Many think that exhibitions of eco-art in which you can see works of art produced from re-purposed, recycled or reused materials are a topic interesting only for the youths. While seniors are supposed to be more accepting of the traditional forms of art – painting or sculpture. This stereotype was completely destroyed in Telšiai, Lithuania, where seniors made up the biggest part of the visitors to the one day exhibition of eco-art.

„It was completely opposite than our exhibition in Vilnius, where the majority of the visitors where youngsters. We were pleasantly surprised by how bright and informed about environmental affairs these seniors were. To the exhibition these people came to encourage the artists, thank them and share ideas with them – these are all things that are rarely seen in big cities“, says one of the organizers of the exhibition Martynas Norbutas, who is the leader of the project „Eco-creativity“ which is financed by the European Commission.

In the words of another organizer, Monika Šlančiauskaitė, reusing and recycling has become an everyday activity for older people – they not only start sorting their trash, but also start thinking how they could be used in different ways. An egg carton can become a place to grow your sprout, metal cans become flowerpots. This is why a form of art that can be directly applied seems more purposeful to so many people.

„I am so happy, the youngsters are so creative. When you what has been done here... On TV you only see young people with bottles in their hands of fighting. By when you see that young people create...“ said an overjoyed 84 year old lady.

The exhibition itself contained works from 13 artists. You could see a video installation, dresses created from pull tabs of soda cans and juice cartons, furniture made from egg cartons, photographs of a house built from rubbish, a bird made from flotsam, lights created from ecological paper and recycled bottles, masks created from recycled paper and pantyhose, old shoes used to create an installation, a sculpture from chainsaw chains, shopping bags made from newspapers and etc.

The project is financed by the Lifelong Learning Programme, which is administrated by the Education Exchanges Support Foundation in the Republic of Lithuania. This article reflect only the authors ‘point of view, the Education Exchanges Support Foundation and the European Commission cannot be responsible for the content of this message.