In the moving, we are moved
In the moving, we move others
In the moving, others may come to help us move
Together, we move mass(s).
– Future Farmers.

Everything began with the artist collective Future Farmers and artist Amy Franceschini, who, during their residency, proposed building a ship — for a journey to the city center. We had long been speaking of ships — of the journey as a vision, of sails as texts, of the kind of cargo the Rupert ship might carry. This dream of a voyage into the city unexpectedly materialized when we realized that Rupert was, in fact, relocating to the city center — even if the ship itself remained symbolic.

The ship is often used as a symbol or metaphor because of its poetic nature. The Greek word μεταφέρω (metapherō) means “to carry” or “to transfer,” so metaphors themselves can be seen as vessels — carrying meaning across. Philosopher Donald Davidson wrote, “A metaphor is the dreamwork of language.” Interpreting dreams requires a collaboration between the dreamer and the awakened — even if they are the same person. Interpretation, he says, is an act of imagination, one that largely resists any strict rules.

Meanwhile, José Ortega y Gasset claimed that metaphor is the most effective way to grasp the highest forms of abstraction. And highest abstractions are the wind that fills the sails, or the engine that propels the ship forward.

In this context, the paradox of the Ship of Theseus is also relevant – If every part of a ship is replaced, is it still the same ship? If Rupert moves out of Valakampiai, is it still Rupert? Can a journey be real if the ship is symbolic?

We may not know the answers, but we’ve invited a group of artists to create a ceremony to mark Rupert’s departure from Valakampiai, which we’ve called mass moving — and everyone is welcome to join.

mass mOving is also the title of the first Alternative Education Programme workshop, led by Amy Franceschini of Future Farmers.

Participating artists: George Finlay Ramsay, Future Farmers, Alina Schmuch, Rūta Junevičiūtė, Edgy Palates, and more.

Program:
18:00 Doors open and introduction to Mass Moving with Futurefarmers
19:00 Sophie Paul – The Crystal Monologues, a performative reading
19:30 Rūta Junevičiūtė – I revise my yellow for the second solstice to turn it into green, a dance and movement performance
20:30 Answers arrive in the dark, life is made up of quark – a performance by George Finlay Ramsay
22:00 Edgy Palates – The Queen of the Night, a concert-performance
23:00 Mass Moving boat journey with Futurefarmers and Rupert AEP participants.

Colophon
Curator Monika Lipšic
Coordinator Aistė Frišmantaitė
Communication Aistė Marija Stankevičiūtė
Graphic design Marijn Degenaar
Editor (LT): Evelina Zenkutė

Special thanks to JL Murtaugh, Viktorija Šiaulytė, Kornelija Žvinklytė, Tea Gradassi, Alicia Grobholz.

The event is part of New Perspectives for Action, a project by Re-Imagine Europe, co-funded by the European Union and Lithuanian Culture Institute. Rupert is also supported by TechZity.