Press Release
Talent takes centre stage. This is the theme that will be explored at this year’s National Culture Forum. Taking place for the eleventh time, the event will bring together creators, cultural professionals, and international experts for a discussion on something without which contemporary society is difficult to imagine — creativity and talent.
The 11th National Culture Forum, “Creativity: Talent in the Spotlight,” will take place on 14 May at the Faculty of Creative Industries of Vilnius TECH.
At the Forum, creators, cultural professionals, and international experts will seek answers to how talent ecosystems function in different countries. What strengthens them? What limits them? And what value do they create for society? Is talent an innate gift, or the result of consistent work? Is the education system truly capable of recognizing creativity, or does it confine it within rigid frameworks? Do those who dare to take risks always succeed?
“This year’s Forum theme emerged from the need to look at creativity in a broader context — not only as an individual quality, but as an entire talent ecosystem. We are increasingly talking about the creative economy and the creative class, yet we ask less often what conditions actually allow talent to unfold and what helps it grow,” says Edita Sabalionytė, Head of the National Association of Cultural and Creative Industries, KIK Lithuania, describing the idea behind the Forum’s theme.
One of the Forum’s organizers believes that this conversation is especially important today:
“We live in a time when technology, the global market, and artificial intelligence are fundamentally changing the nature of creativity and work. We must talk about human creativity, talent development, and how cultural, educational, and social systems can help talent emerge.”
Algirdas Orantas, Chair of the Board of KIK Lithuania and Head of the agency The Critical, also emphasizes that creativity today is no longer merely an aesthetic category or a decorative element of leisure. It is also an existential tool for societal and national resilience.
“We live against the backdrop of spiritual nihilism and aggressive propaganda, where public space is being poisoned and society is systematically conditioned to become a passive mass ‘conducted from above’. Creativity acts as a direct counterforce to this dangerous stagnation. It is the ability to critically rethink reality, create new meanings, and find ways forward where standard political mechanisms become hopelessly stuck.
When vulgarity and division begin to dominate public debate, creative imagination becomes our shield against cultural stagnation,” says A. Orantas, adding that speaking about this today means assessing how we, as a state, will be able to rethink ourselves and remain authentic under pressure.
The Forum’s talks and discussions will explore the importance of talent ecosystems — from education and cultural policy to cities, communities, and international connections. Talent cannot grow in a vacuum: it requires mentorship, creative spaces, and a supportive environment that allows people to try, fail, and search for their own path.
Last year’s Culture Forum attracted considerable attention. It featured a particularly strong programme of speakers and discussions, including world-renowned experts Charles Landry and Stefan Sagmeister, urban anthropologist Dr Jekaterina Lavrinec, and neuroscientist Dr Urtė Neniškytė.
This year’s programme will feature equally prominent names. Leadership and innovation expert Christer Windelov-Lidzelus, creative leadership practitioner Caitlan Maggs, who has worked with Cirque du Soleil, and Swedish composer, songwriter, and copyright expert Alfons Karabuda will come to Vilnius. Science journalist Goda Raibytė-Aleksa will take a critical look at the myth of natural talent, while psychologist and lecturer Gintarė Buinickaitė will seek to debunk it.
The Forum will also feature discussions on future talent, the phenomenon of the multitalent, and the place of creativity in the age of artificial intelligence. Questions will be raised as to whether creativity will remain a uniquely human quality and what skills future creators will need.
Today, creativity is no longer confined to a single discipline — it emerges where art, science, technology, and business meet. The role of the creator is also changing: they are becoming not only artists, but also researchers, curators, and community builders.
The Forum will be moderated by journalist and Lithuanian television presenter Audra Avižiūtė. Participants and guests will also have the opportunity to visit the Creators’ Expo, where creative initiatives will be presented.
The National Culture Forum will take place on 14 May, from 11:00 AM, at the Faculty of Creative Industries of Vilnius TECH. The Forum is organized by the National Association of Cultural and Creative Industries.
The press release was published on www.lrt.lt.
Moments from the 2025 National Culture Forum
Photos by Robertas Daskevičius
