EXHIBITION: MUTUAL EMPATHIES
OPENING: 14/08/2026, 19:00
Rupert invites you to the Mutual Empathies final exhibition presenting the work of this year’s resident artists, Saule Suleimenova and Maithu Bùi.
Developed during a six–week residency at Rupert, the exhibition brings together two artistic practices that, in distinct ways, respond to the aftermath of violence and its lingering presence: through collective memory, inherited narratives, war waste, and ordinary materials. The presentation is curated by JL Murtaugh and curatorial fellow Katažyna Jankovska. As part of the opening evening, visitors are invited to open studios, where they can explore research materials and gain insight into the artists’ residency process.
Suleimenova presents two new large-scale works from her long-running cellophane painting series, created from repurposed plastic bags, along with two new sculptures from the Zheti Ana (Seven Mothers) series. Her research at Rupert has focused on the children of the city, synthesising historical images of forced migration with scenes from contemporary life in Vilnius, as well as the caregivers that attend to all our needs but whom are too-often anonymous.
Bùi continues their long-term research into unexploded ordnance and how societies respond to conditions of war. Here, they present the Punched Cards series, which draws on historical systems of classification and information storage to explore fragmentation, collective trauma and unwritten histories. These reinterpreted datasets are shown alongside found scrap metal objects, often collected to produce weaponry, which explore the shifting roles of material through use, reuse and transformation.
What remains hidden in plain sight? Discarded plastic and metal objects become points of departure for uncovering overlooked histories marked by absence, violence, and displacement, yet continuing to shape everyday life.
About the Programme
Mutual Empathies is a multi-year programme initiated by the Rupert Centre for Art, Residencies, and Education and the Goethe-Institut Lithuania. Each edition connects two artists from distinct contexts for parallel residencies and public programming. It encourages artistic connections that would not otherwise take place, creating new responses to global society’s countless ecopolitical questions.
The programme is led by JL Murtaugh (curator, Rupert, Vilnius) and Anna Maria Strauß (director, Goethe-Institut Lithuania). The 2026 Mutual Empathies curatorial fellow is Katažyna Jankovska. Artist nominators for this and upcoming editions of Mutual Empathies include Inga Lace (chief curator, Almaty Museum of Arts), Nick Yu (independent curator, Hong Kong), Sofia Dati (curator, WIELS), Mijoo Park (independent curator and head of 2026 Gwangju Biennale Academy ICC), Helen Turner (artistic director, E-WERK Luckenwalde), and Dr. Bettina Korintenberg (director, ifa-Galerie, Berlin and Stuttgart).
Saule Suleimenova (b 1970) is an artist working at the edge of many mediums, incorporating deconstructions of painting, photography, drawing, installation, and public art to create a meaningful social impact. In addition to her visual work, Suleimenova organises educational, ecological, and social events focused on resistance, collective memory, and promoting the empowerment of the historically disadvantaged. After receiving her MFA from the Kazakh National University of Arts, Suleimenova went on to graduate from the Almaty State Academy of Architecture and Civil Engineering in 1996 with a degree in architectural design. Her recent projects include the 2025 Bukhara Biennial, UZ; the 2025 Kyiv Biennial, Warsaw PL; Jeonbuk Museum of Art, Jeonju SK; the 2020 Lahore Biennale; Manifesta 11, Zürich CH; Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah AE; along with many other international projects.
Maithu Bùi (b 1991) is an artist based in Berlin. Bùi’s practice investigates dispositions and relational proximity through shared history of violence, science, and technology. In their work, incorporating video, installation, mixed media, and writing, Bùi translates negotiations of life into spatial and situated encounters, with a particular interest in how resonance, speech, and agency emerge. They completed their MFA in 2023 at UdK (Berlin DE), following earlier education in Computational Linguistics and Philosophy at Ludwig Maximilian University (Munich DE). Their recent projects include ‘Bells and Cannons at CAC, Vilnius; the 12th Berlin Biennale, KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin, DE; Bundeskunsthalle Bonn, DE; Kunsthalle Bratislava, SK; aashra Ashkal Alwan, LB; Museum der bildenden Künste, Leipzig, DE; E-WERK Luckenwalde, DE; and Akademie der Künste, Berlin, DE.
The 2026 edition of Mutual Empathies is financed by the Lithuanian Council for Culture and Goethe-Institut Lithuania. Rupert’s programmes are supported by Vilnius City Municipality. Rupert’s partner is INVL Family Office.
Curators: JL Murtaugh, Katažyna Jankovska
Production: Augustė Verikaitė
Coordination: Gabrielė Golubovičiūtė
Communication: Kornelija Žvinklytė
Technician: Jokūbas Adamonis
Photography: Laurynas Skeisgiela
Design: Jana Sofie Liebe and Augustinas Milkus
Special thanks to Anna Maria Strauß, Monika Lipsič, Viktorija Šiaulytė.