums whose owner’s rights and obligations are implemented by the Ministry of Culture; appoints, through  a public  competition, and dismisses the deputy directors – chief curators – of national and state museums whose owner’s rights and obligations are implemented by the Ministry of Culture; arranges the professional development of museum curators and restorers; and at the order of the Minister of Culture compiles the list of paid services provided by museums within the competence of the Ministry of Culture. The Council of Museums acts as an expert and consultant on issues related to the formulation and implementation of museum policy. The Lithuanian Council for Culture provides funding for museums’ educational and other projects. In 2021, the Council allocated 1 604 291 EUR for 133 projects of museums. Lithuanian Museums also participate in the heritage digitisation programme. According to the Heritage Digitization Statistics database, in 2020, 1 140 695 EUR was allocated to museums for heritage digitization activities.

Last update: May, 2022

Archives

Activity of archives is regulated in Lithuania by the Law on Documents and Archives (1995, last edition 2022). The Lithuanian state archives system consists of the Office of the Chief Archivist of Lithuania and 9 state archives. The state archives are divided into two groups: central archives and regional archives. There are 5 central archives: the Lithuanian State Historical Archives, Lithuanian Central State Archives, Lithuanian State Modern Archives, Lithuanian Special Archives, and the Lithuanian Archives of Literature and Art.

The Lithuanian State Historical Archives is the main repository of records for Lithuanian history from the 13th century up to the declaration of the Independence of Lithuania in 1918 (civil registry and vital records up to today). The records of state institutions, religious communities, popular organisations and families that are maintained in these archives also reflect the history of Russia, Belarus, Poland, Ukraine, Latvia and other countries. The Lithuanian Central State Archives preserves records of state, local government, enterprises, religious communities, popular organisations, and other non-state institutions and individuals, dating from 1918 until 1990. The division of Sound and Image is the main repository of audiovisual heritage in Lithuania. It preserves moving pictures since 1919, photo negatives and positives since 1850s, sound recordings since 1950s, and videotapes since 1988 until the present day. The Lithuanian State Modern Archives exercises control over records management in major state institutions (the Parliament, Office of the President of Republic of Lithuania, Chancellery of Government, ministries and departments, etc.) It also accumulates and preserves documents of state institutions, popular organisations and individuals, dating from 1990; provides institutions with consultations on the organisation of records management, administration and preservation of documents. The Lithuanian Special Archives preserves records of the former Lithuanian SSR division of KGB, USSR, dating 1940-1991, records of the Lithuanian SSR Ministry of Interior dating 1944-1990 and records of communist and socialist organisations, dating from the 19th c. until 1991, that witnessed the genocide of the Lithuanian people. The Lithuanian Archives of Literature and Art preserves and accumulates records belonging to state institutions, popular organisations and private persons, reflecting the development of culture and art in Lithuania. Most records are from the 20^th century. Several documents in the hands of private persons are dated from the 15^th century.

The 4 regional archives preserve documents of regional state, municipal, non-state institutions, and individuals of corresponding region.

Table 10: State Archives Activity Indicators for 2020

According to the data of Statistics Lithuania, the number of written requests in archives remained relatively stable over the last 5 years and did not decline due to the quarantine in 2020.

Table 11: The number of written requests in archives in 2014–2020

The policy of archives is shaped and implemented by the Ministry of Culture, the Office of the Chief Archivist of Lithuania, the Council of Archives and the Lithuanian Council for Culture. The Law On Documents And Archives (1995) define the functions of the Ministry of Culture as follow: “the Ministry of Culture shall: 1) shape a national policy in the field of management and use of documents and archives; 2) shape a film heritage protection policy and coordinate the creation of a state film chronicle according to target appropriations of the state budget as well as to the description of the procedure for creation of a chronicle set by the Minister of Culture; 3) participate in the shaping and implementation of national policy in the field of management and use of European Union documents and archives; 4) coordinate preparation and implementation of strategic planning documents in the field of management and use of documents and archives; 5) upon the instructions of the Government implement part of the rights and duties of the owner of the Office of the Chief Archivist of Lithuania and of the state archives; 6) fulfil other functions related to state administration of documents and archives as set out by legal acts”.

