Eglė Grėbliauskaitė (PDF)
https://doi.org/10.53631/MIS/2024.16.9
This article investigates the interplay of soft censorship and self-censorship in contemporary Lithuanian art, combining an autoethnographic study of three artistic interventions (2021–2023) centered around the Petras Cvirka Monument with anonymised interviews featuring prominent Lithuanian artists across diverse disciplines.1 The research examines how institutional frameworks, societal narratives, and cultural norms influence artistic autonomy, revealing how external pressures and internalised constraints shape creative practices.
The Cvirka case serves as a focal point for understanding the challenges of negotiating public memory and institutional resistance in public art, illustrating systemic challenges around artistic autonomy in transitional democracies. By integrating findings from interviews, the study highlights how leading Lithuanian artists navigate similar dynamics in their work.
Drawing on the theoretical frameworks of Nye’s concept of soft power and Haraszti’s notion of the “velvet prison”, the study analyses how structural mechanisms and personal negotiation intersect to define creative freedom. The findings contribute to broader discussions on the complexities of artistic expression and its role in shaping cultural and public discourse.
Keywords: soft censorship, self-censorship, artistic autonomy, cultural policy, public memory, Petras Cvirka monument, Lithuania, soft power, velvet prison, artistic interventions, transitional democracies