The one-off event, part of Kaunas – European Capital of Culture 2022 program Modernism for the Future, was inspired by the phenomenon of Kaunas as a provisional capital of Lithuania, a city that grew seven times between the world wars 100 years ago.

The rapid acceleration was fuelled by focusing on a better, more vibrant, exciting future – and shaped with a modernist approach. Much like the designers of Kaunas’ modernist architecture with their political, social, economic, and cultural optimism 100 years ago, the creators of contemporary music presented in OPTIMISMO dare to experiment with technology and are known for their virtuosity, non-traditional structure of their pieces, and unconventional creative methods.

Combining in-depth research of the industrial past and the multilayers of contemporary experimental electronic music, OPTIMISMO was curated by Digital Tsunami and Ghia creative teams.