The Office of the Chief Archivist of Lithuania is a government agency, which participates in the shaping of national policy in the field of management and use of documents and archives and implements this policy and supports the Chief Archivist of Lithuania in carrying-out state administration of the field of documents and archives. The Council on Archives is an expert institution advising on the issues related to the implementation of the Law On Documents And Archives and assigned to the competence of the Minister of Culture. The council acts on a voluntary basis.

The archives system in Lithuania is funded from the state budget. The Lithuanian Council for Culture finances projects submitted by archives on a competitive basis. In 2021, the Council allocated 63 500 EUR for 7 projects of archives.

Libraries

The Lithuanian system of libraries is regulated by the Law on Libraries (1995). According to the law, the libraries operating in Lithuania are divided into county public libraries, municipal public libraries, libraries of academic and educational institutions, school libraries, special libraries, and other libraries, established by private enterprises, non-governmental organisations and natural persons. There is also 1 National Library which accumulates and stores the national archival fund of published documents, prepares and publishes the Lithuanian state current and national retrospective bibliography, bibliographic indexes of various fields of science, compiles summary catalogues and databases, performs international standard numbering of documents published in Lithuania (ISBN, ISSN, ISMN), collects libraries statistics etc.

In 2020, the network of public libraries consisted of 2 304 libraries.

Table 12: Number of libraries by type in 2020

The National Library is financed directly from the state budget, i. e. budget appropriations for the library are indicated in the state budget on a separate line and the library manages appropriations. County public libraries are financed from the state budget through the Ministry of Culture and municipal libraries are financed from municipal budgets. Libraries of special literature and higher education institutions get funding from the budget of the library owner (high school, science institute etc). As it is stated in the Lithuanian Cultural Policy Strategy 2030, the network of libraries is the densest network of Lithuanian cultural institutions and the services of libraries are very popular in small towns and villages, where other cultural services are less accessible. However, according to the data of Statistics Lithuania, the number of libraries has been gradually decreasing over the last 5 years.

Table 13: The number of libraries in Lithuania in 2011–2020

The services offered by Lithuanian libraries to the general public may be divided into three groups: 1) traditional services of which the main goal is to preserve written heritage and to promote reading, to create conditions for self-education and self-creation of society, and to develop creativity and imagination; 2) electronic library services which encompass the digitisation of cultural heritage, the creation of digital local information databases (organised by involving interested communities), the development of information competencies of residents, and other library services rendered by electronic means; 3) public area (community centre) services that encourage residents to communicate, participate in civil and educational events, initiate projects, and independently form opinions. Despite the variety of services provided, the number of registered users of libraries has been gradually decreasing over the last 10 years.

Table 14: Number of registered users of libraries in Lithuania in 2014–2020 (in thousands)

The policy of libraries in Lithuania is shaped and implemented by the Ministry of Culture, the Council of Libraries and the Lithuanian Council for Culture. The Ministry of Culture defines the strategy on the development of libraries founded by the state or municipalities; prepares and finances strategy implementing programmes; carries out administration of the provision of public services by libraries, etc. The Minister of Culture is consulted by the Council of Libraries, which takes part as an expert and consulting institution in resolving matters of library policy formation and implementation. The Council is composed of 11 members – representatives of library practice and science who are delegated by the professional community of libraries and the Minister of Culture.

The Lithuanian Council for Culture finances projects submitted by libraries on a competitive basis. In 2021, the Council allocated 713 975 EUR for 135 projects of libraries. Currently, the policy of libraries is guided by the order of the Minister of Culture on The Strategic Directions of Library Development 2016–2022. The document defines three directions for the development of libraries: 1) to strengthen the cultural and informational competencies developing services, which promote the creativity, social and economic activity of individuals and motivation to participate in the lifelong learning process; 2) strengthen library communities through the use of an improved library infrastructure and the development of new electronic services that promote socio-economic development based on knowledge, entrepreneurship and innovation 3) improve the management of libraries by basing it on efficient implementation of activities, systematic improvement of staff competencies and evaluation of performance.

Last update: May, 2022

The Lithuanian performing arts institutions system is defined in the Law on Professional Performing Arts (2004, last edition 2022). The Law classifies Lithuanian performing arts institutions as national, state, municipal, and other (e. g. private) institutions. In 2022, there were Lithuania 3 national theatres ((the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre, the Lithuanian National Drama Theatre, and National Kaunas Drama Theatre),) and 1 national concert organisation (Lithuanian national Philharmonic Society). The Law prescribes to these institutions the function “to implement state policy in the field of professional performing arts: present to the public the most outstanding national and foreign achievements in opera, ballet, drama and music; represent work of high artistic value; form the image of Lithuanian culture; consistently develop international creative partnerships; foster the receptiveness of society to the performing arts and ensure access to professional performing arts for all social groups”. National institutions are financed directly from the state budget, i.e. budget appropriations for the national performing arts institutions are indicated in the state budget in a separate line and the institutions are appropriations managers.

The group of state performing arts institutions includes 6 concert organisations and 10 state theatres, including 6 drama theatres, 2 puppet theatres and 2 musical theatres. The state theatres operate in all the larger Lithuanian towns and cities (Kaunas, Klaipėda, Panevėžys, Šiauliai, Marijampolė, and Alytus). All state theatres have their own premises (buildings). They have the legal status of budget organisations (see chapter 4.1.9) and are financed by the Ministry of Culture and municipalities. The Lithuanian Council for Culture finances their educational projects on a competitive basis.

Municipal performing arts institutions are owned by municipalities and financed from municipal budgets. The Law on Professional Performing Arts prescribes to these institutions the functions of the presentation of classical and contemporary professional performing arts works to the public, creation of the conditions for authors and performers in the region to present their works to the public, development of public demand for professional performing arts and ensuring access to professional performing arts for all social groups.

The exact number of private performing arts organisations in Lithuania is not known. The Register of Legal Entities provides information on 120 registered organisations with the word “theatre” in their name that have the legal form of NGO, individual enterprise etc. The Ministry of Culture provides information on 36 performing arts organisations that have the status of professional performing arts organisation granted by the Ministry. Private or non-governmental performing arts organisations finance their activity from their own income; they can also apply for funding from the Lithuanian Council for Culture and to the municipalities. During the last two decades, some Lithuanian private theatres, e.g. the theatre company “Meno Fortas” founded by one of the most famous Lithuanian theatre directors Eimuntas Nekrošius, and the theatre of Oskaras Koršunovas, became well-known not only in Lithuania, but also abroad. Despite the uneven competition with state theatres, as the latter receive direct funding from the Ministry of Culture, Lithuanian private theatres became very popular and have doubled the number of their visitors over the last 10 years*. However, that number has more than halved in 2020, due to the pandemic-related restrictions.

Table 15: The number of theatres and their visitors in Lithuania in 2011–2020

*Data are available only about organisations that have the status of professional performing arts organisations granted by the Ministry. In 2017, the Ministry of Culture changed the rules for granting the status of a professional theatre and because of that the number of private theatres significantly increased in 2017. The largest number of visitors to private theatres, however, was achieved in 2015, i.e. before the change in the rules.

The function of distribution of professional musical culture in the country and abroad has been performed by 7 state concert performers and agencies. The National Philharmonic Society of Lithuania unites 5 musical performance groups: the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, the Vilnius String Quartet, the Čiurlionis quartet, and The Ensemble Musica Humana. Other music organisations that are established and financed by the state are the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, the State Philharmonic Society in Kaunas, including the internationally renowned Kaunas State Choir, the Lithuanian State Wind Instrument Orchestra “Trimitas”, the National Folk Song and Dance Ensemble “Lietuva”, the State Choir “Vilnius”, and the State Chamber Choir “Polifonija”. Besides their direct activities, these institutions, as well as the other non-governmental organisations, are engaged in the organisation of international professional art festivals and different contests in Lithuania.

The Lithuanian Ministry of Culture is the main political actor in the field of the performing arts. According to the Law on Professional the Performing Arts, the Ministry of Culture shapes the policy of the performing arts, drafts laws and other legal acts, promotes international cooperation between professional performing arts institutions and their participation in transnational cultural cooperation programmes, coordinates and controls the activities of state-owned theatres and concert organisations, etc.

The Minister of Culture is consulted by the Council of Professional Performing Arts. The Council performs the functions of an expert and consultant on issues of policy development and implementation of the Lithuanian professional performing arts. It is composed of representatives of the Association of Lithuanian Performing Arts Organisations and of professional organisations that work in the field of the performing arts.

The role of the municipalities in the field of performing arts policy is also defined in the Law on Professional Performing Arts (2004). Municipalities plan and monitor the activities of municipal theatres and concert institutions, coordinate the participation of municipal theatres and concert institutions in international cultural programmes, and ensure participation of municipal theatres and concert institutions in non-formal education programmes. 

All kinds of performing arts organisations can apply for funding to the Lithuanian Council for Culture. In 2021, the Lithuanian Council for Culture allocated 2 359 310 EUR for 235 music projects, 1 184 405 EUR for 134 theatre projects, 623 529 EUR for 50 dance projects, and 176 320 EUR for 17 circus projects. Grants in each of the four areas of the performing arts were given for the following activities: 1) professional creation and its dissemination in Lithuania and abroad; 2) events; 3) accumulation of information (archiving, documentation) and its dissemination; 4) publishing; 5) professional criticism and analysis; 6) networking and mobility; 7) co-production; and 8) development of mastery and education.

The private and non-governmental professional performing arts organisations can also apply for funding to the special programme of the Ministry of Culture. The funds of this programme are used to finance the rent of the premises where the professional performing arts institution operates; maintain the infrastructure of the premises and the bookkeeping services, and cover the wage costs, including taxes, of staff employed by a professional performing arts institution.

In 2018, the National Audit Office of Lithuania carried out an audit of state theatres and concert organisations to evaluate the efficiency of their governance. The audit report states that professional theatres and concert establishments receive approximately 40 million EUR from the state budget each year. 97 per cent of these funds are allocated to 20 establishments which fall within the area managed by the Ministry of Culture, namely to national and state theatres and concert establishments. However, their funding is not tied to their performance, as the national theatres and concert establishments are not subject to any specific individual requirements. Audit results have also demonstrated that national cultural policy is currently being formulated without any crucial information on the performance of all of the relevant establishments. This leads to a lack of substantiated data on the pursuit of the goals of professional performing arts institutions, and whether the funds are being deployed in the most purposeful manner.

In light of these findings, the National Audit Office of Lithuania formulated a number of recommendations for improving the governance of performing arts institutions: to specify the requirements and functions of national, state and municipal theatres and concert organisations in accordance with their purpose; create a management model of these organisations, which would establish additional qualitative performance indicators; revise the procedure for evaluating annual performances; and to detail performance indicators and determine their values. It is also recommended to periodically evaluate the efficiency of the activities of the institutions and the compliance of their activity with the functions of a national or state professional performing arts organisations and link their funding to the annual performance results.

Since 2019, the recommendations have been put into practice. The Ministry of Culture approved a unified set of criteria for evaluating the activities of budgetary institutions in the areas of government of the Minister of Culture. The criteria are divided according to the areas / topics of performance evaluation and detailed by describing the purpose of the criterion, its components, and the method of calculation. However, practical application of the new evaluation method was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, the Ministry of Culture prepared the Draft Law on the Framework of Cultural Policy. The law should substantiate the role of national cultural institutions. The project proposes to establish exclusive functions of national cultural institutions: they must participate in the implementation of strategic cultural policy goals; organize and implement major national and international projects; perform the function of cultural competence centres; provide methodological assistance to other state and municipal cultural institutions; participate in preparing and implementing qualification improvement programmes, etc.

Last update: May, 2022

Lithuania has two national museums of fine arts, a network of galleries established by the State, municipalities, non-governmental organisations (creative unions and public organisations), higher education institutions, and galleries established by private initiative. According to the data of the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture, there are currently over 50 galleries functioning in Lithuania, but the number is likely to be much higher.

The Lithuanian Art Museum has 10 divisions, 4 of which work as separate galleries: Vilnius Picture Gallery, National Gallery of Art, Pranas Domšaitis Gallery, Pamarys Gallery. Founded in 1933 as Vilnius City Museum, the Lithuanian Art Museum is currently the biggest national establishment that preserves, investigates and displays pieces of art of historical and artistic value. The exhibition halls of the museum display Lithuanian and foreign works of fine and applied art and feature temporary exhibitions of Lithuanian and foreign artists. The museum also has a collection of national folk art.

Established in 1921, the M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art has turned into one of the oldest and largest art museums in Lithuania. The Museum has 11 divisions that operate in Kaunas: M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art, M. ˇilinskas Art Gallery, Kaunas Picture Gallery, A. Žmuidzinavičius Creations and Collections Museum, Devils Museum, Historical Presidential Palace of the Republic of Lithuania, A. and P. Galaunė House, L. Truikys and M. Rakauskaitė Memorial Museum, J. Zikaras Memorial Museum, V. K. Jonynas Gallery, M. K. Čiurlionis Memorial Museum.

The main state institution of contemporary art in Lithuania is the Contemporary Art Centre established by the Ministry of Culture. The Centre is one of the largest contemporary art venues in the Baltic region and it hosts a diverse programme of exhibitions and events dedicated to contemporary art, aiming to enrich the cultural life of the city and the local and international discourse on contemporary art.

Visual arts and crafts are also featured in galleries and exhibition centres of creative unions. The Lithuanian Artists’ Association (LAA) has established 8 galleries in Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda and Panevėžys and set up 6 divisions of production: Ltd “Vilnius art” (Vilniaus dailė), and non-profit organisations LAA’s Publishers “Artseria”, the Centre of Sculpture and Stained Glass, the Centre of Vilnius Graphic Arts, the House of Artists (“Dailininkų namai”) in Palanga and the Arts Fund. The Lithuanian Photographers' Association runs four galleries in Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipėda. The professional Folk Artists’ Association runs a gallery and antique shop in Vilnius.

In 2009, the Lithuanian Art Gallerists’ Association organised the first visual arts fair ArtVilnius that became the greatest annual event dedicated to the contemporary visual arts in Lithuania.  ArtVilnius takes place in the Exhibition and Congress Centre LITEXPO and every year has over 23 000 visitors, with about 65 art galleries from a dozen or so countries participating (Germany, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, the Netherlands, Russia, Italy, and France). The applications of galleries wishing to participate in the art fair are reviewed and selected by a jury made up of art critics and art market experts, thereby ensuring the professionalism of the galleries at the fair.

Creative unions of visual arts and crafts, individual artists and their organisations can apply for funding to the Lithuanian Council for Culture. The Council has special funding programmes for fine art, photography, and interdisciplinary arts. Funding in each of these programmes are given for the following activities: 1) professional creation and its dissemination in Lithuania and abroad; 2) events; 3) accumulation of information (archiving, documentation) and its dissemination; 4) publishing; 5) professional criticism and analysis; 6) networking and mobility; 7) co-production; and 8) Developing of mastery and education. In 2021, the Lithuanian Council for Culture allocated 901 369 EUR for 106 projects of the fine arts programme, 1 297 759 EUR for 162 projects of the combined arts programme, 1 097 829 EUR for 96 projects of the interdisciplinary arts programme, and 428 757 EUR for 32 projects of photography.

The Lithuanian Council for Culture also awards grants for individual artists. Educational grants (up to 3600 EUR) are allocated for the development of professional mastery. In 2019, 2020 and 2021, the Council also awarded individual grants (600 EUR per month) for promotion of creative activity during the COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions. In 2021, the Council awarded 98 grants to fine arts, 103 for interdisciplinary artists, 49 for photographers, and 53 for folk artists. Municipalities fund visual arts through their programmes. The second largest Lithuanian city Kaunas implements a programme Kaunas Highlights that invites artists to submit projects in the fields of sculpture, design, fine art, and light installation. Participants can choose to decorate any place in Kaunas City with their works. The requirements for projects are uniqueness, individuality, originality, and overall harmony with the environment. Kaunas City Municipality funds up to 100 per cent of the implementation costs of the project. The programme started in 2016 and until 2022, 78 projects of visual arts have been funded. Regrettably, at the end of 2021, the great idea of the Kaunas Highlights programme was overshadowed by the news that the projects would no longer be evaluated by a commission of visual arts experts, but by municipal officials led by the mayor.